His Other Wife by Nicole Trope
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 15th June 2022
Published: 21st June 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
She has my husband. She has my child. She has my life.
I never thought I would end up here. Alone, in a cold one-bedroom apartment, only seeing my precious daughter once a week.
Another woman is living the life that was once mine. I wish I was still married to my ex-husband, the love of my life. I dream of tucking my five-year-old child into her ballerina bed sheets every night. I miss living in a beautiful house, the perfect family home, with a winding staircase and a sprawling garden.
I’d do anything to be with my family again. To start over and prove to them that I’ve changed, that I won’t lose control like before.
But when I get my second chance, the vicious messages come. The noises at night. The feeling of being watched. It’s happening all over again. I know I’m not going mad, but no one will believe me. I don’t know if I even believe myself.
All I wanted was my life back. But now my life is under threat – and my darling little girl is in danger…
A totally addictive, twist-packed psychological thriller about the lengths we go to for the people we love. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty and Adele Parks.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicole Trope's creepiest thriller yet HIS OTHER WIFE.
“Can you come and help us please, Daddy? Mummy says the whispering man is back and she’s scared.”
Oh. My. WOW! Nicole Trope (fellow Aussie here...Oi! Oi! Oi!) is one of my favourite authors. I don't need to read the premise for her books before grabbing them because I just know I'm going to enjoy the ride she takes me on. And HIS OTHER WIFE does not disappoint. It is so different from her more domestic family drama genre that it ventures into the psychological creepy thriller vein complete with unreliable narrators, gaslighting, questionable choices and a twist on the whole psychological mental health aspect that will have you turning the pages long into the night. It did me...and here I sit at 2.30am having read this book in one evening wondering where to start to review this twisted tale.
Although they have been divorced for two years now, Gideon remains at his ex-wife's behest as she has struggled over the years and he has never stopped caring for or even loving her. But now in the middle of the night, he receives a frantic phone call from his 5 year old daughter Emily summoning him to save her and her mother from "the whispering man".
Sarah is delirious from lack of sleep, her insomnia causing hallucinations and believing she must stay awake to protect her daughter Emily from the whispering man who plagues her at night, scratching at the windows, invading her mind and whispering thoughts how everything is her fault. She doesn't dare fall asleep in case he comes for her. Her spiral into a deep dark depression and anxiety began when she miscarried three years ago and then lost both her parents in quick succession in the months after. She didn't see they were suffering and as she slept, they were taken from her. Now, Sarah believes that if she sleeps now the whispering man will return to take the only thing she has left - Emily.
Now Gideon is engaged to Charlotte who adores Emily as if she were her own. So when Emily summons him in the early hours, he knows that this time Sarah needs help. Arriving at her apartment and calming her down, he calls the paramedics and has her sectioned in a private clinic while he takes Emily back to his place to be cared for by him and Charlotte. Whilst Sarah is in the clinic, Gideon and Charlotte celebrate their marriage with a small private ceremony with Emily as their bridesmaid. Together this family of three are happy and their home is a haven of peace.
After three months, Sarah is ready to return home to a new flat that Gideon has rented for her and Charlotte has decorated. She knows that access to Emily will be limited at first as she has to prove herself as a competent mother but the plan is that they share custody of Emily with two weeks on and two weeks off each. Emily is, of course, thrilled to see her mother again and begs for a sleepover to which Gideon acquiesces. But when Charlotte arrives the following morning to collect Emily, she finds Sarah dishevelled and tired with dark circles beneath her eyes and the place a mess. Charlotte at once assesses that Sarah is not ready to return to motherhood just yet. But Gideon disagrees. He sees Sarah is doing really well and that there are no signs of her previous troubles.
Sarah is a bone of contention for Charlotte. She is his ex-wife and she, Charlotte, is his wife now. So why is it he spends most of his free time talking to or about Sarah? Why is spending so much time with her? And why is he not as concerned for Emily's welfare as she is? Despite her efforts to hide the fact, Sarah is obviously struggling and yet Gideon refuses to believe it. She doesn't think Emily is safe around her and says so but Gideon is adamant. Sarah is Emily's mother and she will always be Emily's mother.
And then the whisperings start again. Strange noises in the night. A knock on the door when no one is there. Has the whispering man come back...?
It is difficult to tell just who is telling the truth in this creepy psychological thriller. Sarah grapples with reality and the fact that she could truly be losing her mind as Charlotte seems to have an unhealthy obsession with Emily. While Gideon is caught in the middle of this love triangle trying to support both women but not knowing who to trust or who to believe or know exactly what is going on.
Told through Sarah, Gideon and Charlotte's narratives, HIS OTHER WIFE is a psychological thriller like no other, teetering on the edge of the domestic genre with a disturbingly creepy undertone throughout. Nothing is as it seems in this tangled web. You think you know what's happening but you don't! Is the whisper man real? Is Sarah really recovered or is she hallucinating again? Does Charlotte really have Emily’s best interests at heart? Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Who is keeping secrets? Who is manipulating who?
What a wild ride! I read this book in one evening and finished in the wee hours, I could not put it down! HIS OTHER WIFE is the type of twisted thriller that really messes with your head as you try to untangle the truth from the lies to uncover what is really going on. Look closely and carefully, and you may just work it out.
A fast paced read that had me turning the pages as the intensity built, HIS OTHER WIFE is fun, entertaining and thoroughly addictive that had me hooked from the very first page. What a crazy ride! Absolutely brilliant. Loved every moment of it. And that ending...chilling.
I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HisOtherWife in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story.
She is now published by Bookouture and is an Amazon top 100 bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.
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