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marcirenee1974's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
OMG, hold on b/c this one is a wild ride! The bad guys are the worst and then they sort of redeem themselves and the good guys are good but then totally lose that goodness in the end. Fortunately, there was some happiness at the end, which saved it for me! This was my 1st book by Adele Parks but most def will not be my last!
#TwoDeadWives
#NetGalley
#TwoDeadWives
#NetGalley
cj_mo_2222's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
bookanonjeff's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
WOMAN LAST SEEN Began My War On Books Featuring COVID. This Book Continues It. Having read literally 394 books between WOMAN LAST SEEN and this book, I did not *even* realize this book was a sequel to that one until the very end, when I read the Author's Note. Perils of reading so much? This isn't exactly the first time this has happened to me in my reading these last few years, though I think this is (so far) the most books between sequels. Long winded way of saying, if you read these books closer together than I did, or perhaps have better memory than I do, you'll likely pick up on the fact that this is a sequel within the first chapter or two, so despite me not finding out until the end... it isn't exactly a secret, either.
All of that noted, as with Woman Last Seen, here we get an excellent mystery/ thriller sequel, one that actually manages to work within the bounds given by the original book when a sequel was never actually intended - and thus showing just how strong of a storyteller Parks is (and perhaps how good of an editor she has). If you love fairly fast paced, character driven mysteries, you're likely going to enjoy this one.
And then... the COVID. Whereas the first book dealt with COVID more as an ominous foreshadowing, being set in the days immediately prior to the global lockdowns that destroyed far more lives than the virus ever will, this book dealt head on with said lockdowns and actually incorporated them - and the slow global re-opening - into the story. Thus, while I deducted a star from Woman Last Seen because I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID even though it was more tangential in that book, with it being far more central and ever present in this tale, the deduction remains because even nearly four years later, I STILL DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID. My war against such tales began with Woman Last Seen, and with Two Dead Wives it continues, along with my own real "weapon" at my disposal: the single star deduction in rating. Seriously, authors, PLEASE - just abandon that entire year or so of human history. Or at least ignore those parts of that year.
But again, other than the COVID aspects, this truly was a superb tale that truly shows how remarkable Parks is as a storyteller - I truly don't know of many that *could* have written such a book when it was never intended, and I perhaps know of even fewer who *would* write such a book when readers clamor for it.
Very much recommended.
All of that noted, as with Woman Last Seen, here we get an excellent mystery/ thriller sequel, one that actually manages to work within the bounds given by the original book when a sequel was never actually intended - and thus showing just how strong of a storyteller Parks is (and perhaps how good of an editor she has). If you love fairly fast paced, character driven mysteries, you're likely going to enjoy this one.
And then... the COVID. Whereas the first book dealt with COVID more as an ominous foreshadowing, being set in the days immediately prior to the global lockdowns that destroyed far more lives than the virus ever will, this book dealt head on with said lockdowns and actually incorporated them - and the slow global re-opening - into the story. Thus, while I deducted a star from Woman Last Seen because I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID even though it was more tangential in that book, with it being far more central and ever present in this tale, the deduction remains because even nearly four years later, I STILL DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID. My war against such tales began with Woman Last Seen, and with Two Dead Wives it continues, along with my own real "weapon" at my disposal: the single star deduction in rating. Seriously, authors, PLEASE - just abandon that entire year or so of human history. Or at least ignore those parts of that year.
But again, other than the COVID aspects, this truly was a superb tale that truly shows how remarkable Parks is as a storyteller - I truly don't know of many that *could* have written such a book when it was never intended, and I perhaps know of even fewer who *would* write such a book when readers clamor for it.
Very much recommended.
kdowli01's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is the sequel to Woman Last Seen, but I think ultimately its issue is that it's a sequel that wasn't intended, so it never quite gels. According to the author's note, it's written in a way that could be a standalone, however that means if you have read the first book, you know the first big twist already, so the buildup and reveal are just more confusing than anything.
*
The second big twist was so obvious, I'm not actually sure if it was meant to be a twist. Maybe it was just supposed to be suspenseful while the reader waits for the character to figure out what everyone else knows? And while the last 25% or so was exciting, I didn't like how one main character's personality did a complete 180 in the span of a paragraph.
*
All in all, it was a quick read, and had some exciting moments, but it's sadly not a book I would recommend.
*
The second big twist was so obvious, I'm not actually sure if it was meant to be a twist. Maybe it was just supposed to be suspenseful while the reader waits for the character to figure out what everyone else knows? And while the last 25% or so was exciting, I didn't like how one main character's personality did a complete 180 in the span of a paragraph.
*
All in all, it was a quick read, and had some exciting moments, but it's sadly not a book I would recommend.
stiney7887's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this early release copy!
