Reviews

Two Dead Wives by Adele Parks

stephreeds's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

abookwormwithwine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

Two Dead Wives by Adele Parks is the follow-up to her previous novel Woman Last Seen, and believe me when I say, you will enjoy this book a heck of a lot more if you read that one first. It is an immediate continuation from where the first novel ends, and it is full of spoilers that might not make you want to go back and read the first one if you start with this. I also would have been pretty confused had I not read them in order, so you have been warned. I loved that we had mostly the same characters again and that includes my beloved DCI Clements. I think I knew pretty early on what was going on here, but somehow Parks still managed to throw twists at me that I didn't see coming.

This book also introduced a new narrator for the audio which I was a little surprised by, but I loved Kristin Atherton and was very happy with her narration for Two Dead Wives. As with the previous novel, there are still multiple viewpoints, but the storyline is really easy to follow along with and I had no issues keeping up with them or knowing who was who. It also provided some much-needed closure, and I enjoyed the way everything was tied up at the end. While I wouldn't say I loved all of the main characters (not by a long shot), a couple of them grew on me and I ended up not hating them completely in the end. High praise I know 😂 If you are a fan of this author, I would definitely recommend checking out both DCI Clements novels and skipping over the synopses!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

bookslifeandeverythingnice's review against another edition

medium-paced

1.75

cross_a16's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I read this book as a standalone so my perspective on this book may be different than someone who read it as a continuation of the series. The first probably 40% of the book took off really slowly for me. I really had to drag myself through it. We started off with the story of Kylie going missing and then suddenly we were abruptly taken into Stacie’s story, and I felt like I was being forced to dig through a lot of “unimportant” information to get back to the main story. Once the stories became connected, however, the pace really picked up and I really enjoyed the story. There were some good plot twists and there was a lot of suspense!

careymcd1's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

emily_loves_2_read's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Two Dead Wives

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Author: Adele Parks

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harlequin and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Lost. Missing. Murdered? How do you find a woman who didn’t exist?

It's a case that has gripped a nation: A woman with a shocking secret is missing, presumed dead. And her two husbands are suspects in her murder.

DCI Clements knows the dark side of human nature and that love can make people do treacherous things. You can’t presume anything when it comes to crimes of the heart. Until a body is found, this scandalous and sad case remains wide open.

Stacie Jones lives a quiet life in a small village, nursed by her father as she recovers from illness, and shielded from any news of the outside world. But their reclusive life is about to be shattered.

How are these families linked, and can any of them ever rebuild their lives in the wake of tragedy?

My Thoughts: This was the second book in the DC Clements series. I have the first one on my TBR but did not read it and had no issues following along, so this can absolutely be read as a standalone. This psychological thriller was tense, captivating and explosive. It starts a bit confusing but as it goes along, you completely understand what is happening. It makes national news on a women’s disappearance with both husbands suspected of foul play. Then jump over to Stacie Jones who lives a quiet life with her father as she recovers from a serious illness. As their lives intersect, are they connected? Will they be able to rebuild a happy life with so much tragedy? 

The story has multiple narrators. This plot line was very attention grabbing, “a bigamist woman is missing,” and kept my interest peaked. Kylie had created two very separate and different lives, one with Daan, living a very high lifestyle with the wealthy, socializing with high powered VIPs and A-List celebrities. Then she has a life with Mark, more of the family life with two stepsons that she really adores. Neither husband was none the wiser until she went missing, then the dam broke. Kylie definitely made mistakes but the husbands were not necessarily the victim in this scenario, Daan was a cheater, never a one-woman man, while Mark essentially dumped the responsibility of the kids, who are not biologically hers, on her shoulders. The characters were well fleshed out, especially if you read the first book, they were mysterious, intriguing, and creatively. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, and captivating. 

This checks all of the boxes for a psychological thriller, it is twisty, devious, creepy, dark, and captivating. I would highly recommend picking up the book or audiobook. 

nahtagain's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I didn’t know it was a sequel but I don’t think it matters whether or not it was. Also, I don’t think it really needed to include the pandemic, but it was still good despite that. 

madae's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

me_alley's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

ndschmidt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5