The Fake Wife: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with jaw-dropping twists from the author of THE SPLIT
£4.99
‘I honestly believe this is one of the best books that I’ve read this year!’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
You’re not who you say you are. But neither is she.
Olive Anderson has accepted that tonight she’ll be dining alone, without her husband. So when a beautiful stranger appears at Olive’s dinner table, telling the waiter she’s her wife, Olive is immediately unsettled.
But the stranger wants to talk, and isn’t this what Olive wants on this lonely winter night? To vent to a perfect stranger? She’s too ashamed to tell her real friends the truth – six months into the marriage they all warned her against, her life is a living nightmare.
Perhaps Olive should have asked the fake wife who she’s really married to. Perhaps she should have known this chance encounter had something to do with her secretive husband. Because there is a string of missing women connected to Mr Anderson, and by the morning, Olive will be the latest…
The Fake Wife is an unputdownable thriller that will shock and surprise you like the best television boxsets. If you enjoyed Netflix shows like Behind Her Eyes, The Stranger and Obsession you will love The Fake Wife.
Read what everyone is saying about The Fake Wife:
‘OMG this latest book by Sharon Bolton is so good, definitely worth reading’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘You’ll never guess where this book is going’ SAMANTHA DOWNING
‘I swear the twists and turns you will not see coming!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Totally gripping, with characters who draw you in’ JP DELANEY
‘One thing Sharon Bolton knows how to do is write a compulsive page-turner, and The Fake Wife is just that’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A thriller that had me desperate for answers. I loved it!’ HARRIET TYCE
‘Sharon Bolton has written another cracker! The twists! The tension! The characters!’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Additional information
| Publisher | Orion (9 Nov. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2356 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 355 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 1398709824 |
by Jen
The opening scene is one of the most bizarre I have read. Olive, the new wife of a local MP, is having a solitary dinner in a restaurant, when a stranger joins her. Inexplicably, she starts the charade that they are married. My feelings of bewilderment were matched by Olive’s. Initially what seems to be harmless fun and distraction, becomes rather more dangerous, very quickly.
As we learn more of Olive’s life, the facade of the happy MP’s family starts to slip. The daily passive aggressions and snubs start to compound, to form a very different picture.
The story plays out in a dual timeline, alternating swiftly, the action constantly moving. This is done very well, and I found no confusion in knowing where, and with whom I was.
I really enjoyed Garry and Lexy’s characters, especially Garry. It would be such a shame if we didn’t meet them, even fleetingly, in another book in the future.
As a reader, I had so many questions. Is anyone really who they seem to be? Who can I trust? How would all the seemingly separate strands join together?
There were twists and turns aplenty, with additional complications caused by the British winter. The extreme snow conditions added another layer of tension and danger, to an already fraught situation. Even as the story was nearing its conclusion, I had no idea of what exactly would play out.
The Fake Wife is the first book I have read by Sharon Bolton. I enjoyed it so much, that it won’t be my last. I found this to be an engrossing 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.
by Leona
Olive Anderson has accepted that tonight she’ll be dining alone, without her husband. So when a beautiful stranger appears at Olive’s dinner table, telling the waiter she’s her wife, Olive is immediately unsettled.
But the stranger wants to talk, and isn’t this what Olive wants on this lonely winter night? To vent to a perfect stranger? She’s too ashamed to tell her real friends the truth – six months into the marriage they all warned her against, her life is a living nightmare.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and after finishing it I’m most certainly going to read more. Well I actually listened to it and found both the narrators to be excellent. This is a gripping and twisty read, there’s a lot going on so found myself having to listen carefully in case I missed any vital information. It’s a fast paced read with some unsavoury characters and everyone seems to be hiding some secret or other. This is part domestic thriller and part police procedural. I loved the rapport between the two police officers Lexy and Gary and really hope they appear again in future books.
by lesley lloyd
4.25⭐️
I’ve read a few of this authors books, they can be a bit hit or miss for me. I haven’t read one for a long time so was keen to try this one. I always prefer a standalone.
Olive is staying in a hotel overnight when a woman, a glamorous stranger joins her at her table pretending to be her wife.
What starts as a thrilling game turns into something dangerous.
It’s certainly got an intriguing hook, I was immediately interested to know the why. We are given several POV.
I enjoyed the budding relationship between Lexy and Garry.
I like the different POV and time frames they revealed the storyline smoothly for the reader, the use of of technology was also effective with the revelations. However, I found there was too much descriptive stuff that I didn’t need, such as the MP’s interior furnishing. The descriptive detailing of Garry’s flower arranging and his home styling obsession was a bit much for me.
It’s got a complex convoluted plot which only comes together right at the end. This is right up my street.
After a great hook, I found it took me some time to get settled into it. I’m not sure why. I think it might have been because I had a couple of audiobooks that I got really into at the same time. I wish I’d had this one on audiobook.
by KathVBtn
A great crime thriller with so many twists and turns my head was reeling.
It starts with Olive, the new (second) wife of a Labour MP, who is having a quiet dinner in a hotel when she is joined by a glamorous woman who is a stranger to her. The two women eat and drink together; the new woman goes so far as to tell the waiter that they are a married couple, so when they go back to Olive’s room,. no one is surprised.
After a passionate night together, the mysterious woman changes her tone, challenging Olive to reveal some hidden truths that the other woman is sure she has buried. She believes Olive’s MP husband may be involved as well. She forces Olive to join her on a journey to seek the truth.
At the same time, local traffic cop Garry is trying not to embarrass himself as part of a house raid on local organised crime family the Trickeys. Garry comes from a long line of police officers and desperately wants to fit in, but he keeps messing things up and failing his exams for any kind of promotion. He is paired with his new boss Lexy, who sees more in Garry than most people do.
Garry and Lexy become involved in the hunt for Olive, tracking down clues and hints, discarding others. They are a great pairing and I really enjoyed their scenes together.
The whole book kept me gripped, the complexities of the stories and the multitude of interactions between the characters was just what I was hoping for when I picked it up.
A solid 4/5