The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne
Genre: Domestic thriller
Read: 7th February 2019
Purchase: Amazon
★★★ 3.5 stars
THE SECOND WIFE is the latest domestic thriller by Sheryl Browne and, though I've heard great things regarding her books, this is the first of hers that I have read. I do have a few of her others in my "to read" pile which I look forward to tackling.
Rebecca and Nicole have been lifelong friends since university and - whilst Rebecca lives abroad in France and Nicole remained in Britain the two exchange texts, emails and letters regularly - life has treated each of them differently. Nicole found herself in an abusive marriage and felt she would never trust a man again. Then she meets Richard. He is so different to anyone she has met. He is a complete gentlemen, so loving and caring, and not to mention, completely good looking. After a whirlwind romance they are soon married.
But cracks begin to appear when, on their wedding day, an event occurs with the son of one of Nicole's friends and Richard's 22 year old daughter Olivia. She claims he tried to rape her and Richard is quickly at his daughter's side to calm her. Nicole is speechless but Richard is fuming, ordering Nicole's friend Peter and his son Zach to leave immediately and to never return! So distraught is Olivia that Richard and Nicole decide to take her on their honeymoon to Bali, but what is meant to be a romantic time for the newlyweds ends up being a lonely time for Nicole whilst Richard spends his days with Olivia. Nicole's tries to broach the topic of it being their honeymoon and wanting to spend some time together but Richard dismisses her as being selfish claiming Olivia needs him right now.
Things do no improve when they return home. Olivia moves into their new home and always seems to be there when Nicole and Richard try to find a little alone time. It is obvious from the start that Olivia manipulates her father to get what she wants and Richard is quick to appease his "hurt" daughter. Soon Olivia behaves completely different when both Richard and Nicole are home as opposed to when it is just Nicole. When she tries to speak to Richard about it, he refuses to believe what Nicole tells him about his daughter and she soon begins to think she is going mad. The only person Nicole can talk to and confide in is Rebecca. But she's hundreds of miles away in France and, while they continue to exchange emails and texts on the matter, Nicole soon begins to feel completely alone. In the end, Nicole feels so completely helpless she commits suicide.
Rebecca flies over from France to attend her best friend's funeral. She is understandably distraught but at the same time wonders what really took place to lead Nicole to end her life. Immediately befriended by Olivia, Rebecca is asked back to the house and desperate to find out what really happened, Rebecca accepts the invitation. There she meets Richard whom she at once finds to be warm and friendly and incredibly attractive. She instinctively saw what Nicole saw in him and, despite her reservations, Rebecca found herself warming to him immediately. They become closer and he confides in her about Nicole's "mental illness" which claimed her life.
When Rebecca announces she is selling her cottage in France and returning to England top be nearer to her son, Richard offers her a place to stay while she is house hunting. Accepting his offer, she thought it a perfect opportunity to discover what really happened to Nicole and it isn't long before Rebecca finds herself stepping into her friend's shoes. But there is a difference. Rebecca is a strong independent character and won't succumb to Olivia's ploys of manipulation. She soons see Olivia for who she is but remains friendly and "oblivious" to her manipulations. And just when you think you know what is going on, everything turns and delivers a shocking twist!
THE SECOND WIFE is told primarily through the eyes of Rebecca and Nicole. Nicole's POV is told through her emails and texts to Rebecca from the past six months or so. As I can't really determine when the "present day" actually takes place (as it doesn't actually say anything that indicates it) I'm unsure if there is a time difference of six or 12 months. Nicole's story unfolds through every alternate chapter to Rebecca's for the first half before the funeral afterwhich it is then set in the present day and told from Rebecca, Richard and Olivia's POV.
I found the first half a little slow and uneventful and it only succeeded in angering me where Olivia was concerned. It wasn't until halfway through that it began to get really interesting, despite knowing some of what was to come. There were still surprises in store, that's for sure. I found it difficult to get through to begin with as Olivia was such a hateful character, it was hard to see past that to get to the real story.
Unoriginal in name, I was wondering who exactly was the second wife Browne was referring to by the title. And yet THE SECOND WIFE is full of bitterness, rivalry, jealousy, betrayal and deceit, making it a compulsive and addictive read.
I would like to thank #SherylBrowne, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSecondWife in exchange for an honest review.
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