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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
“Dead to Her” by Sarah Pinborough tells a troubled story of two complicated women. They meet at a company party in Savannah, Georgia. Marcie is watching her husband Jason flirt with Keisha, the boss’s new wife and thinking about the splintering of their marriage. Kiesha is from London, and the second Mrs. William Radford IV, the new wife, the black second wife, the ravishing young wife. Pinborough unravels the tragic stories of these two women.
Marcie feels betrayed, used. And yet, she had always had a wild streak and nothing could change that. She is Jason’s second wife, and she is determined not to be beaten. She also has secrets, ones that are suddenly unraveling little by little.Keisha is worried; she is isolated, and filled with anxiety and dark muddled thinking. She had hit the jackpot with William, a rich lonely American widower, well respected, and powerful. William wants to get a new life insurance policy and change his will, but there is another legal arrangement as well; she knows when he dies she will not get everything, but she will get enough.
The plot is conversation driven. There are little society gatherings, and lunches, trips to museums, and historic cemeteries. Then, Pinborough unravels that little society world of Savannah. Everything comes tumbling down. There is a wrecked business, a troubled partnership, and missed business opportunities. Murders are attempted and murders are covered up. Co-conspirators are everywhere, and everyone has a part to play.
“Dead to Her” is a story of betrayal, unlikely alliances, buried secrets, treachery, and voodoo. I received a review copy of “Dead to Her” from Sarah Pinborough and William Morrow Publishing. There is a lot of power in a dying wish, and there are some fates worse than death.
Marcie feels betrayed, used. And yet, she had always had a wild streak and nothing could change that. She is Jason’s second wife, and she is determined not to be beaten. She also has secrets, ones that are suddenly unraveling little by little.Keisha is worried; she is isolated, and filled with anxiety and dark muddled thinking. She had hit the jackpot with William, a rich lonely American widower, well respected, and powerful. William wants to get a new life insurance policy and change his will, but there is another legal arrangement as well; she knows when he dies she will not get everything, but she will get enough.
The plot is conversation driven. There are little society gatherings, and lunches, trips to museums, and historic cemeteries. Then, Pinborough unravels that little society world of Savannah. Everything comes tumbling down. There is a wrecked business, a troubled partnership, and missed business opportunities. Murders are attempted and murders are covered up. Co-conspirators are everywhere, and everyone has a part to play.
“Dead to Her” is a story of betrayal, unlikely alliances, buried secrets, treachery, and voodoo. I received a review copy of “Dead to Her” from Sarah Pinborough and William Morrow Publishing. There is a lot of power in a dying wish, and there are some fates worse than death.
Years ago I used to love reading the glitzy, scandalous books that were eventually termed 'bonkbusters' and Dead To Her reminded me of those novels although it also comes with a dark Southern Gothic twist. Set among the upper echelons of Savannah society, this is an addictive tale of revenge and murder.
Newly widowed, William Radford IV went to London for a few months and returned with a new bride on his arm. Despite the false politeness, Keisha knows she doesn't fit in to the moneyed set - she is too young, too common, too reckless and too black. However, she does catch the eye of Jason Maddox, which in turn attracts the attention of his wife, Marcie. Until Keisha's arrival, Marcie was the young second wife but she has changed to conform and worries that the old adage, 'once a cheater, always a cheater' will hold true, especially when it becomes increasingly obvious that her husband is keeping secrets from her.
William and Jason are thoroughly unpleasant men; the former is an entitled bully and Maddox is a duplicitous gaslighter but the two women aren't exactly innocent victims either. Keisha is a gold-digger who is desperate for her husband to die so that she can get her hands on his money and though Marcie married for love, she has no intention of going back to her former life as a waitress. This is a slow-burner of a novel and it took me a little while to figure out how I felt about Marcie and Keisha but as the book progressed I became increasingly intrigued by these secretive, conniving women.
It's perhaps easier to sympathise with Keisha's predicament, as despite her deceit, she has clearly come from a troubled, even abusive background. Raised by an uncle who claimed to be a witch doctor and an aunt who practised something akin to dark voodoo, she has long believed herself to be cursed. Both manipulator and manipulated, she is a fascinating character. Marcie is equally as interesting; she also knows what it's like to grow up poor but her affluent lifestyle now doesn't seem to have made her any happier. She evidently feels suffocated by her position and yet she is clearly not prepared to give it all up.
There's something very sultry about Dead To Her; in part it's the Georgia setting which is richly evoked but it's also due to the seductive, erotic sex scenes and the way in which hints of Savannah's voodoo subculture are woven in to the story. Almost a cautionary tale of greed and betrayal, this is a fiendishly dark and surprising suspense thriller which becomes more twisted towards the end and has a deliciously shocking conclusion. This is my first book by Sarah Pinborough, it won't be my last.
Newly widowed, William Radford IV went to London for a few months and returned with a new bride on his arm. Despite the false politeness, Keisha knows she doesn't fit in to the moneyed set - she is too young, too common, too reckless and too black. However, she does catch the eye of Jason Maddox, which in turn attracts the attention of his wife, Marcie. Until Keisha's arrival, Marcie was the young second wife but she has changed to conform and worries that the old adage, 'once a cheater, always a cheater' will hold true, especially when it becomes increasingly obvious that her husband is keeping secrets from her.
William and Jason are thoroughly unpleasant men; the former is an entitled bully and Maddox is a duplicitous gaslighter but the two women aren't exactly innocent victims either. Keisha is a gold-digger who is desperate for her husband to die so that she can get her hands on his money and though Marcie married for love, she has no intention of going back to her former life as a waitress. This is a slow-burner of a novel and it took me a little while to figure out how I felt about Marcie and Keisha but as the book progressed I became increasingly intrigued by these secretive, conniving women.
