The Good Wife by Gemma Rogers
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller
Read: 5th March 2024
Published: 5th March 2024
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Appearances can be deceiving...
After a whirlwind romance and three years of marriage, I’d tried to be a good wife.
But Tom, my husband, is always watching, controlling my every move. He chooses my clothes, my hairstyle, even instructing what and how much I’m allowed to eat – just ten measly mouthfuls.
I’ve become isolated from those I love, forbidden to work and stuck at home to fulfil his every whim.
My identity along with my life is long gone.
I am slowly suffocating but I know Tom will never, ever let me leave alive.
A chance encounter with Savannah changes everything. Tom couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Could she be my saviour?
Could my husband’s desire for another woman be the answer to my prayers, to my freedom?
Bestseller Gemma Rogers is back with another gripping, page-turning thriller. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell.
MY THOUGHTS:
** Please note: I did not complete this book because of the content which I found triggering. However I have still rated it highly because it is well written and sensitively handled.**
TRIGGER WARNING: coercive control and abuse
Appearances can be deceiving...in a marriage of control, can she break free...?
Before I begin, I have to say I love Gemma Rogers and always eagerly await her next thriller. And this one was no different...until I began reading it. Unfortunately the content was too triggering for me to complete it and I found myself tossing it aside in anger, my blood boiling. I would have loved to finish it but I just couldn't. Coercive control and abuse is something that is a little too close to home for comfort for me and while I can usually read them with an open mind, this time I just found it too confronting and close for comfort to occupy the same headspace.
The story tells of Chloe, the good wife, who after a whirlwind romance with Tom three years before he whisked her away to the Seychelles for what she discovered was a surprise intimate wedding for them both. Only later did she realise it was a tactical move on Tom's part to stop anyone from stepping in and putting a stop to the wedding. Tom had carefully moulded Chloe into the perfect wife he wanted who would see to his every need as and when he required. She was essentially at his beck and call.
Chloe had been an editor at a successful publishing house but Tom soon put a stop to that too. And moved them out of London to a sleepy village in Sussex where she could devote every minute of the day to him alone. He expected nothing but perfection in keeping house and having his meals on the table as soon as he walked in the door. He chose her clothing, what she ate and how much, isolated her from her friends and limited her contact with anyone outside of his carefully curated bubble. After ruining her previous phone, he bought her a new one but loaded it with spyware so that he could track her movements, her browsing history and her call log. He entered only two numbers into the list of contacts - his own and her mother's...only he changed her mother's number by a digit or two thus preventing her from contacting her family.
And then one night they were attending a Director's dinner for the company Tom worked for when Chloe met Savannah. She was a stunning redhead and Chloe knew right away that Tom would not be able to resist her, knowing his weakness for redheads (despite her being blonde). And so Chloe puts a plan in motion to enable Savannah to steal Tom's heart, if not other parts of his anatomy, thus leaving Chloe free to leave him once and for all.
As soona s Tom sees Savannah, it is lust at first sight. He wins an hour with her at the dinner in a raffle, and after that he is smitten. He spends most of his waking moments lusting after her, thinking about her and their time together. He continues to seek out Savannah unaware of the plan his wife, whom he believes to be an open book where he is concerned, has set in motion.
How will it all end?
Unfortunately I didn't see how it ended up but I'm sure there were plenty of fireworks as there were bound to be where Tom was concerned. He was the most despicable character, unlikeable in every way and I wanted to smash his face in. Gemma Rogers did handle to the topic of coercive control and abuse sensitively but for me it was just too close for comfort. But I still rate it up there as a great read, from what I did reach. Just be aware that the content may be triggering for some.
I would like to thank #GemmaRogers, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheGoodWife in exchange for an honest review.
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