Happily Married by Victoria Jenkins
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 11th May 2023
Audio Links:
Published: 11th May 2023
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
My husband is keeping secrets. I’m watching his every move…
Jake and I were childhood sweethearts. Strong, dependable and with a smile that melts my heart, he is the perfect husband and father to our beautiful little daughter. We have our money troubles – but getting a lodger, Kara, calms the panic I feel about our bills. Jake is reluctant but what choice do we have?
I’m relieved that Kara is so sweet, playing endless games of hide and seek with Elsie and settling into our home. But when I catch Jake and Kara sitting close together on the sofa one evening, they jump apart when I walk into the room. Jake promises it’s nothing…
When I search Kara’s room, I know for sure. My husband is keeping a terrible secret. And it’s much, much worse than I imagined.
Confronting him will tear our marriage apart, but I’ll do anything to protect my precious daughter.
Even if it means putting on a smile as I greet Kara at the breakfast table.
Even if it means lying to my husband’s face.
Even if it means someone has to die…
For fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Housemaid, this is a psychological thriller with a mind-blowing twist you’ll never see coming.
MY THOUGHTS:
A husband with a secret...a wife dying to tell...
All the recent books of late of brides and weddings and being happily married...I'm sensing a theme here. But then, not all seem to be all that happy, do they? Even when they think they are. But when a couple's marriage is on the verge of breaking point, even the slightest push can set all sorts in motion. Which is exactly what happened here.
HAPPILY MARRIED is really anything but. It's a book that is difficult to review without inadvertently revealing something and it makes you question everything you thought you knew.
Natalie and Jake were childhood sweethearts, having been together since they were fourteen years old. Now almost two decades on, they live on Natalie's family's dairy farm trying to make a living and only just scraping by. The pandemic hit them hard, then their cattle fell ill and money they make is barely putting food on the table let alone making a decent living. Farming is a 24/7 job and sometimes Natalie has to wonder if it is all worth it. So she has the idea to let their spare room out to a lodger, to help make ends meet, but Jake is reluctant. But then...what choice do they have?
Enter Kara. A young vivacious woman who works in IT remotely since it became "a thing". But she's also attractive and Natalie isn't imagining things when she knows Jake has noticed too. And when she comes home one evening to find them sitting a little close together, sharing a bottle of wine and a few laughs, suspicion fills her soul. They jump apart a little too quickly, a look of guilt on their faces. Jake promises me it's nothing...but I'm not so sure.
She's not imagining it. Jake has been distant with her for months. He flinches whenever she touches him. He won't look her in the eye; refuses to talk to her. What is she to think?
And then strange things start happening. Natalie faints and ends up in hospital. Their 3 year old daughter Elsie collapses from sheer tiredness that is not normal. Natalie begins to misplace things, forget things and imagine things. She has been under enormous amounts of stress of late...Is she really starting to lose her grip with reality?
This was one very cleverly plotted tale. Just when you think you know whats going on, along comes a killer twist that turns everything on its head and you're left going - "what the...? what did I just read?" It will make you stop where you are, flick back a few pages or chapters to re-read them to see if you read it correctly. Well, I sure didn't see THAT coming! But once that was made known, the rest easily fell into place for me. After that twist, Jenkins couldn't shock me again. I figured the rest of it out easily enough.
HAPPILY MARRIED is a fast paced addictive page turner that is easily devoured in one sitting, which I pretty much did. The style is simple and easy to follow, the chapters short and snappy and just the way I like them. The multiple perspectives can be confusing at times and many have stated they believe it would have been helpful it each narrative was identified, including me...but there was a reason for that. But it easily enough identified with Natalie in the third person and Jake's "bit on on the side" in the first person.
Victoria Jenkins has really found her niche in the psychological thriller genre after her successful King and Lane police procedural series. I have enjoyed many of her standalone thrillers and this one is no exception.
Overall, HAPPILY MARRIED is a compelling fast paced thriller where none of the narrators appear reliable and you can trust no one.
I would like to thank #VictoriaJenkins, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HappilyMarried in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
The series of novels features Detective Constable Chloe Lane and Detective Inspector Alex King, who are the lead investigative characters that solve some mysterious murders in their hometown.
Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020, followed by The Playdate, The New Family and The Bridesmaids.
Victoria lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based.
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