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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book as it seemed quite clean cut to begin with, Matt has killed his second wife after also killing his first, so what on earth was the book going to be about? There is no mystery so what could the plot possibly be?!
However, as we get into the book we realise all is not as it seems. I did not expect the first twist, when Matt goes to identify his wife's body, but after that came I guessed a few little bits as I got into the author's style.
Good narration as we get the perspectives of both Matt and Marie, as well as the police. Loren is interesting as he seemed so flawed, and his parallel story at first seemed irrelevant, but helped add depth to his character.
I'd definitely read more by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley, Pan Mcmillan and the author for the advanced review copy.
However, as we get into the book we realise all is not as it seems. I did not expect the first twist, when Matt goes to identify his wife's body, but after that came I guessed a few little bits as I got into the author's style.
Good narration as we get the perspectives of both Matt and Marie, as well as the police. Loren is interesting as he seemed so flawed, and his parallel story at first seemed irrelevant, but helped add depth to his character.
I'd definitely read more by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley, Pan Mcmillan and the author for the advanced review copy.
This is a thriller that really grabbed me in the opening chapters! It follows Matt whose first wife was died in suspicious circumstances of which Matt was cleared. Now in the present day he’s married to his second wife but she has a fall from a cliff on holiday and now a detective is on Matt’s tail. There were elements of this novel that I really enjoyed but ultimately it wasn’t very believable and the characters just weren’t fleshed out enough for me. I don’t mind unlikeable characters but they have to be real to me and they just weren’t. I did enjoy how twisty and fast-paced this novel was though so if you’re looking for a speedy thriller this might be the one for you.
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
Marie
I love it
The characters were delightfully twisted. They made all the other, not so enjoyable parts, worth it.
That ending
I won't claim this is a perfect book.
I did get tired of hearing about everyone complain all the time. What a bunch of whiners!
And the second story line....I just
It would have been a shorter book had we just stuck to the main story line (the only one that I cared about at all). It also would have been near perfection.
I am sure there are lots of plot holes that my other friends would point out, should they ever read this one (I am pretty sure most of them will not) but
Spoiler
I love it
The characters were delightfully twisted. They made all the other, not so enjoyable parts, worth it.
That ending
I won't claim this is a perfect book.
I did get tired of hearing about everyone complain all the time. What a bunch of whiners!
And the second story line....I just
It would have been a shorter book had we just stuck to the main story line (the only one that I cared about at all). It also would have been near perfection.
I am sure there are lots of plot holes that my other friends would point out, should they ever read this one (I am pretty sure most of them will not) but
Spoiler
Two horrible people doing multiple horrible things to each other spanning most of their life? I'm in
I'm between a 2.5-3 stars
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The first sentence pulled me in and I had to know what was going on with a husband that would say that about his wife. WE soon meet Matt ,who's married to Janice, and we quickly learn they aren't happily married. Janice makes a discovery that leads them both in directions quite unexpected. Fast forward 20 years later and Matt is married to Marie who just happens to fall off a cliff while they are on a trip for their 20th wedding anniversary. Question is, is Matt killing his wives? If he is, will he get away with it? Enter the police and the story has a subplot involving one of the detectives, Loren, who's a real creep. I have to say, I wasn't interested in the backstory of Loren and whether he killed his partner 30 years ago. Going back and forth between the 2 storylines felt disorganized, almost as if I was reading 2 separate books tossed together to make one story. I also became less invested in caring about Matt and Marie as the story went on. It very much felt like the author was trying to write a story similar to Gone Girl. In the end, I found it pretty predictable
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The first sentence pulled me in and I had to know what was going on with a husband that would say that about his wife. WE soon meet Matt ,who's married to Janice, and we quickly learn they aren't happily married. Janice makes a discovery that leads them both in directions quite unexpected. Fast forward 20 years later and Matt is married to Marie who just happens to fall off a cliff while they are on a trip for their 20th wedding anniversary. Question is, is Matt killing his wives? If he is, will he get away with it? Enter the police and the story has a subplot involving one of the detectives, Loren, who's a real creep. I have to say, I wasn't interested in the backstory of Loren and whether he killed his partner 30 years ago. Going back and forth between the 2 storylines felt disorganized, almost as if I was reading 2 separate books tossed together to make one story. I also became less invested in caring about Matt and Marie as the story went on. It very much felt like the author was trying to write a story similar to Gone Girl. In the end, I found it pretty predictable
A husband is suspected of killing not only his first wife, but also his second. A cop is suspected of murdering his partner from years gone by. As Long As We Both Shall Live is the story of tumultuous marriages and partnerships that cultivates in two mysteries spanning some decades.
