My Husband's Girlfriend by Sheryl Browne
(formerly titled "The Whisper")
Genre: Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 28th March 2021
Published: 7th April 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
She told my little boy a secret and now he’s gone…
Tucking her little boy Ollie into bed one night, Sarah notices his beloved teddy bear, which she bought him when he was born, is missing and in its place is a new toy given to him by her ex-husband’s new girlfriend, Laura. When she asks Ollie about it, he begins to shift uncomfortably, before whispering ‘Laura told me a big secret and she said I can never tell you’.
Sarah’s heart sinks. But when she raises her concerns, nobody wants to listen. To everyone else, Laura is the perfect stepmother and Sarah is just the jealous ex-wife. But Sarah knew the moment she met Laura she couldn’t trust her, from her overly perfect stepmother act to the way she evaded questions about her own history.
Soon Ollie is asking to spend more time with his dad and Laura, and shrinking away from Sarah. Then, when she calls to him in the garden one day, Ollie doesn’t answer back. The garden is silent. Ollie’s sandpit is empty. Ollie has disappeared.
If you love a book that keeps twisting and turning, then you’ll love My Husband’s Girlfriend – it’s guaranteed to keep you up all night. Perfect for fans of Claire McGowan, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Sheryl Browne's exciting new domestic thriller MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND.
Where do I start? I totally loved this book! I have read most of Sheryl's thrillers and this one is up there as one of the best, alongside "The New Girlfriend" (which is pretty hard to beat). But MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND was so bloody brilliant that I read it in one sitting, finishing at 3am.
Is it anxiety, jealousy or gut instinct?
When Sarah's ex-husband Steve meets and moves in with his new girlfriend, she insists on meeting Laura first before their 3 year old son Ollie can visit. This is only natural since, as his mother, Sarah only wants what's best for her child. The meeting goes well, or so Sarah thought, until Steve berates her asking did she have to give Laura such a hard time. But Sarah never thought she did. In fact, she quite liked Laura and sympathised with her obvious nervousness and stammering. So what impression did she give Steve after their meeting then?
Without any further reasonable concerns, Ollie went to his first sleepover with his daddy and Laura. Feeling at a bit of a loss by his absence, Sarah enjoys a quiet night with her police officer boyfriend Joe, who she's known since high school. But when Ollie returns on Sunday evening, he begins to exhibit strange behaviour. Not only that, his comfort toy he's had since he was six months old seems to have been replaced with a new toy Laura bought him called Mr Whale. Sarah is uneasy. Ollie has never been parted from Bunny and will not sleep without him...but he appears to drift off just as easily with his replacement. So what happened to Bunny? When she asks Ollie about it, he says that Bunny has a 'portant job to do at daddy and Laura's - guarding his toy box. And yet, Sarah is still uneasy.
Then she hears Ollie chattering away to himself in his room one day about starfish and superheroes. Standing outside his bedroom door, it soon becomes clear that Ollie is having a conversation with an imaginary friend as she can only hear one side. She smiles, thinking it endearing that he has such a vivid imagination. But then her phone beeps alerting her son to her presence outside his door and all goes quiet. When she enters the room, Ollie is huddled in his bed strangely silent. Sarah asks him about his new friend to which Ollie whispers "It's a secret" and that he wasn't allowed to tell her. Sarah is troubled that her ex-husband's new girlfriend appeared to be telling her son to keep secrets from his mother. Not only that...but his room at his dad's and Laura's place seemed to be identical to his own room at home. From the same wallpaper to the same toy box to the same bed. And then the two items she was intending on getting for Ollie's upcoming 4th birthday, Laura then went out and bought for him. What was she up to? Was she trying to replace Sarah in her son's affections?
But whenever Sarah tried to raise her concerns with Joe or Steve, she was met with resistance. No one seemed to believe her or take her concerns seriously. But Sarah was uneasy. Something wasn't right. She had a right to be anxious where her son was concerned. Was she just jealous, as Joe and Steve seemed to think she was? Or was her mother's instinct telling her that something was definitely off?
Waking from a nightmare...but was it just a bad dream?
Laura fell in love with Ollie the first moment she saw him, with his halo of blonde hair and his beautiful blue eyes. She wanted him to be happy with her and Steve that she couldn't do enough for him. She made his bedroom identical to the one he had at home and gave him a new comfort toy to take to bed to replace the bunny whose ear had mysteriously been cut off. Instead of reading his usual "Never Ask" bedtime stories, she would instead tell him a special story of a different type of superhero who was just like him and who rescued the fish and starfish. But this story was a secret...and he must never tell anyone.
But Laura has secrets of her own. Secrets that if one would dig deep enough, they would uncover all she has been trying to escape from. And she mustn't let those secrets come out. For they will destroy her...and put Ollie in danger. And she must, above all costs, keep Ollie safe.
One of the main themes to MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND is the perceptions we have others and that we shouldn't judge them on first impressions. Everyone has a story that we know nothing about and we end up creating false narratives before learning anything about them. This is the case with Sarah and Laura. Sarah's uneasiness and constant paranoia (for good reason) kept her from seeing the bigger picture where Laura was concerned. And Laura's inability to face the truth of her past and recover her repressed memories kept her from trusting...well...anyone. Add Laura's overbearing, ghastly and somewhat bizarre mother "call me Sherry", who consistently puts Laura down at every turn, and we have a complexity of problems that give Sarah good reason to be worried.
A slow burn to begin with, MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND builds up a tension that soon becomes palpable. By 15% in the pace is ramped up a notch that by 30% you can't put the book down.
From the beginning, it may seem as if the picture we are given is clear, and all the pieces fit together nicely. But Sheryl has woven yet another intricate tale that leads us off on a tangent we aren't expecting...should we not be paying attention. Fortunately, I was. Unable to hoodwink me this time, I figured out the underlying riptide that was otherwise a surprising twist but I still enjoyed every minute of the ride.
Told from the various perspectives of Sarah, Laura, Joe and Steve, each of the characters are well developed and cleverly portrayed. You feel just the right amount of sympathy to outrage as well as a range of conflicting emotions throughout as the story moves at the rate of knots. Sarah wants nothing more than to keep her child safe while Laura is the product of her childhood environment. It is easy to sympathise with both women...but is that all there is? Or is there something deeper, darker and more sinister at play?
MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND is easily one of my favourite domestic thrillers by Sheryl Browne. Not only is it cleverly written but this tense and sometimes dark thriller is so engaging that I could not put it down until I turned the last page. I simply HAD to read it in one sitting...it is THAT good! And thank you for not abusing or killing off any any animals while Sarah worked at the shelter. I can't abide any animal's death...even in a good story.
Perfect for domestic thriller fans and those of Shalini Boland, KL Slater, Lisa Jewell and Ruth Heald, MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND is a must read I have no hesitation in recommending.
I would like to thank #SherylBrowne, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #MyHusbandsGirlfriend in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
When she's not writing Sheryl can usually be found messing about on the water in her little narrowboat, Aquaduck, which she says she can generally be found falling off and she admits to being a bit accident prone.
Sheryl lives in Worcestershire with her partner and a variety of disabled dogs, of whom she says "my furry-friends give me back much more than I could ever give them. I really wouldn’t be me without them." According to readers of her thrillers, she also apparently makes an excellent psychopath.
Thank you so much, Stina! For reading and posting a brilliant review - and for staying up until the wee hours! I hope you get a luxurious day in bed soon! :) xx
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