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astoriareader's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
SYNOPSIS
- Emma, a wealthy & successful CEO, has overcome her chaotic childhood marked by alcoholic parents.
- She finds happiness with Matthew, a widower who is about ten years younger than her, and they quickly get engaged after just three months.
- However, Emma struggles with feelings of inadequacy, believing she’s second best compared to Matthew's late wife.
- Strange things also start to happen—the feeling of being watched, things breaking, and missing items in the house.
- Matthew begins to suspect Emma is drinking too much and her friends, Heidi and Gina, to worry he might be gaslighting her. Emma is left questioning what’s going on.
MY THOUGHTS
- This book was a masterclass in storytelling, with multiple twists that are perfectly executed to keep readers guessing until the very end.
- Each twist was seamlessly layered into the narrative. Just when you think you have the story figured out, another revelation turns everything upside down, and you’re left questioning everything you thought you knew.
- The first chunk of the book is from Emma’s POV, and it sets the stage. In the second half of the book, we get more perspectives, and it all comes together. Very satisfying ending.
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Very well done thriller/suspense with satisfying ending.
Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA & Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on March 18, 2025.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Confinement and Classism
phoricho's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I loved Emma's character. At the beginning of the book, we get a real in-depth look into her life and how she thinks. She's a very focused and determined person who finds joy and happiness in her work and her found family. Adele Parks writes Emma as a fully formed character on her own. To put it simply, "she don't need no man".
I enjoyed how Adele started the confusion with simple acts that Emma could explain away. It doesn't start to get concerning until she confides in others for their perspective and she realises that these incidents aren't as simple as she believed, and then the stakes rise.
Characters in this book make small decisions and sacrifices that gradually get more intense with just as intense consequences.
Overall, I really enjoyed First Wife's Shadow. I will say I guessed parts of the twist, but even so, I still enjoyed the story. Compared to the rest of the book, I didn't find the ending as impactful. The impact was more in the chapters before the ending, where the ending was more characters settling into a new normal.
If you enjoy twists and turns, psychological thrillers, and second-guessing yourself, then go pick up First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks.
I received an advance readers copy from the publisher at no cost but all opinions are my own.
I enjoyed how Adele started the confusion with simple acts that Emma could explain away. It doesn't start to get concerning until she confides in others for their perspective and she realises that these incidents aren't as simple as she believed, and then the stakes rise.
Characters in this book make small decisions and sacrifices that gradually get more intense with just as intense consequences.
Overall, I really enjoyed First Wife's Shadow. I will say I guessed parts of the twist, but even so, I still enjoyed the story. Compared to the rest of the book, I didn't find the ending as impactful. The impact was more in the chapters before the ending, where the ending was more characters settling into a new normal.
If you enjoy twists and turns, psychological thrillers, and second-guessing yourself, then go pick up First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks.
I received an advance readers copy from the publisher at no cost but all opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse
beate251's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for this hotly anticipated ARC. Adele Parks is one of my favourite authors, and I read most of her back catalogue last year.
The first half of the book belongs to Emma who falls head over heels in love with 11 years younger Matthew. Emma is well-off and successful, Matthew is none of these things, but he is a charming widowed photographer who gives her all the attention she didn't realise she needed. With almost indecent haste he moves in with her, proposes and gets her to marry him in a small ceremony abroad. Emma's friends Gina and Heidi are suspicious, and then things go bump in the night inside Emma's beautiful eco-house that she can't explain but others including Matthew think she must have done herself. But she certainly didn't smash her plant pots and fling her books around in the middle of the night, so what's going on?
At this point I was literally screaming at her to install security cameras inside her house, not just outside as there clearly seems to be someone in her house moving things around! Such a clever business person and yet so clueless in her private life, Emma effectively demonstrates a person having the rug pulled from under her after getting obsessed with a man who isn't all he seems and who has a dead wife she can't compete with.
At the half-way mark the narrator suddenly changes and we get the POV of the person who is trying to destroy Emma's sanity. From then on the pace shifts up a gear, the tension racks up and the twists keep coming. There are some seriously messed up people in this world, but none of the characters is all black or white, we're all the products of our childhood. The story still stretches credulity at times and yet I have to admit I found this one more predictable than previous books. There is also a small inaccuracy about setting bail amounts (that's not a UK thing, you get granted bail or you don't, but it's nothing to do with money).
Still, this is a good, solid, well-written psychological thriller that I very much enjoyed reading, especially the second half. The atmospheric cover draws you in, and the ending certainly wasn't what I was expecting! It's a shame Gina and Heidi didn't get a bigger role though.
The first half of the book belongs to Emma who falls head over heels in love with 11 years younger Matthew. Emma is well-off and successful, Matthew is none of these things, but he is a charming widowed photographer who gives her all the attention she didn't realise she needed. With almost indecent haste he moves in with her, proposes and gets her to marry him in a small ceremony abroad. Emma's friends Gina and Heidi are suspicious, and then things go bump in the night inside Emma's beautiful eco-house that she can't explain but others including Matthew think she must have done herself. But she certainly didn't smash her plant pots and fling her books around in the middle of the night, so what's going on?
At this point I was literally screaming at her to install security cameras inside her house, not just outside as there clearly seems to be someone in her house moving things around! Such a clever business person and yet so clueless in her private life, Emma effectively demonstrates a person having the rug pulled from under her after getting obsessed with a man who isn't all he seems and who has a dead wife she can't compete with.
At the half-way mark the narrator suddenly changes and we get the POV of the person who is trying to destroy Emma's sanity. From then on the pace shifts up a gear, the tension racks up and the twists keep coming. There are some seriously messed up people in this world, but none of the characters is all black or white, we're all the products of our childhood. The story still stretches credulity at times and yet I have to admit I found this one more predictable than previous books. There is also a small inaccuracy about setting bail amounts (that's not a UK thing, you get granted bail or you don't, but it's nothing to do with money).
Still, this is a good, solid, well-written psychological thriller that I very much enjoyed reading, especially the second half. The atmospheric cover draws you in, and the ending certainly wasn't what I was expecting! It's a shame Gina and Heidi didn't get a bigger role though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail