His Other Wife

Stella Fall #1

by Ava Strong

Newly-engaged Stella Fall, 26, is horrified to learn of the secrets hiding in her fiance’s past, in his ultra-wealthy family, and in their exclusive Connecticut suburb. When someone turns up murdered, Stella, to clear her name, is forced to investigate. But in a culture ridden with masterful liars, can she ever really find the truth?

Stella seems to have her whole life ahead of her: she has just graduated with a dual masters in Psychology and Criminal Justice, she is engaged to the man of her dreams after a whirlwind romance, and she is moving to the East Coast with him as she prepares for the wedding and searches for a dream job, hoping to be a criminal profiler. She is unbelievably excited for her life together with Chris—until she meets his family.

Stella, from a humble Midwestern upbringing, never felt comfortable around money, and she hates the world Chris comes from. She is in shock at the culture clash as she gets to know his elitist family and friends, all of whom look down on her. Isolated and demeaned, Stella wonders if she can live a life in such hostile surroundings.

They move into the guest house on his estate, and things only get worse. As Stella meets his ex and his friends at his club, all of whom seem to know something she doesn’t, she wonders if Chris is really the man she thought he was. As she learns more about his past and discovers his dark side, she wonders if she has made a big mistake. Beneath its trimmed hedgerows and gleaming storefronts, Stella soon realizes that this wealthy town hides terrible secrets.

But before she can decide what to do, a murder leaves her blindsided.

Stella, implicated, her future on the line, has no choice but to investigate. As her dreams devolves into hell, Stella, still struggling to overcome her own traumatic past, questions everything around her—including her own sanity.

Can she find the killer, and clear her name, before it’s too late?

A fast-paced psychological suspense thriller with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding suspense, HIS OTHER WIFE is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook, Suspense, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery Thriller

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

Ava Strong is author of the REMI LAURENT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the ILSE BECK mystery series, comprising seven books (and counting); of the STELLA FALL psychological suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the DAKOTA STEELE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the LILY DAWN suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); and of the MEGAN YORK suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Ava loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit her website.

Reviews

[Jacqueline Sabulsky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book lost me as soon as she chose getting engaged over her dream job.

[Beeg Panda]

Free.
But what other wife? He’s not married.
And who’s Chris in the blurb? The MMC in the book is Vaughan?

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I found this book to be very 'meh', at 50% I was wondering where was the book going (besides the obvious) and I was rather bored. The only reason I pushed through was to see how it would end. I wasn't impressed.

Unfortunately another scenario of expectations not being met, after reading the blurb.

I also found the characters irritating and quite unbelievable, perhaps I don't have enough exposure to stinking rich people, so don't really know how the other half live.

Overall, I think even three stars is being overly generous on my part, as the writing style was also rather bland.

[Donna McPherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character in this book...Stella....Finds herself the prime suspect in her fiancee's murder. I liked the twists and turns in this book, but I couldn't believe that someone in her position wouldn't call an attorney. It seemed reckless and unbelieveable that she would just insert herself among her fiancee's crazy family and investigate on her own.

[Sharon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought it had some good turns, it was engaging, but the writing was sloppy. Hated how they made the main character to be weak and stupid.

[Andi Wysocki · Rating 1 out of 5]

People don't really talk like this

This book is ridiculous and poorly written. The dialog is unbelievable (absolutely no one speaks this way), the main character is an idiot, and the premise of the book is underwhelming, to put it nicely. I am shocked that this author has a series of books, and that people have given this book multiple stars. And the title makes no sense - there is no other wife. This is a Lifetime movie - stupid, poorly written and pointless. Props to author for knowing how to get artifical reviews. I paid $0 for this, and deserve a refund.

[Melissa E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

His Other Wife is a story about Stella and Vaughn. It starts out as their love story. They meet in Chicago and fall in love. Eventually, they get engaged and move back to his family home. His family is extremely rich and they don’t take a liking to Stella. Someone does and Stella is blamed and she has to figure out who did it in order to save herself. Or did she do it?

It’s a fast-paced story that is family drama, suspense, and murder mystery all in one. I liked that it moved fast and yet had a decent amount of character development.

And while I liked the ending and how things wrapped up, I didn’t get how the title correlated with the events that happened. So, that left me a little confused.

Overall I would rate this 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn’t great, but it was a nice whodunnit and kept me wanting to know who did what.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lottie Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t enjoy audiobooks half as much as books. The narrator kept saying immediately like immijurtlee SO annoying! Think I would’ve given it 3 if I’d read it. Storyline was good. I just weren’t feeling this book.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

His Other Wife is a fast read. The story starts out with Stella and Vaughn getting ready to go out for a romantic dinner. Stella has exciting new, her dream job has been offered to her and she has accepted. Vaughn takes her out and he has news himself. He is moving back to Connecticut to the family business and he wants Stella to come back with him.

This is a fast read and the story quickly kicks into overdrive. Their romance has only been four months and they are having to make quick decisions about the future. Stella is down to earth from a Midwest background and Vaughn is wealthy, things couldn't be more different as far as values go.

Stella is accused of murder, the family hates her, and she will have to use her skills to solve the murder quickly to save herself.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t mind the book, it was readable. However what’s with the title? He doesn’t have another wife so it’s really misleading. Also the blurb needs updating - the guy is called Vaughn, not Chris.
I was really annoyed that this supposedly smart career woman would throw away a dream job for a guy she had literally been dating 4 months to move across the country and not ask more questions…. And then not be more gracious as to cause issues within the family in 3 days? Yes they were rude and powerful etc but like give it more than a few days before you start causing issues girl.
I liked how it was fast paced and I didn’t guess the ending, and I was able to read it quickly.
I got it when it was free on Amazon for the kindle.

[Bookish Barbi · Rating 1 out of 5]

let me tell you why

I was digging the story. But one thing totally turned me off and caused me to 1star it. Don’t. DO NOT. Wave away a pregnancy test result w some bull about hormones and stress causing a false positive. As an infertile, I’d much rather it was explained as a chemical pregnancy than the reason explained by this author. I’ll continue the series bc Stella is interesting and I want to get more of her back story but please… take this as a lesson learned. BIG NO NO!!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book took awhile to get into. A lot of character introductions that seemed to take up a lot of time. You didn't get much background between Stella and Vaughn during their time in Chicago before moving. You don't get much background about Stella or Vaughn as individuals. Book was a decent read.

[Jan Cater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery

Stella falls for a rich guy who proposes marriage but wants her to leave Chicago to return to his family home on the East Coast. What could go wrong?

[Sarah Mikeska · Rating 1 out of 5]

There wasn't even another wife in the book.

[Danielle (lit_after_dark) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a psychological suspense thriller, this book actually brought out more anger and frustrated emotions in me than anything else… Unfortunately it didn't quit hit the nail on the head - I felt that the lead and whole plotline of the story was ruined by the title. It took WAY to long for the 'other wife' to be involved in the story and kind of ruined the surprise at the end.

Overall, it was a good idea, but there were so many blatantly obvious red flags that, with the direction the story was going, she should have been acutely aware of. It made me more frustrated that in order to 'hide' and 'deter' from the main plot line that is obviously ruined with the title, they tried to distract you with intricate little sub/side stories that just didn't cut it.

Unfortunately, this one was a bust for me.

[Patty U. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ret

This book will get you hooked in pretty fast and doesn't let up till the last page. I felt the title was a bit off base with the overall story. After Stella's fiance is killed she tries to find the murderer so that she stays out of jail. She is running out of time. I did not see the twist at the end coming. It was a big surprise.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were a lot of issues with this book imo. To the point where I'm not entirely certain how it's garnered so many 5* ratings. That said, I realize that most books just aren't going to resonate with everyone who reads them, but this one had quite a few flaws and seemed really disjointed in many ways.

