When Greg's wife returns to the small tourist town of her early adulthood, she begins to behave dressing down, wearing her hair in a bun, avoiding all the local businesses.
His suspicions are fueled when he goes to the town watering hole himself and meets some of the town's denizens. When he explains what has brought him to Walla Beach, the characters in the bar seem to think his wife Beth is a woman named Liza - and Liza had quite a reputation.
When a mysterious envelope - containing only a USB key and a dozen video files - arrives at their doorstep, Greg opens a Pandora's he has a cameraman's view into his wife's past, in all of its sordid details.
It's a conundrum, because whoever left this footage left no explanation and no demand, leaving Greg to navigate the collision of the past and present, with his future on the line.
This is a full-length, stand-alone novel, with plenty of details about a wild past, and a couple's journey into hotwifing in the present. Enjoy!
I’ve read this before in at least two of Ms. Butler’s previous books. Wife has sordid past, husband unaware, they go back to her roots, and her past is revealed. After that we learn the husband is turned on by it. This is that book again and again (and yet again).
Sordid Past is well written and has better character development and nuanced plot than most of Ms. Butler’s other books, but sadly, it’s pretty much the same as the others. This won’t stop me from buying more Butler’s books but is will prevent me from giving them more than Two Stars.
I’m a big fan of Arnica’s books and have read almost 40 of her stories. Unfortunately I didn’t like any of the characters in this tale. So I stopped reading after 100+ pages, skimmed the rest and read the end and the Epilogue.
There was an interesting twist in the end, but not a good enough one to encourage me to read the remainder.
There was also an interesting insight in this book that you don’t often see in other books. We often think there are solid reasons for people doing what they do. This story highlights how people do things without really understanding why. They just did it because …?? This story in part illustrates the impact random, thoughtless (in this case, genuinely without thought) acts have on the lives of others.
The book is well written, as all Arnica books are, and thus the 4 Star rating. I usually just jump in and just pay for new offerings by Arnica because she has such a positive track record with me. However, after reading part of the Corrupting April series and this book, I’m feeling Arnica is swinging to mindless sex rather than thoughtful characters enjoying themselves as they develop. Likely, I will be one degree more cautions going forward.
Husband and wife Greg and Beth think they know each other, but it turns out both have dark secrets buried deep.
When Beth’s Aunt and Uncle pass away tragically and leave her their estate, she is forced to go back to her roots to deal with the legacy.
As soon as they arrive in Walla Beach criminal prosecutor Greg notices big changes in his stunning wife’s behaviour. She becomes uncharacteristically moody, dresses down and is reluctant to go into town.
After a few days, Greg gets fed up and ventures into town on his own for a drink. The locals he meets there describe a very different Beth, notoriously known as Liza back then. He also meets her ex Zack.
The contents of a plain package left at their door crudely exposes the reason for Beth’s reluctance to come back. Despite the blackmail implications, it is time for the couple to reveal their shocking kink to each other.
Well worth a read but, just falls short of the usual 5-star rating for this author.
Interesting book… but in my opinion flawed. While there were hot scenes in the story, the two main protagonists behaved too inconsistently for the story to have any sense of reality. But the story was well written and well edited.
This one is somewhat unique in this genre. The author is a good writer and keeps you turning the pages. As far as the story goes it had its highs and lows. It keeps you hanging and waiting for the big reveal but then goes a little crazy. The wife’s slut factor is a bit over the top and it’s hard to really like her. They both say the obligatory love word but the author never really established much of a connection between them. That left me unsettled about the whole deal. I would have liked the wife to show a little more repentance and acknowledge the shame factor. Also, the ending was too abrupt and it really needed a couple of more chapters.
Easily, one of the best written erotic tales I’ve ever read. Parts of it are disturbing, but it’s a masterpiece and undoubtedly the best thing Ms Butler I’ve read so far. It’s nearly impossible to put down. I’m not totally satisfied with the ending. Beth is/was completely ‘owned’ by Zach. She honored that by restricting access to her husband after over ten years of marriage. After Greg’s total witnessing of her Continued Fidelity, to Zach, he should look her in the eye and Take what is his. She is a submissive and only Zach understood it and completely explored the privilege of truly dominating her. The characters, the dialogue, both internal and among the involved parties, rings true. It’s excellent. This story is written tight enough to be gripping even if it were edited to a PG rating. Set aside several hours before you start this book. Stopping in the middle is pure torture. ,…and then there’s the Hot sections…. Nobody does those better than Ms Butler. This is absolutely a keeper. Worth rereading.
Arnica has nailed this story. Greg and Beth have a great marriage. Due to an inheritance they return to the town where she grew up. Beth is a beautiful wife. Greg is her devoted beta husband. Arnica unravels their deepest, darkest desires. Great plot. Beautifully developed characters. Much more spoils a great read with too much information. However, if you enjoy lifestyle books this is a must read! Five white hot pulsing shooting stars.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
First of all, I am a fan of Arnica Butler. This one really leans on the hotpast fantasy that many men have: The love of hearing of his current partner exploits of the past.
And what a past she has as it is all revealed in vivid detail as the story unwinds'
Married woman returns to her old hometown to settle the estate of a relative, afraid of her husband discovering her secret sorted past She was young carefree and horny, up for anything that got her off? Sex was new and discoveries of intense new pleasures of sex everywhere! Her crush at the time a sleazy character named Zack who led her deeper and deeper into sexual deprecating acts in constant search for the next orgasmic high! Now a tape shows up at her deceased Aunt's house showing her preforming in all her naked glory as Zack films her eagerly screwing numerous hung guys fucking her senceless! What to do to save her new life and marriage! She finally confessed to her husband and is surprised at his reaction as well as the only option she seems to have to get the tapes back The sex is wildly over the top but plausible if you suspend reality. To say she is into the plan is putting it mildly! Buy, read and enjoy.