My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

How I Heard About It:  I remember listening to an interview with the author on the radio while driving home from work this past spring.  They were chatting about the novel and the two hosts were raving how much they loved the book.  I forgot about it for awhile, until I saw a review written up in a magazine.  At the time, I was looking for a novel published for adults so I decided to order.  Boy, am I glad I did!  The last couple of days I just devoured the story and could not put the book down.  


What It Is About - FIVE Things You Need to Know:  
1.  *I don't want to give too much away so I'm going to keep my thoughts to the "bare bones".

2.  *Milicent and her husband (he is the narrator and unnamed) have two teenage children, live in a beautiful suburb, and both have jobs that keep them busy.  From those looking in from the outside, the family seems to have it all.  

3.  *The couple tend to take their "date nights" while sitting in the car which is parked in the garage.  It is here they are away from the ears of their children.  It is here they touch base, plot, and plan.  It is here they come to ask questions of each other.  

4.  *When women begin to disappear in the community and a serial killer may have returned; everyone, including Milicent and her husband, are put on high alert.  

5.  *Milicent has secrets.  Her husband has secrets.  They keep these secrets at bay from their children and those in the community.  What they didn't know is they are also keeping the secrets from each other.  


What I Thought Of It - Five Observations/Reflections:
1.  *It has been a long time since I have read an adult novel such as this one.  From the first page until the last page, I was literally "glued" to the story and what was happening on the pages.

2.  *As I was reading, I kept wondering why I was enjoying the experience so much.  The characters are awful.  What they do is awful.  They are not nice people.  Yet, I kept reading and reading and reading.  

3.  *To me, this is the perfect beach read for summer 2019.  Is the plot plausible?  No!  Could this really happen?  God, I hope not!  But what the author gives is a delightful, juicy, and page-turning reading experience.  

4.  *Sometimes it is just plain fun to read a book that is disturbing, jaw-dropping, and more over the top OMG moments to count.   

5.  *Just when I thought I had "things" figured out, Samantha Downing veered off course and gave me quite the surprise ending.  I loved it.  This was a pure joy.  Which is a strange thing to say since there was NO joy within the plot.  


Who Should Read It:    I'm not sure everyone would enjoy this story, but they should.  Isn't that what fiction is all about.  Letting go of reality and creating people, places, and events so far removed from our every day life; that we just have a ball reading.  This is the perfect summer book to read.  I highly recommend it.  Happy Reading!  


Rating:   5 STARS out of 5 Stars!