As Long As We Both Shall Live is by no means the worst mystery I’ve read, but it definitely wasn’t the best. At times I was quite bored, annoyed with some of the opinions the author expressed, and had to resist skim reading a lot of pages.
There was too much unneeded information that didn’t contribute to the overarching stories in any way. There were a good amount of portions of this book that read as social commentary rather than telling a story. There was a lot of opinionated commentary on unhappy and dysfunctional marriages, sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace and then how life treats men kinder than it treats women (“if you don’t have dong in between your legs, you’ve got a raw deal” gist).
In many ways, this did compliment the story, but it didn’t contribute to it in any great way. Instead, it felt like a way to bulk up the book and increase the page number total.
We’re quickly introduced to Matt, the husband at the center of this mystery, who is suspected of killing Janice (his first wife) and Marie (his second wife). As part of the ongoing investigations, we’re introduced to the investigators; Reid in 1995, and then Spengler and Loren in 2018.
These characters were so messed up, but I liked that they ultimately reinforced the idea that first impressions do not always ring true. For instance, I really didn’t like Loren at the beginning. But by the end, he was favourite character and I really felt for the guy. And I ended up rooting for Marie as well, which I honestly can’t explain.
I really liked the structure of this read and the alternating timelines. The first part of the story begins in 1995, when Matt and his first wife are having some marital issues. The second part of the story unfolds in 2018, where Matt is eventually suspected of killing his second wife. The alternating time period worked well in illustrating the characters more vividly, and definitely aided in building up to the big reveals and the book’s climax.
Alas, I did predict what was coming, but nevertheless enjoyed it. I was a little annoyed I was reading this story all the while knowing what was going to happen, but the author’s writing style kept me engaged, as did her characters. Also, I liked the way the book wrapped up, it was very consistent with the story as a whole, and was definitely satisfying as barmy as it was.
This is the type of book to read when you’re in the mood for lethal marriages and revenge of the spouses fiction. I would recommend this to anybody who’s looking for a mystery of that kind, and can be devoured within a day or two.
And if you’ve read this, liked it and want something of a similar kind, I’d recommend you look into My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing.
Blog | Instagram
As Long As We Both Shall Live is by no means the worst mystery I’ve read, but it definitely wasn’t the best. At times I was quite bored, annoyed with some of the opinions the author expressed, and had to resist skim reading a lot of pages.
There was too much unneeded information that didn’t contribute to the overarching stories in any way. There were a good amount of portions of this book that read as social commentary rather than telling a story. There was a lot of opinionated commentary on unhappy and dysfunctional marriages, sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace and then how life treats men kinder than it treats women (“if you don’t have dong in between your legs, you’ve got a raw deal” gist).
In many ways, this did compliment the story, but it didn’t contribute to it in any great way. Instead, it felt like a way to bulk up the book and increase the page number total.
We’re quickly introduced to Matt, the husband at the center of this mystery, who is suspected of killing Janice (his first wife) and Marie (his second wife). As part of the ongoing investigations, we’re introduced to the investigators; Reid in 1995, and then Spengler and Loren in 2018.
