The Wife by Shalini Boland
Genre: Domestic thriller, Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 8th September 2020
Published: 9th September 2020
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Zoe fainted on her wedding day, and she never knew why. She’s always felt sure something bad happened. Ten years later, she’s going to find out what…
It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Zoe was sitting in her hotel room, in her perfect white dress, looking forward to the moment when she would make kind, handsome Toby her husband.
Then, there was a blank.
They said she must have fainted, overcome with emotion. But nothing felt quite right afterward. Did something happen in that missing time?
Now, Toby and Zoe have two beautiful children and a perfect life. They’re planning their ten-year anniversary party for their family and friends. The invitations have been sent, the food ordered. They’re going back to the grand hotel where they got married.
But as the anniversary gets closer, it becomes clear not everyone is looking forward to celebrating. She catches Toby lying about where he’s been. One of her best friends seems to be ignoring her. And someone is spreading stories that might stop the party from happening at all.
Zoe is increasingly sure that she doesn’t have the full story. But does she want to know the truth, if it will destroy everything?
From the million-copy bestselling author, this totally gripping psychological thriller will have you hooked from the first page to the last jaw-dropping twist. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Wife Between Us.
MY REVIEW:
I've said it before...there is no such thing as a bad book by Shalini Boland. Even a bad book is a good one! She is one of my go-to authors and I can always rely on enjoying a fast paced thrilling read with a twist that only Shalini can deliver. Her talent for story telling and weaving twisted tangled webs always have me hooked from the first page right up until the very last. And THE WIFE didn't let me down.
Zoe fainted on her wedding day, waking with no recollection of what happened or what may have caused to her faint. All she remembers is a fuzziness that followed her throughout what was meant to be the happiest day of her life. Instead, the whole day passed by in a blur. Ten years later, Zoe and Toby are preparing to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary with a big celebration planned at the same hotel they had their wedding reception. Since she has a somewhat fuzzy recollection of that day, Zoe is determined that this anniversary party will be a success.
But the road to the party becomes a rocky one with strange occurrences. Beginning with the snubbing of her sister-in-law Madeline who is usually her closest confidante. Zoe has no idea why Madeline has suddenly started avoiding her, not answering her calls, not responding to her messages, pretending she isn't in when Zoe knocks when clearly she is. And then on a lunch break one day, she sees Toby and Madeline coming out of her house...together. Is this why Madeline has been avoiding her? Toby and her have been having an affair? And he popped home on his lunch break for a quick shag?
To make matters worse, she sees a woman who is the spitting image of her missing sister...not once, but twice! Dina left the UK when she was 16 to go travelling around Thailand but has not been heard from for ten years, since just after Zoe was married. Although the sisters have shared a rocky relationship, Zoe was disappointed that Dina couldn't get a flight back for her wedding. But they maintained sporadic contact via text messages. Until one day, they didn't. Dina's phone was suddenly disconnected from service and was never seen or heard from again. Zoe filed a missing person's report but in ten years there has been no news. Until now...when Zoe is convinced she has seen Dina on two separate occasions around the village. Has Dina come back? And what does she want with Zoe?
Zoe tries to confide in Toby but she isn't sure she can trust him now after seeing him with Madeline. Why is he suddenly lying to her? Zoe always thought she had the perfect marriage, but has Toby been playing her all along?
Then there is the return of her former best friend Cassie Barrington, who left the village for a job in PR to climb the ladder to become a rising reality TV star. What has brought Cassie back to Shaftesbury now? Particularly as she was always so eager to leave in the first place. She breezes into the salon where Zoe works as if they ar long lost friends when they are anything but...and Cassie knows it. She shafted Zoe for her own ambitious ends, making it clear she didn't care who she trod on to get to where she wanted. Zoe is in no hurry to see her now let alone serving her as a client. When all hell breaks loose over the pixie cut she insisted on having, Zoe realises Cassie hasn't changed in the slightest. But when Cassie lets on that she knows something about Dina, Zoe wonders if it will shed any light on her disappearance?
And then Friday night arrives. The party is in full swing at the grand Regis Hotel and everyone is enjoying themselves. Madeline still hasn't spoken to Zoe and so she thinks that now would be the best time to confront her.
