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A review by thephdivabooks
The Second Husband by Kate White
5.0
A tangled, twisted mystery with enough clues you can follow and a few that you’ll miss along the way!
I always like to start my reviews for Kate White with some level-setting that her books are much more on the mystery end of the psychological thriller spectrum typically. Readers looking for books full of unreliable narrators and twists that come out of left field may not find that here. I like to think of Kate White’s books as what Nancy Drew lovers will enjoy when they grow up to be women who a glass of wine or a cocktail and an HBO Max series.
One thing I love about Kate White is her attention to detail, both in how she crafts her mysteries and plots and in how she writes. She puts in a level of detail that I can picture every setting, character, and scene in vivid color in my mind. I also like the way the clues tie together at the end. She rarely leaves any major questions unanswered.
Her leading lady Emma Hawke is new to me, while also feeling familiar in the way Kate White heroines do. White writes about women who are career-oriented, successful, appreciate a good meal or glass of wine, and pursue relationships but not at the expense of their own mental health. I’d describe her heroines as pragmatists who tend towards a light touch of healthy anxiety. They are women that feel familiar—like women I’d actually know in real life. And since they feel so close to real life, sometimes that can make the mysteries feel even more tense. They feel like real stories, and that brings its own sort of terror.
Emma Hawke’s first husband was murdered in a random shooting. Within weeks, Emma sold their house and did her best to move on, getting an apartment in Manhattan. It isn’t long before Emma meets the man who becomes her second husband, Tom Halliday in her work as a trend forecaster consultant. Emma and Tom have a beautiful home in Connecticut with Emma’s office in a guest cottage out back. Things should be bliss as Emma finally finds herself in a happy, healthy marriage, but everything isn’t settled just yet. Tom’s stepdaughter Brittany from his previous marriage is staying with them for the summer and she is not a fan of Emma’s.
When a detective shows up on their doorstep saying they are re-opening the investigation into the murder of Emma’s first husband, Emma dreads going back to the headspace she was in during her first marriage. Emma didn’t share this with anyone, but her first marriage wasn’t as happy as others thought. In fact, Emma was relieved when it ended, though of course she didn’t want her first husband to die… did she?
And if not Emma behind it all, then who? Her ex-brother-in-law who always hated Emma? A business associate? A random stranger? Or could it be possible that her own second husband was somehow involved? There are too many suspects to keep straight, and yet all of them seem to tie back to Emma herself. Desperate to clear up the case and close that chapter of her life permanently, Emma does everything she can to do her own investigation into any leads the police might be pursuing. But what happens if she doesn’t like the answers once she finds them?
I loved how this mystery was laid out. I had a lot of different theories and suspects and I liked how clues were resolved, new clues were introduced, and the suspect list shuffled throughout the book. It kept the pace of the mystery moving forward, as some leads got closed out while new information arrived. By the end it was like putting together a puzzle of what I knew, what I thought I knew, and what I had overlooked. I definitely didn’t guess exactly how the mystery would resolve! I enjoyed getting Emma’s thoughts along the way.
Fresh, easy, and light—Kate White’s The Second Husband is the perfect summer mystery!
I always like to start my reviews for Kate White with some level-setting that her books are much more on the mystery end of the psychological thriller spectrum typically. Readers looking for books full of unreliable narrators and twists that come out of left field may not find that here. I like to think of Kate White’s books as what Nancy Drew lovers will enjoy when they grow up to be women who a glass of wine or a cocktail and an HBO Max series.
One thing I love about Kate White is her attention to detail, both in how she crafts her mysteries and plots and in how she writes. She puts in a level of detail that I can picture every setting, character, and scene in vivid color in my mind. I also like the way the clues tie together at the end. She rarely leaves any major questions unanswered.
Her leading lady Emma Hawke is new to me, while also feeling familiar in the way Kate White heroines do. White writes about women who are career-oriented, successful, appreciate a good meal or glass of wine, and pursue relationships but not at the expense of their own mental health. I’d describe her heroines as pragmatists who tend towards a light touch of healthy anxiety. They are women that feel familiar—like women I’d actually know in real life. And since they feel so close to real life, sometimes that can make the mysteries feel even more tense. They feel like real stories, and that brings its own sort of terror.
Emma Hawke’s first husband was murdered in a random shooting. Within weeks, Emma sold their house and did her best to move on, getting an apartment in Manhattan. It isn’t long before Emma meets the man who becomes her second husband, Tom Halliday in her work as a trend forecaster consultant. Emma and Tom have a beautiful home in Connecticut with Emma’s office in a guest cottage out back. Things should be bliss as Emma finally finds herself in a happy, healthy marriage, but everything isn’t settled just yet. Tom’s stepdaughter Brittany from his previous marriage is staying with them for the summer and she is not a fan of Emma’s.
When a detective shows up on their doorstep saying they are re-opening the investigation into the murder of Emma’s first husband, Emma dreads going back to the headspace she was in during her first marriage. Emma didn’t share this with anyone, but her first marriage wasn’t as happy as others thought. In fact, Emma was relieved when it ended, though of course she didn’t want her first husband to die… did she?
And if not Emma behind it all, then who? Her ex-brother-in-law who always hated Emma? A business associate? A random stranger? Or could it be possible that her own second husband was somehow involved? There are too many suspects to keep straight, and yet all of them seem to tie back to Emma herself. Desperate to clear up the case and close that chapter of her life permanently, Emma does everything she can to do her own investigation into any leads the police might be pursuing. But what happens if she doesn’t like the answers once she finds them?
I loved how this mystery was laid out. I had a lot of different theories and suspects and I liked how clues were resolved, new clues were introduced, and the suspect list shuffled throughout the book. It kept the pace of the mystery moving forward, as some leads got closed out while new information arrived. By the end it was like putting together a puzzle of what I knew, what I thought I knew, and what I had overlooked. I definitely didn’t guess exactly how the mystery would resolve! I enjoyed getting Emma’s thoughts along the way.
Fresh, easy, and light—Kate White’s The Second Husband is the perfect summer mystery!