These characters were so messed up, but I liked that they ultimately reinforced the idea that first impressions do not always ring true. For instance, I really didn’t like Loren at the beginning. But by the end, he was favourite character and I really felt for the guy. And I ended up rooting for Marie as well, which I honestly can’t explain.
I really liked the structure of this read and the alternating timelines. The first part of the story begins in 1995, when Matt and his first wife are having some marital issues. The second part of the story unfolds in 2018, where Matt is eventually suspected of killing his second wife. The alternating time period worked well in illustrating the characters more vividly, and definitely aided in building up to the big reveals and the book’s climax.
Alas, I did predict what was coming, but nevertheless enjoyed it. I was a little annoyed I was reading this story all the while knowing what was going to happen, but the author’s writing style kept me engaged, as did her characters. Also, I liked the way the book wrapped up, it was very consistent with the story as a whole, and was definitely satisfying as barmy as it was.
This is the type of book to read when you’re in the mood for lethal marriages and revenge of the spouses fiction. I would recommend this to anybody who’s looking for a mystery of that kind, and can be devoured within a day or two.
And if you’ve read this, liked it and want something of a similar kind, I’d recommend you look into My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing.
Blog | Instagram
Thanks to the publisher, via Netgalley, for an advance e-galley for honest review.
This book has a very enticing premise- man's wife falls off a cliff while they're hiking, and while it seems like it just might be a tragic accident, this man's first wife died under suspicious circumstances years before. It's definitely a tricky little story that keeps readers on their toes.
However- if you've been riding the wave of domestic suspense stories and mysteries of this type, you're going to catch the tricks. There's a modern classic in this area that this book pays heavy homage to (I mean, it's referenced-though not by name- IN THIS BOOK). There are some parts of this story that are uniquely and cleverly done, but when you're waiting for them, the surprises are a bit dulled.
This book has a very enticing premise- man's wife falls off a cliff while they're hiking, and while it seems like it just might be a tragic accident, this man's first wife died under suspicious circumstances years before. It's definitely a tricky little story that keeps readers on their toes.
However- if you've been riding the wave of domestic suspense stories and mysteries of this type, you're going to catch the tricks. There's a modern classic in this area that this book pays heavy homage to (I mean, it's referenced-though not by name- IN THIS BOOK). There are some parts of this story that are uniquely and cleverly done, but when you're waiting for them, the surprises are a bit dulled.
Wow! Twisty, turny classic thriller. Kept me guessing until the end.
There was a point, about a 1/3 of the way into the book that I was worried that there had been a bait and switch with the jacket blurb- luring me in with a tale of a potentially murderous husband, and instead delivering a lot of story about an unlikeable cop who has a knack for using the most repulsive vernacular possible. At which point, I almost stopped reading the book. But I'm glad I kept reading because it's one of man interesting facets of this story.
Detective Loren is hard to spend time with, as is the world of the police department. The language used certainly paints a vivid picture, and likely an accurate one at that, but it's not necessarily one I'd actively chose to spend any time with. But that's kind of the point. What does it take to keep stepping, or even running, into scenes of the worst kind of human brutality? Who do you have to be to survive that, and to maybe even still be a good person.
The story of Matt the murdering husband does come back front and center. And like the gold-star seeking nerd that I am, and given all the mysteries and thrillers I read, I was happy to discover that one of my initial guesses about the reveal turned out to be true But there were still more twists and turns to be had, and I for one, enjoy spending time with cunning people who revel in one-upmanship of the craziest degree.
Detective Loren is hard to spend time with, as is the world of the police department. The language used certainly paints a vivid picture, and likely an accurate one at that, but it's not necessarily one I'd actively chose to spend any time with. But that's kind of the point. What does it take to keep stepping, or even running, into scenes of the worst kind of human brutality? Who do you have to be to survive that, and to maybe even still be a good person.
The story of Matt the murdering husband does come back front and center. And like the gold-star seeking nerd that I am, and given all the mysteries and thrillers I read, I was happy to discover that one of my initial guesses about the reveal turned out to be true