My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

It seems like the only books these days are psychological thrillers and self-help celebrity tell-alls so, if you're like me, it's gotten more challenging to find a domestic noir novel that is interesting, well-told, and offers the requisite surprises. Nothing will shock me like The Burning Air, so I've given up there, and I've gotten to the point where I roll my eyes every time I see an advance praise that includes the words, "fans," "Gone Girl," and, "love," so I was pleasantly surprised when I found that Samantha Downing's My Lovely Wife contains none of these. It isn't the best murder mystery I've ever read, then again none of them are, earning just four out of five stars on Goodreads from your's truly. But I have definitely read worse (*cough* The Couple Next Door *cough*). Dark, disturbing, emotional, and dramatic, My Lovely Wife is an unputdownable book that makes you feel like you know everything, and nothing at all.

Millicent and her husband are the epitome of Middle Class; living in a home they can't afford, paying private school tuition they don't need, and murdering random people simply for the fun of it (like we all haven't thought about it at least once). What started as an act of self-defense, slowly morphs into murder for pleasure and an unlikely bonding exercise for the married parents of two attitude-riddled teenagers. The story is sexy and seductive, and manipulative and twisted, and definitely makes you wonder if all of the new people you've met in the last year were actually trying to decide if you fit a serial killer's victim profile.

I enjoyed the way in which the book is written, appreciating the one perspective of the husband throughout the story, though he sometimes comes off as a bit of a wank. The Owen letters are a bit too cheesy, and make things just a little too easy and cynical. While I agree with Downings portrayal of the information super-highway and the subsequent trial in the court of public opinion, in this day and age especially, we are more prone to suspicion than simply believing what we are told. So while it was an interesting element to the story, it doesn't make the mystery any better or worse. In that regard, the Big Surprise isn't all that shocking, but all of the mini-surprises that prop up the larger one, aided by quick, succinct chapters, are what keep the pages turning. I definitely could not put down My Lovely Wife. ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 on goodreads.