My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting...

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Whew... This book will mess with your mind... A LOT.

You're sucked right in to the twisted and crazy lifestyle of Millicent and her husband. While they appear to be the typical suburban household with two growing kids and two jobs, their "dates" are anything but normal.

While twisting and turning in their messed up psyche, you're also trying to reconcile that they are your neighbors... they are your tennis coach… your realtor...

It's a game of cat and mouse, but throughout, you're not quite sure who the cat is or who the mouse is. This book will make you second guess everything at least twice and then, when you think you've got it, another mind bender will show up.

While it's a fast read, I think mainly it's quick because you want to find out what happens next. There is a well-developed mystery within the story and fairly decent backstory information so that you can try and figure out how Millicent and her husband function every day.

This is the first book that I've read of Downing's and it left me speechless and happy, all wrapped into a crazy, confused package. I loved the intensity and while I'm unsure if I "liked" the book, I definitely liked the style.


Shelby – ☆☆
My Lovely Wife was not what I was expecting, it had moments of intrigue but unfortunately it didn't appeal to me. I will admit I like a darker, psychological thriller as much as the next person, but this read more like a diary then an actual story. Due to that, I just couldn't get into it. I would set the book down and read something else, then come back (I may have done this a few times).

The unnamed main character is a father, husband, and tennis instructor. I know his children's names, I know his wife's name, I even know his client's names but never have I learned his name. Happily married with a predictable family schedule, doting wife, and loving children. Unnamed and his wife, Millicent, find a way to "spice" up their lives and the insanity begins...

I couldn't connect with any of the characters (thankfully), I had absolutely nothing in common except maybe the love of my children, and I believe this may be where the disconnect started for me. While I didn't enjoy the story, I do appreciate the ending (even if I already knew what was going on).

I would definitely give this author another try, but this story just wasn't for me.

Samantha Downing currently lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away on her next thrilling standalone. My Lovely Wife is her first novel.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing to read and review.