EXTRACT: The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

 

The Wife's Mistake by Lorna Dounaeva

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 19th February 2024

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Published: 19th February 2024

DESCRIPTION:

I have the life I’ve always dreamed of… but how long will it be until the past catches up with me?

I can’t believe how far my husband, Hayden, and I have come. I never expected that one day I’d be sipping a steaming coffee over our marble countertop or finishing off a humid summer day with a dip in our sparkling pool. But even though we’re living in paradise, I’ve never felt so distant from my husband. I’m certain he’s hiding something from me. Before, I would have confided in my friends and family but in this new life of ours, I’m terrified to trust anyone…

Now, with Hayden out again, my evening is quiet. From our floor-to-ceiling windows, I watch the pool water ripple under the raindrops. But I swear I see movement beyond the garden hedges. I try to shake my fears away, I must be imagining things. That’s what Hayden would say.

But then I find the hand-delivered note and my heart pounds in my chest as I scan the neat words.

You don’t deserve this life.

My blood runs cold. I thought I’d kept all my secrets well hidden, but now as I look out to the still night, I realise it’s only a matter of time until my past catches up with me – a past my husband still has no idea about. I know what I have to do to protect my perfect new life, but those around me have no idea how far I’m willing to go to keep it…

Utterly gripping and full of jaw-dropping twists, fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell and Daniel Hurst will be completely hooked by The Wife’s Mistake!

EXTRACT:

PROLOGUE 

The wind howled. It sent chills down the police officer’s spine as he approached the pool. A cherry-red Ferrari stuck out of the water like it had been dropped out of the sky. He shone his torch down into the vehicle and was met with a gruesome sight. A pale face, head thrown back against the seat; eyes that bulged with terror and mouth contorted in a silent scream. The woman’s clothes clung to her body, swollen from the force of the impact, and underneath her puffy eyelids he made out faint bruises in the shape of broken blood vessels. 

Her fingers had frozen around her seatbelt in a deathly grip and all around, hundreds of bank notes drifted like snowflakes from the shattered glass house behind. 

An eerie sound carried through the air, like maniacal laughter, perhaps the sound of someone howling in the distance. He glanced over his shoulder. He had the feeling someone was watching from the window, even though he couldn’t see a soul.  

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the Home Office for a number of years. She loves books and films with strong female characters and her influences include Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. 

Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.

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