It's perhaps easier to sympathise with Keisha's predicament, as despite her deceit, she has clearly come from a troubled, even abusive background. Raised by an uncle who claimed to be a witch doctor and an aunt who practised something akin to dark voodoo, she has long believed herself to be cursed. Both manipulator and manipulated, she is a fascinating character. Marcie is equally as interesting; she also knows what it's like to grow up poor but her affluent lifestyle now doesn't seem to have made her any happier. She evidently feels suffocated by her position and yet she is clearly not prepared to give it all up.
There's something very sultry about Dead To Her; in part it's the Georgia setting which is richly evoked but it's also due to the seductive, erotic sex scenes and the way in which hints of Savannah's voodoo subculture are woven in to the story. Almost a cautionary tale of greed and betrayal, this is a fiendishly dark and surprising suspense thriller which becomes more twisted towards the end and has a deliciously shocking conclusion. This is my first book by Sarah Pinborough, it won't be my last.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A domestic thriller with a slightly different twist. There were some surprises in the book. Overall I liked it. Not my favorite by the author but not my least favorite either. It would be good to know going in that there are zero likable characters in here and I would say a trigger warning for infidelity.
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FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Dead To Her is my first experience with the author. I found the synopsis interesting and wanted to try some thrillers as I haven't been picking them up as of late. The story is a mystery, thriller and follows Marcie and Keisha. Marcie is the second wife of Jason Maddox. Her entry to the social circle was challenging and gaining acceptance from the other society wives was difficult. However, after some years, she has finally settled into the comfort of her position as Jason's wife. All sense of security is lost when her husband can't keep his eyes off his boss's new wife Keisha. She is beautiful, wild, and bold. Marcie is not going to let an interloper take away her hard-earned stability. The story overall was interesting. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. The who-dunnit style story had its positive moments. While there were twists and turns keeping the reader glued to the book, there were parts that were hard to wrap my head around. I felt the plot was all over the place and took a lot of time to get to the mystery part of it. The story went on too long with Marcie and Keisha's inner monologues, rants, and explicit scenes to get to the point of the story. The plot and pacing were erratic and felt unorganized to me. I didn't also expect it to be quite explicit in a lot of scenes. I guess not knowing about was quite a shock when the scenes happened. I wasn't expecting it. It also took up a lot of space in the story and to me, it didn't feel necessary to add them. The characters were what you would expect the stereotypical society ladies to behave. The social hierarchy, malice towards new members, conceited behavior is all on point. As I mentioned earlier, the whole story was a mix of things, while the plot twists kept on coming literally until the end and with an ending leaving you gobsmacked, the execution could have been better in my opinion. This book was not for me and I know a lot of people enjoyed the crazy ride this book takes you on, so it might be different for everyone. I personally didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. I thought the book was ok, and it had the potential to be really good. I gave the book 2.5 stars.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL : YOUTUBE
FOLLOW ME ON : TWITTER INSTAGRAM
FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Dead To Her is my first experience with the author. I found the synopsis interesting and wanted to try some thrillers as I haven't been picking them up as of late. The story is a mystery, thriller and follows Marcie and Keisha. Marcie is the second wife of Jason Maddox. Her entry to the social circle was challenging and gaining acceptance from the other society wives was difficult. However, after some years, she has finally settled into the comfort of her position as Jason's wife. All sense of security is lost when her husband can't keep his eyes off his boss's new wife Keisha. She is beautiful, wild, and bold. Marcie is not going to let an interloper take away her hard-earned stability. The story overall was interesting. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. The who-dunnit style story had its positive moments. While there were twists and turns keeping the reader glued to the book, there were parts that were hard to wrap my head around. I felt the plot was all over the place and took a lot of time to get to the mystery part of it. The story went on too long with Marcie and Keisha's inner monologues, rants, and explicit scenes to get to the point of the story. The plot and pacing were erratic and felt unorganized to me. I didn't also expect it to be quite explicit in a lot of scenes. I guess not knowing about was quite a shock when the scenes happened. I wasn't expecting it. It also took up a lot of space in the story and to me, it didn't feel necessary to add them. The characters were what you would expect the stereotypical society ladies to behave. The social hierarchy, malice towards new members, conceited behavior is all on point. As I mentioned earlier, the whole story was a mix of things, while the plot twists kept on coming literally until the end and with an ending leaving you gobsmacked, the execution could have been better in my opinion. This book was not for me and I know a lot of people enjoyed the crazy ride this book takes you on, so it might be different for everyone. I personally didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. I thought the book was ok, and it had the potential to be really good. I gave the book 2.5 stars.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide
Wealthy couples living in elite Savannah, GA society with their boutique law firms, charity events, boats at the marina, luncheons at the club, and then a plot turn so unexpected it literally caused me to gasp. Pinborough has a way of making the tension build for both the characters and the reader. It’s a true psychological thriller and you aren’t quite sure which of these flawed characters you want to root for—“they were all poison in one way or another, and maybe she was the only one honest enough to see it.”
Be prepared to face the unexpected throughout this book. The suspense really ramps up a little past the halfway point. I did manage to figure out the who-done-it but not the why and it was so obscured by a convoluted series of events that I expect most readers will find this surprise ending very satisfying. Set aside some time to gulp this one down and you may want to leave the lights on.
Thank you to HarperCollinsUS for this advance readers copy.
Be prepared to face the unexpected throughout this book. The suspense really ramps up a little past the halfway point. I did manage to figure out the who-done-it but not the why and it was so obscured by a convoluted series of events that I expect most readers will find this surprise ending very satisfying. Set aside some time to gulp this one down and you may want to leave the lights on.
Thank you to HarperCollinsUS for this advance readers copy.