One of the most glaring issues I had was the fact that this line is seriously stated in the book:
'"Don't panic," she told herself. "You can't be convicted of a crime you didn't commit. Nobody has the power to do that."'

All I can say is...are you being serious?

Let's just ignore for the fact that in the real world, the Innocence Project exists for basically that exact reason. Let's say that she's just trying to console herself in a very stressful time. Here's the biggest issue: she has a masters in criminal psychology. She wrote a thesis for her master's on serial killers that was apparently so impressive that just by her professor showing it to some friends, they want to take her on as a trainee FBI agent. Therefore, she should be incredibly knowledgeable about the criminal justice system and realize that yes, indeed, innocent people do go to prison. That happened far enough into the book that it didn't harm it (I was already put off by the whole thing) but at that point I started wondering if this was supposed to be a parody of a thriller.

Beyond all that, there are particular issues with the narrator, who has a British accent despite the fact that everything takes place in the United States and in Greenwich, CT for the most part, which is indeed a wealthy and posh area, but also doesn't explain the British accent. It felt a bit misplaced and that made it even harder to pay attention.

Stella is immediately painted as being strong and independent in the first chapter of the book but then she immediately throws it away to move to another state for a guy she's been dating for four months. Then she promptly takes the abuse of his family until he's murdered. I found her incredibly unlikeable along with the entirety of Vaughn's family and that meant I also didn't care about what happened to any of the characters.

If you have no desire to actually read the book, here's the reveal: It was Heidi. Heidi killed Vaughn seemingly with the reason that she saw Stella buying a pregnancy test (she wasn't actually pregnant, despite the false positive she got with said test) and couldn't take the fact that Vaughn was engaged and got her pregnant in addition to also getting one of the maids pregnant before he headed off to Chicago months earlier. Heidi was an ex of his and apparently couldn't take him being with anyone else, but it just did not play out the best way that it could have. There have been authors that basically did the same jealous ex-lover trope far better.

All in all, this book took too long to get started (the big thing happens around the 50% mark, if not later) and then the ending felt rushed. Between bad pacing, unrealistic characters (Stella also does a 180 around the halfway mark suddenly becoming that strong person I guess she was supposed to be from the beginning), and an unsatisfying reveal, this just was not a book I could enjoy.

[Achour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pageturning book and full of twist

The reader should be patient. Up to 50% of the ride, I did not know where the story was going. From there, il was then fast and paced and full of twist.

The book is revealing the debut of Stella Fall as investigator helping to solve a case whre she is personally involved.

I recommend this book for fans of mysteries.

Read: May, 2022
Format: Kindle

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Lukeman Literary for my Goodreads Giveaway copy.

This was a fairly quick read and it was a good read. I'm a little confused by the title though since Vaughn and Stella were not married nor does it say he was previously married so I think the title is a little off but other than that the story had a good pace and interesting characters. Each character has a little bit more back story and could have really made for a captivating series. I won't say I'm not going to read the future books in this series, I may because I could, but I just don't think after book 1 she's really that good of an investigator that she's off to Quantico. I would prefer a series of more dark secrets from Vaughn's family.

Overall I would recommend this book if you're looking for a quick read with a little bit of mystery and a twist. Not one that will keep you up all night but not one to necessary overlook either.

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Read this in just a couple of days. Some of the verbiage was strange to me though - almost like she was from somewhere other than the U.S. But the story was so good that I was able to overlook this. I can't wait for the next one to be published.

Stella thinks she's met the man of her dreams and 4 months later she leaves everything behind to follow Vaughn to his family's home where she looks forward to planning her wedding. Vaughn, however, becomes someone completely different once he returns home and his wealthy family treats Stella just awful. Stella wonders what she has gotten herself into. I don't want to give much more away but I really enjoyed this book. Ava Strong has several other book series and I look forward to trying those. I think I have found a new author. I haven't had a book capture me like that in a long time.