But nothing will prepare Zoe for the can of worms she opens when Madeline makes a surprising confession...
And on a night that she was determined would be memorable, Zoe remembers everything that happened on her wedding day with clarity... But is she prepared for the truth? Even if it will destroy everything?
A wonderfully twisted domestic thriller from the domestic thriller queen herself, THE WIFE is a fast paced page turning thrill ride that will have you questioning everyone and their motives. It is highly addictive with a clever plot with plenty of twists to keep you on your toes.
No one does twists quite like Shalini. Just when you think you know what is going on, BAM! along comes one of her killer twists to turn everything on its head. And nothing, and no one, are safe from her poison pen. And as always, the short snappy chapters Shalini consistently gives us keeps the story moving at the breakneck speed to which we've become accustomed with Ms Boland.
Told in the past and present from Zoe's first person narrative, THE WIFE relives Zoe's wedding day and those subsequent in the past as well as the events leading up to the tenth wedding anniversary in the present. There are also a couple of chapters slotted in from 18 years previous, focusing on a young Zoe and her then friend Cassie. As each chapter rolls into the next, the story is slowly woven together to create the bigger and messier picture today.
My umpteenth Shalini book (I can't remember how many I've read offhand) but I know I have enjoyed them all - some more than others - but all of them are brilliant in their own unique way. And as always, I look forward to more domesticity played out by Shalini's hand as she carves out yet another wonderful domestic thriller.
Defintely recommend to anyone who enjoys fast paced domestic thrillers.
I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWife in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Shalini Boland lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two sons and their cheeky poodle-terrier cross. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers (in between school runs and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).
Her debut psychological thriller "The Girl from the Sea" published in June 2016 reached Number 1 in the US Audible charts. Her second thriller "The Best Friend" published in October 2016 reached a high of number 10 in Amazon's UK Kindle charts. It also achieved number 1 in all its categories and was a Kindle All Star title for several months in a row.
She is also not a morning person.
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10 Things My Readers Might Not Know About Me
My dreams (nightmares) nearly always involve the characters and settings that I’m currently writing about. For example, last night I dreamt that I’d abducted a baby and tried to hide him in my husband’s car, but I couldn’t get the doors to lock. It was awful! Maybe I’d have a better night’s sleep if I wrote rom coms.
I love all fruit except bananas. The smell, texture, taste – ugh. No. Just no. Keep that evil fruit away from me.
I write for a living, and so does my husband, but neither of our children are particularly avid readers. My eldest is dyslexic and has never enjoyed reading or writing. My youngest quite enjoys it, but has to be pretty much forced into trying a new book. How did this happen? I have no idea. We always read to them when they were younger. We have a houseful of all kinds of books. Ah, well, I’ll keep trying.
When I was nineteen, I hitchhiked at night in Israel and ended up in the middle of nowhere convinced I was going to die. Turns out I only needed to walk another two minutes to find myself back at the kibbutz where I was staying. I’ve never hitchhiked since.
My writing companion is a little Poodle/Lhasa Apso/Terrier cross called Jess who sits at my feet while I type. Sometimes she sneaks up onto the sofa and rests her chin on my keyboard. I’m not sure I could write without her nearby.
When we were in our twenties, my husband and I set up VW car shows. Our events were all jinxed. Over the course of six shows we had four instances of major theft, a forest fire, the worst storm on record, someone set up illegal rave, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, and an actual bomb scare with police cordoning off the area and evacuating everyone. Plus, we only made a profit during our first show, the other times we just about broke even. Not a huge success.
Nearly all my novels are set in and around the area of Dorset where I live. I moved here when I was eighteen, but I feel like this is my true home. I love it – the towns, beaches and countryside are beautiful.
Good coffee and chocolate are my weaknesses.
I used to be a singer songwriter and once sang on stage at The Brixton Academy in front of four thousand people. I don’t know how I did it. I’m such an introvert these days.
I feel very lucky to write for a living. Every day, I’m truly thankful and appreciate that I’ve finally discovered what it is I love to do – it only took me forty years to work it out! It isn’t always easy and some days I need a kick up the backside to stop procrastinating and get working. Other days are overwhelming and I do get anxious about what my readers will think of each book. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. I only hope people will continue to enjoy my books and allow me to keep doing what I love.
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