#BookReview The Guilty Wife by Elle Croft #TheGuiltyWife @elle_croft @orionbooks #NetGalley

WIFE. MISTRESS. MURDERER. I’m not guilty of murder. Bethany Reston is happily married. But she’s also having an affair with a famous client. And no one can ever know. But that doesn’t make me innocent. When Bethany’s lover is brutally murdered, she has to hide her grief from everyone. But someone knows her secret. And then one day the threats begin. With an ever-growing pile of evidence pointing to her as the murderer, the only way she can protect her secrets is to prove her innocence. And that means tracking down a killer.

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The Guilty Wife is an excellent debut novel: a taut, well-written thriller which is compelling and easy to read and rips along at breakneck speed. I can see it being a perfect holiday/beach read.

“Women, it seemed, weren’t naturally prone to cheating. Women, that is, apart from me”

I must admit, I wasn’t sure for the first couple of chapters: Calum, the adulter-ee, seemed like a total prick and Bethany a bit of a whiner. In the event, Calum wasn’t really given a chance to redeem himself but Bethany grew completely as a character as the story developed.

There were several shocking twists and turns, when the story escalated into ever-more-dramatic directions and, after the initial scene-setting, I raced through the book, desperate to know what was going to happen next and who was responsible. It really is a thrilling story and I could easily see it being made into a film or a TV series.

I kept thinking I knew where the story was going and suspected literally everybody at one time or another. I did actually land on the right person, temporarily, at one point, but I was only guessing and the true conclusion was still a complete surprise and was really well presented!

I totally enjoyed this gripping thriller and am already looking forward to Elle Croft’s next book, The Other Sister.

As always, I am extremely grateful to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC of The Guilty Wife.

If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book: Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US