[Romaine Heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella thought by being engaged to the of her dreams and moving to his hometown things would be perfect starting their new lives together, but little did she know her nightmare has just begun.
While living with Vaughn in his family's cottage her world would come to an abrupt end.
After Vaughn was murdered his family became even more verbally abusive than before. With all evidence pointing to Stella she knew she was on her own trying to find the killer.
**The blurb speaks of Chris and Stella but the story is about Vaughn and Stella.
**Who was Vaughn's other wife?
Thank you Booksirens and the author for a digital copy. Read and reviewed voluntarily and the opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Ange Cantrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't bad. It was free on Kindle so I downloaded it to read while traveling. There were a couple of points where I was excited to keep reading and couldn't wait to see what happened on the next page, but for most of the book I knew what was coming. It was definitely an easy read, it made the waiting time in the airports and on flights so faster and was the perfect length to start and finish during travel, but I'm not sure I will continue with the Stella Fall series.

[Starla B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow, what a rollercoaster! I spent half the book mentally screaming "don't do it," "don't say it," "oh man, she did/said it". There were so many twists and turns. Many times I absolutely KNEW who the killer was...only to be proven wrong each time. I was completely surprised by the ending. I have to say, I am thrilled that this is the first in a series. My only complaint is that the next one isn't out yet. I need it! I guess I'll just try to be as patient as possible. In the meantime, I'm going to check out some of the other titles Ava Strong has out.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stella Fall is engaged to the man of her dreams...or is she? While living in Chicago, things are great, then they move to the east coast where his very rich family lives. Things don't go as planned from the get-go for Stella. Then someone is killed and it looks like Stella is the scapegoat for this. Can she prove she didn't kill anyone? I personally didn't think this was so much of a psychological thriller as just a murder mystery. I could tell how things were going to go right after the couple moved back east. The only thing I was surprised by was who was killed. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Charlotte Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stella 🤌🤌🤌🤌 I see why your crazy ass stayed. You was confused too and thought if you kept going it would get…well, less confusing 👀👀👀 it didn’t Stella! Halfway through I had to look and see if I was reading the right book cause ummmm Stella yall never once talked about another wife 🥴🥴 it’s in the title Ms. Stella. I was hoping for some spice Stella 🤠 I guess that’s what I get for experimenting with the kindle app. 😬😬 Damn…I thought I was fixin to read a raunchy ass book too 🤭🫣 I have no smutty smut smut life over here 🤣🤣🫠

[Black Butterfly · Rating 1 out of 5]

THIS WAS A VERY CONFUSING BOOK, THE TITLE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK, NOR WAS IT SUSPENSEFUL OR RIVETING. THE STORYLINE REMINDED ME OF "STEPFORD WIVES" MEET "ROSEMARY'S BABY" ALONG WITH TINY BITS OF "GASLIGHT & "JANE EYRE" (none of this in a good way). THE STORY AND STELLA WAS UNBELIEVABLE, SHE IS SO JUVINILLE, I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE COULD EVER BE A CRIMINAL PROFILER. THIS IS A SERIES AND I HAVE THE SECOND BOOK TOO READ (maybe) THE ONLY THING IS I'M GLAD THEY WERE FREE. ;<

[Jennifer Peer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this difficult to get into. It started out okay but quickly moved into an accusation of murder and a horrible in law situation. Also, who is Chris and how does the title tie in? The book did not retain my interest unfortunately.
**I received this book in exchange for an honest review.**

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

Simple, engaging, but predictable. The protagonist, Stella, is very bright and intuitive, how on earth does she make those train-wreck decisions perpetuating her dilemma?

[Adrienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I spent the entire book waiting to read about the other wife. Had he been married before? Was he currently married and keeping it a secret? Finished the book and still don't know where another wife fits into the plot. Do not read this book.

[Margaret E · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner

Very well written. Characters defined. Ending spectacular. So many possibilities that it was impossible to know who the culprit was.