October 17, 2019

Finally, a book that lives up to the hype of a page-turning thriller with a twist you won’t see coming.

Buy Links

Amazon: https://geni.us/B07VXV8KHZsocial
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Ria is a single mom because her husband, Grayson, walked out on her five years ago. Her mother-in-law has kept her as part of the family, even though the family is not very tight. One day, Ria receives some emails exposing family members’ secrets. Who sent her the emails, and why?

It is an exciting premise, and the author does a great job of layering the lies that each family member tells to cover their secrets. The result is that the reader is never quite sure what is a lie or what is the truth. Furthermore, one also can’t tell which lie is being covered up. It becomes an intricate spiderweb, and as Ria looks into the emails further, she becomes more entrapped.

I thought that overall it was a very well-done story. I felt that the different personalities of the daughters-in-law (Ria, Ashlin, and Samira), as well as that of Christine (the daughter), were all sharply written. The male characters were not as strong, mainly because I think that the author wanted to showcase how women unknowingly influence each other’s personalities.

And then there is May, the matriarch of the Parker clan. From the beginning, it is apparent that she is headstrong and the driving force of the family. She is also an enigma, as her chapters often end with a thought or comment that leaves the reader questioning her motivations.

No spoilers here, so that’s all I am going to say about the plot. I will repeat that it’s a page-turner, and the multiple twists were well done. I only guessed one of them, partially guessed another, and didn’t see one coming at all. One of the notes that I made was that the story was like a bizarre game of Family Clue.

Now, to the not-so-good. The location of the story is Chicago. Last I checked, this is in the United States. Forgive the snark, but I counted at least 18 instances of phrasing that were inconsistent with American English. Everything from “bollocks” to “ringing” someone on their phone. Now, it might seem inconsequential to some, but to me, it feels lazy.

Just as I would expect a story set in England or Australia to use UK terms, I expect a story set in America to use American words. We don’t “ring” people, we call them. We don’t “lose the plot,” we “go crazy” or “lose it.” There were a few other examples as well. They were jarring and took me out of the flow of the story.

If a writer is going to set a story in a location, I wish the writer would do the simple research necessary to make everything fit together. Or, at the very least, that the editor would catch these things before publication.

That was really the only detraction, however, and I still would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good page-turner.

The Last Wife by Nicola Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lots of books claim to be page-turning thrillers with unbelievable twists. Some live up to the hype, and some don’t. In The Last Wife, all of the characters had secrets of some kind. The author did a fantastic job of keeping me off-balance and wondering which secret was affecting which character. In fact, there were layers upon layers of lies that unraveled throughout the story. There were a couple of writing issues that seemed jarring to me, but overall I thought it was a well-done thriller with an original (and unexpected) twist. Yes, this one did live up to the hype. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a complimentary digital ARC of this book.

View all my reviews

Author Bio

USA TODAY bestselling & multi-award winning author Nicola Marsh writes feel-good fiction with a twist!

She has published 68 books with Harlequin, Amazon and indie, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. She currently writes women’s fiction/rural romance for Harper Collins Australia Mira imprint, emotional domestic suspense for Bookouture and contemporary romance for Harlequin Dare.

Her first mainstream contemporary romance, BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD released to rave reviews, including a nomination for RWA’s RBY, Romantic Book of the Year.
Her first indie-pubbed contemporary romance CRAZY LOVE is an Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestseller, and was nominated for an ARRA award. Her women’s fiction novel SAVING SARA with Lake Union hit the #1 kindle romance spot on Amazon UK.

Her young adult fantasy SCION OF THE SUN won a National Readers’ Choice Award for Best YA novel.

She’s also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a RBY and National Readers’ Choice Award winner, is a multiple finalist for awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

A physiotherapist for 13 years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two dashing young heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, barracking loudly for her beloved North Melbourne Kangaroos footy team, and her favourite, curling up with a good book!