The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin

☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 368 pages
Publication Date: June 11th 2019 by Grand Central Publishing
About the Book:
I close the online search window, annoyed. These articles never have enough detail. They think my husband's first wife disappeared or they think she is dead. There's a big difference. My phone rings, jarring me away from my thoughts, and when I pick it up, it's an unknown number. The only answer to my slightly breathless hello is empty static. When the voice does finally come, it's female, low, muffled somehow. "Where is it, Claire? What did you do with it? Tell me where it is." A woman. A real flesh-and-blood woman on the other end of the phone. She's not just in my head. A wave of panic spreads under my skin like ice water. It's Colleen.

They will all think I’m crazy, insane, psychotic, but what else is love but madness? Isn’t that what all the great novels are about?

I was totally enthralled by the book from the very beginning. The writing made the characters come to life easily and with power. The twist at the end was something I didn’t expect. I liked how the book went through different narratives...one of my favourite types of thrillers.

The story was very engrossing. This book is packed with so many layers, each one carefully developed and shown to the reader in perfect timing. It is so much more than just the story of a husband and wife, each character matters and is intertwined brilliantly.

For me, this turned out to be a quick read because I tore through it eager to know. It was written with such clever simplicity, which I really appreciated. No need for crowded characters or dramatic laborious environments. I liked the style, the pace and the way the author would feed you tidbits at a time; crumbling you along for more. This is the third book, of hopefully many more, I have read from Nina Laurin. She always manages to hold my interest from the first page till the end.

Thank you NetGalley, Nina Laurin and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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