Husband and Wife by K.L. Slater
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 21st November 2023
Published: 3rd November 2023
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
We promised to keep each other’s secrets. Until they found the body…
The Wife:
My husband and I are fighting for our lives in hospital after a terrible car accident. But despite my pain, all I can think about is what our families will find behind our front door. The scarf that has been all over the news, belonging to a dead young woman with honey-coloured hair. I have to speak to the police before my husband can…
The Husband:
I’m drifting in and out of consciousness, but when I hear my wife talking to the police, accusing me of the murder of an innocent woman, a cold fear grips me. I know I’ve got a temper. That I’ve not always been faithful. Will they think I killed her?
I think of my wife’s jealous streak, of the lies she’s told our loved ones. But if I tell the whole truth, they’ll look into her past. And that will destroy me, too…
Two people fighting for their lives. Two people with secrets to hide. Who will you believe?
A completely compelling and twisty page-turner from number 1 bestselling author K.L. Slater. Fans of Lisa Jewell and Freida McFadden will be hooked by Husband and Wife.
MY THOUGHTS:
"I have something very important to tell you. But you mustn't tell anyone..."
Kim Slater continues to thrive with her deluge of thrillers and this one she well and truly had me hoodwinked. Though when the villain was revealed I was surprised but not shocked...because everything just fell into place with that one piece of knowledge. All throughout, with her sleight of hand deftly moving the pieces, Kim weaves a tale which pitches wife against husband and husband against wife. And despite having the facts laid out before us, I was still blindly lead up a false trail wanting so badly for the villain to be someone else entirely. And while she was deftly moving the pieces behind the scenes, I didn't see the truth until she spelled it out for us. And it had been hiding in plain sight.
Nicola and Cal are excited to be babysitting their seven year old grandson, a rare occurrence given that their relationship with their son and his wife appear to be somewhat strained. But a night out at a dinner dance his firm is holding, Parker delivers their son to his parents on their way out for the evening and into the night. His wife Luna naturally remains in the car and Nicola can't understand why the woman never makes an effort with them. But regardless, for Parker's and Barney's sakes she tries to offer an olive branch but it's swept away each time.
Before leaving, Parker whispers to his mother that he needs to talk to her the following day when his father was at work and Luna safely back at home. His words "I have something very important to tell you. But you mustn't tell anyone" have her intrigued and pondering what could be so important that he only wished to confide in her. And without his wife's knowledge.
But the conversation was never to take place. Because at 2am the following morning, she's shaken awake by Cal and the strobing blue lights lighting up their bedroom. Downstairs the police rang the doorbell. There had been a very serious road traffic accident in which their son Parker and his wife Luna had been seriously injured.
Leaving Cal at home to look after their sleeping grandson, Nicola rushes the hospital to find out just how serious this accident was and in what condition her son was. When she arrives, Parker is in the trauma unit and is barely coherent. Knowing that his condition is critical and that Luna is also injured, Nicola realises that it's left up to her to take over the care of her grandson Barney in his parents' absence and makes arrangements with the nursing staff to access Parker's belongings so that she can go to their house to collect some clothes and toys for Barney.
As she pulls up in front of her son's illustrious detached home, she cannot believe what she is seeing. Why hasn't Parker told them? Understandably frazzled by this latest revelation, Nicola swiftly enters the house, disarms the alarm and goes in search of Barney's room to pack a few things. As she wanders the rooms she continually tells herself "I will not snoop...I will not snoop...wait! What?" But the revelations inside the house were nothing compared to what she found when she decided to put their bin out...a piece of evidence that links her son to a murdered woman. This cannot be happening.
Now, armed with this new knowledge, Nicola scrambles to protect her family.
The story unfolds through various timelines and a handful of characters. While not in a straightforward timeline, it goes back and forth in a mish mash of times that would normally confuse a reader but made perfect sense given what was really unfolding. As the story progressed, the more questions were raised. I had my suspicions but this time I was way off base.
I love that Kim's books continue to involve DI Helena Price and her DS Brewster. It makes them feel almost like a series without being a series. And you don't get bogged down in all that police procedural info when all you want is a fun, entertaining and interesting thriller to devour.
Another addictive read from Kim sure to thrill fans alike!
I would like to thank #KLSlater, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HusbandAndWife in exchange for an honest review.
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kim's first adult psychological thriller for Bookouture, ‘Safe with Me’, actually started life as a dissertation on her English & Creative Writing degree in 2010. She says "the creepy voice of Anna came to me strong and insistent . . . she wanted to be written, she wouldn’t go away. I’m so glad I listened!"
Kim first became published writing Young Adult fiction for Macmillan Children’s Books under the name Kim Slater. Her award-winning YA debut, SMART, started life as a short story for her MA in Creative Writing in 2012.
Kim is now a full-time writer. She has a daughter and two stepsons and live with her husband Mac in Nottingham and Yorkshire.
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