This book was a WILD ride, but in the best way. I was absolutely shocked at the end in the author's note to discover this is actually a sequel to Woman Last Seen. I was half way through the book already making a mental note that I needed to pick up some more of Adele's books, only to discover that piece of information afterwards. This was a fantastic standalone, you can 100% read this and fully enjoy it without reading the first one. I did have a couple questions throughout the book that may have been briefly touched upon in this book that I forgot as I went along. Like how did the main character pull off her double life without either husband knowing? Which I now know I'm sure the answer to that is in the first book!
I did find the mystery itself fairly predictable, but it did not at all take away from the story. In fact, I'm sure a lot of the plotline was revealed in the first book anyway. I just loved how multiple crimes were intertwined, yet still unrelated. The storytelling was great! I can't wait to go back in time in the story and read that first book!
This book was a WILD ride, but in the best way. I was absolutely shocked at the end in the author's note to discover this is actually a sequel to Woman Last Seen. I was half way through the book already making a mental note that I needed to pick up some more of Adele's books, only to discover that piece of information afterwards. This was a fantastic standalone, you can 100% read this and fully enjoy it without reading the first one. I did have a couple questions throughout the book that may have been briefly touched upon in this book that I forgot as I went along. Like how did the main character pull off her double life without either husband knowing? Which I now know I'm sure the answer to that is in the first book!
I did find the mystery itself fairly predictable, but it did not at all take away from the story. In fact, I'm sure a lot of the plotline was revealed in the first book anyway. I just loved how multiple crimes were intertwined, yet still unrelated. The storytelling was great! I can't wait to go back in time in the story and read that first book!
yvo_about_books's review
2.0
Finished reading: December 10th 2023
"It's always the husband. Trickier when there are two."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and MIRA in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!
I really enjoyed Lies, Lies, Lies back when I read it in 2020, and I've been meaning to try more of this author ever since. There was something about the blurb of Two Dead Wives (published as Just Between Us in the UK) that had me fully intrigued, and I couldn't resist adding it to my shelves. I've been looking forward to pick it up, but sadly it didn't turn out to be the reading experience I hoped it was going to be. In fact, I came close to DNFing more than once... I'll try to explain briefly why.
I can't deny that the premise itself is still intriguing, but what I wasn't aware of is that this book is actually a sequel of Woman Last Seen (which I didn't read). The blurb of that book sounds pretty similar, so I'm just wondering how different the two books are... Although Stacie's POV seems to be missing there. Two Dead Wives can quite easily be read as a stand-alone though; at least I didn't feel like I was missing any important background or information. That said, I'm starting to wonder if I would have enjoyed the first book better than this one.
What I didn't realize is just how front and center both the pandemic and the amnesia angle were going to be. I'm not a big fan of the whole COVID element in stories (although I understand why authors might add it), but I can tolerate it as long as it's not too present. In this case, I think the pandemic actually overshadows the rest of the plot, and it really put a damper on things for me. The amnesia angle can go both ways for me, and there was just something about the way it was incorporated in Two Dead Wives that really started to irritate me.
I also struggled considerably with the multiple POV structure and the characters themselves. I was never able to warm up to any of them, and as a result I wasn't invested at all in what happened to them. To make things worse, I guessed the truth about Kylie and Stacie almost straight away, which made it even harder to keep slogging through all those minor thoughts and drama. I confess that I started skimreading long before the halfway mark, and I only made it to the end because I kept hoping I was wrong and something interesting would happen. Sure, the last part is slightly more eventful, but it was all a bit too little, too late for me.
Between the spotlight on the pandemic, amnesia angle, unlikeable characters and slow pace, sadly I can't say that I enjoyed my time with Two Dead Wives. I seem to be in the minority though, so it might just have been my fickle reading mood acting up again... The fact remains that I came really close to DNFing more than once though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
novelgossip's review
3.5
Despite having had mixed feelings about Woman Last Seen I was intrigued when I saw this one would be the follow up to it. The ending of WLS in particular wasn’t for me so I was hopeful this would help explain more and it totally did. You could easily read this one its own though too, events from the previous books are explained throughly and this was better than the first for me anyway.
There are several viewpoints here and while most are clear cut and make sense to the story the perspective of Stacie threw me off at first. She didn’t seem to be connected in any way but as things moved along I saw where she would probably fit in and I was right. So slightly predictable and the storyline overall is a little outrageous but overall I had fun with this one. The author tends to write slow burn mysteries that always feel a bit long and drawn out, but if you really wanna settle in with a book this may be for you.
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
4.0
This is a loosely connected sequel to Woman Last Seen. I don't think you have to read that first to understand and enjoy this book. In fact, while I have read WLS, I didn't make the connection until the end! But if you are going to read both, read that one first! Needless to say, in this one, we know near the start who has murdered the bigamist wife. But the world doesn't know and instead is blaming one of the husbands. At the same time, a man is helping his daughter recover from cancer. I will admit that a lot of the story was predictable. I don't think there was any way around it. But instead of trying to confuse the reader, the story lets the reader in to what is happening so that we can follow the characters as everything is revealed to them. Sometimes I like this approach and sometimes I don't. This time I did!
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.