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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Dear Wife in Books

Jul 8, 2019  
Dear Wife
Dear Wife
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
In Pine Bluff Arkansas, Jeffrey comes home from travel to find his wife, Sabine, missing. Her car has been left behind, and she's seemingly vanished into thin air. As Detective Marcus Durand begins his investigation, things quickly become complicated. Sabine and Jeffrey's marriage wasn't what it seemed, and all signs appear to Jeffrey wanting her gone. What was he doing between his flight and arriving home, for instance? Meanwhile, several hundred miles away, Beth Murphy is on the run, carefully executing a meticulous plan to escape her violent husband. One slip, one mistake, and Beth knows he will find her--and kill her.


"Four hours on the road, two hundred and eight-three miles of space between us, and it's nowhere near enough. I still hear the clink of your keys when you toss them on the table, still tense at the thud of your shoes when you come closer to the kitchen. Still feel the fear slithering, snake-like, just under the surface of my skin. You have three moods lately: offensive, enraged, or violent."


This was a really enjoyable, compulsively readable thriller. It pulls you in nearly immediately and never lets you go--I was completely sucked up in the various stories. The book alternates between the points of view of Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus. Beth is focused on escaping her husband, Jeffrey on figuring out what happened to his wife, and Marcus on solving the case. Each has their own unique voice, but you're never quite sure of who is telling you the truth or what is happening.


"People don't just fall off the face of the planet. They run, they hide, or they are taken. I should know, because I am one of them."


The result of hearing each person's individual take is a really exciting, twisty story. Where is Sabine? Who exactly is Beth? There are a bunch of fun "aha" moments throughout. I figured out some ahead of time; others were great surprises. No matter what, I enjoyed every moment and was kept interested and guessing. I especially liked and was intrigued by the character of Beth. (Please note that there is a domestic violence trigger in this book.)

Overall, this is a quick, suspenseful read that will keep you flipping the pages. I recommend this well-executed and entertaining thriller! 4+ stars.
  
    Secret Files: Sam Peters

    Secret Files: Sam Peters

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    [ The acclaimed point and click adventure Secret Files Sam Peters has now found its way back onto...

Favorite
Favorite
Karen McQuestion | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
Interesting Characters (1 more)
Good Pacing
Underdeveloped Plot (1 more)
Unbelievable World Building
Just Okay
The synopsis to Favorite by Karen McQuestion sounded intriguing. I love thrillers, so this seemed like a good book to read. However, why it wasn't that bad, it wasn't that great either. It was just okay.

The plot to Favorite was interesting although it seemed a bit all over the place in some areas. Angie is attacked. The attacker's mother, Mrs. Bittner, calls and gets a hold of Angie to invite her over to apologize. Angie reluctantly goes, but she winds up stuck at the house. This is where the story goes from Angie being attacked to Angie trying to find out what happened to her mother to Angie trying to escape from Mrs. Bittner's house. The world building was believable for the most part until Angie finds medival weaponry such as battleaxes and what not. I thought that was a bit too convenient and a little weird that a house would just have this kind of weaponry lying around. I also found it strange that all of Angie's and her brother's friends would all be out and not wanting to help. They must have some selfish friends! I think the plot and world building were just a tad underdeveloped for my liking. There are a couple of plot twists, but they were fairly easy to figure out. The good thing is that all of my questions were answered, and there was no cliff hanger.

I did feel like most of the characters in Favorite were well written. I enjoyed the character of Angie, and I liked reading about what she was thinking at each moment. Her feelings felt genuine. I liked how protective Angie's brother Jason was. I even enjoyed Angie's and Jason's dad. I loved the rock star angle. Mrs. Bittner was definitely an intriguing character, and I always felt like their was something strange about her from the beginning. The character of Hank reminded me of Lurch from The Addams Family.

Even though the plot and world building were a little bit of a disappointment in Favorite, the pacing flowed very well. The book held my attention throughout.

Trigger warnings for Favorite include violence, mentions of suicide, drugging characters, and violence.

Overall, Favorite lacks a well developed world and plot. The idea is interesting, but it is sort of poorly executed. However, I would recommend Favorite by Karen McQuestion to those aged 13+ because the pacing is good, and the characters are interesting.