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nattly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
labunnywtf's review against another edition
2.0
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Maybe my expectations for thrillers are too high.
I thought that going a long time without reading thrillers would correct the problem. I thought I was just absorbing too many back to back, so I went back to fantasy, and let my love for thrillers go to the wayside. And then I saw the plot for this, and get super excited.
A missing husband. A life restarted. Secrets coming to the surface, lies people tell themselves, and a new boyfriend who may or may not be dangerous to a woman and her children.
MAN, doesn't that sound great?
The first problem is the start of the book. It is so slow. It is ABSOLUTELY PAINFULLY slow. At about 39% in, I came to Goodreads to check the summary again, because I was more than a little worried I'd done it again, picking up what I thought was a thriller but which was, in fact, a domestic drama. Nope, the reviews say the twist and reveal are INCREDIBLE, keep pushing through.
And things really started working for me. The suspense, the curiosity, the need to know the truth behind the suspicions. They were there, and they were building.
And then not even 50% in, we find out the truth. And it absolutely ruins the rest of the book. If we had continued this game of "Is it real or are we crazy", this could've been an amazing story, and the reveal would've blown my brain out the back of my head.
As it was, I ended up rolling my eyes and watching the percentage bar begging it to get closer to 100%.
Dammit to hell.
Maybe my expectations for thrillers are too high.
I thought that going a long time without reading thrillers would correct the problem. I thought I was just absorbing too many back to back, so I went back to fantasy, and let my love for thrillers go to the wayside. And then I saw the plot for this, and get super excited.
A missing husband. A life restarted. Secrets coming to the surface, lies people tell themselves, and a new boyfriend who may or may not be dangerous to a woman and her children.
MAN, doesn't that sound great?
The first problem is the start of the book. It is so slow. It is ABSOLUTELY PAINFULLY slow. At about 39% in, I came to Goodreads to check the summary again, because I was more than a little worried I'd done it again, picking up what I thought was a thriller but which was, in fact, a domestic drama. Nope, the reviews say the twist and reveal are INCREDIBLE, keep pushing through.
And things really started working for me. The suspense, the curiosity, the need to know the truth behind the suspicions. They were there, and they were building.
And then not even 50% in, we find out the truth. And it absolutely ruins the rest of the book. If we had continued this game of "Is it real or are we crazy", this could've been an amazing story, and the reveal would've blown my brain out the back of my head.
As it was, I ended up rolling my eyes and watching the percentage bar begging it to get closer to 100%.
Dammit to hell.
cbrack90's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a weird one to review. The first few chapters were awesome, and I wanted more. And then it got boring. And then it improved. But then the writing sucked. The last 50 pages had my heart hammering surprisingly, so I think that saved it from a worse review. My one real complaint was that DJ Palmer was never a teenage girl, and I know we were annoying back then, but the chapters from Maggie's perspective drove me up the wall. It's like he told himself to dumb it down for those chapters. Frustrating. Overall, it was an ok thriller that could've been way shorter if the characters weren't all so dumb.
nahyee's review against another edition
3.0
See my full review of this title on my blog: Books Under the Blanket (with a flashlight): https://booksundertheblanket.com/whos-in-the-second-wives-club.html
shannonw19's review against another edition
4.0
Nina's husband, Glenn, made news in their small New Hampshire town when he disappeared and rumors began to circulate about Glenn. Then Nina met Simon, a middle school teacher. He is perfect. He is kind and sensitive and tries to make Nina's life better. Everyone is adapting to their new life, except Nina's daughter, Maggie. Maggie hates Simon. She refuses to "adapt" to Simon being part of the family. Maggie thinks Simon is evil and she refuses to let go of the notion.
As Nina struggles to go to work again and deal with Maggie, she starts to question Simon. He's isolating her from her friends, telling her she's forgetting things she's sure never happened, and resents her working.
Then Maggie gets a message from someone saying he's Glenn. Just when you think you have everything figured out, the floor drops out from under you.
The New Husband is a roller coaster ride of the best kind - lots of twists and turns, ups and downs. I loved this book. DJ Palmer knows how to build suspense and expertly plot a thriller. The twists and turns are believable. The plotting is genius. If you are not reading DJ Palmer, you are missing out.
I received an advanced reader's copy of this book and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
As Nina struggles to go to work again and deal with Maggie, she starts to question Simon. He's isolating her from her friends, telling her she's forgetting things she's sure never happened, and resents her working.
Then Maggie gets a message from someone saying he's Glenn. Just when you think you have everything figured out, the floor drops out from under you.
The New Husband is a roller coaster ride of the best kind - lots of twists and turns, ups and downs. I loved this book. DJ Palmer knows how to build suspense and expertly plot a thriller. The twists and turns are believable. The plotting is genius. If you are not reading DJ Palmer, you are missing out.
I received an advanced reader's copy of this book and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
jen_is_booked's review against another edition
3.0
I always find it difficult to review mystery novels, because I live in fear or the spoiler, and I know mystery lovers like myself will be able to read between the lines and pick up on clues that may spoil the experience for them as well. So this is why I just leave vague feelings of the book and hope it helps a little.
Pretty predictable, with a few twists I didn't see coming, though in hindsight I should have. However, I enjoyed the writing very much and I liked several of the characters. Not overly gratuitous in the love scenes or the violent scenes so readers averse to overly graphic descriptions of either will be pleased.
All in all I will read more of this author as they do have a nice style, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for something more than a cozy but not some gritty thriller.
Pretty predictable, with a few twists I didn't see coming, though in hindsight I should have. However, I enjoyed the writing very much and I liked several of the characters. Not overly gratuitous in the love scenes or the violent scenes so readers averse to overly graphic descriptions of either will be pleased.
All in all I will read more of this author as they do have a nice style, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for something more than a cozy but not some gritty thriller.
jmbibliolater's review against another edition
4.0
If Lifetime (yes, the TV channel) wrote a book, the result would be The New Husband by DJ Palmer. This novel has the twists and turns of a soapy Lifetime movie including a psychotic new husband. What more could you want?
gabizago's review against another edition
5.0
A very exciting thriller about a woman whose husband mysteriously disappears and as she starts a new life with a new soon to be husband she realizes that something may be off about him. And as she starts to put the pieces together she realizes the mystery started way before her husband disappeared. I love a book that keeps surprising you at every chapter, and that's what this book did for me.
1neverendingtbr's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC copy of this book. I liked it. A lot. There were some things in the book that like other reviewers pointed out were not well written. Some repeat sentences, the clueless main character, the title of the book is The “New” husband but he isn’t her husband at all. Not in the entire book. Story line and plot twists were great. This is a first for me by this author but I’ve already picked up his first, Saving Meghan. Looking forward to reading that one.