The Betrayed Wife

All I will say here is, think of the Fatal Attraction plot line that is slightly tweaked. A philandering husband and the doormat of a wife type of scenario with an illegitimate child and a few psycho stalkers. Kevin O'Brien is an engaging storyteller;however, this book was a bit lackluster. What kind of woman would stay with a man that is a serial cheater? I was almost hoping that Shiela would get knocked off as I do not believe any woman would put up with a husband that repeatedly breaks his marriage vows and makes excuses of staying together for the sake of the children. In my opinion, this is just a tired plot line that has been done already. There' are no big shockers, nor are there many twists and turns in this book. Overall, just forgettable.

3.5 STARS What would you do if a teenage girl walked into your home claiming to be your husband's daughter? She's dirty, she's got a mouth on her, she's covered in Goth make-up. Even worse is the young man who accompanies her ... Sheila has been followed for a couple of weeks. Her husband doesn't quite believe her, even when she shows his the texts about a murdered woman being found. The text also hinted that her husband knows more than he's telling. Someone has broken into her neighbor's house. Someone cut the brakes on her care. She really wants to trust her husband ... but who is out there trying to kill her? Is his daughter responsible .. or the boyfriend? Or is there someone else? She's always known that he was a serial cheater, but they have 3 children together and she wants to keep it that way until they are all in college. This novel has so much going on .... the husband's cheating, the wife's neurosis from something that happened in her past .... the dog next door that never stops barking .... a few murders .... a teenage son who is an expert on all things serial killers ... a teenage daughter who never seems to be seen unless she's on her phone ... and now the 'new' daughter that joins their household. Although the plot has been done many times before, there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader riveted to the pages. The characters for the most part are not likable in any way. If this is what the author was going for, he succeeded very well. The ending was unexpected, surprising with a terrific twist. Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Excellent story, Kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were true to life and believable. Many twists and turns. Kept you guessing till the end. Loved it can't wait to read the next book.