Review: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

4 stars for My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing.

I first come across this book in a Kinokuniya bookstore a couple months ago. While the book cover grabs my attention, the same cannot be said for the cliché book title. Regardless, I flip to the first chapter to have a feel of the writing. Hmm.. not bad. Not too bad. First person narratives. Male protagonist. Tobias. Deaf. Man meets woman. Or rather, woman meets man. Uh-uh.. Is this story going to be another sad love mystery novel? I have no idea then. But I know Tobias has piqued my interest.

Now that I am done with the book, I will say that there is no love lost between Tobias and the whoever. Anyway, that is not important. The main point about this story is that it makes me think about the people around us. Do we really know them, including and especially our own family members whom we see everyday and, for most if not all, live under the same roof? Do we know our family as well as we think we do? For sure? For real?

My Lovely Wife is dark and intriguing though not the kind of script where I will fall head over heels in love with, thanks to the way the story develops with disturbing, messed up characters. Even so, I give points to the unexpected twists and turns along the way that do well to match the equally twisted characters. The build-up of mystery and suspense is good, but the ending is kind of anticlimactic; too good to be true and leaves much to be desired.

My Lovely Wife is nothing but lovely; readers will love it. Or.. My Lovely Wife is everything but lovely; readers will hate it. No matter how, My Lovely Wife makes a lovely addition to my repertoire of literary criticism.


Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: 26 Mar 2019

*** Favourite quote ***

The pieces rearrange in my head, like a puzzle that had been put together wrong.

~ My Lovely Wife
Samantha Downing

@}--->>--->>-----

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 secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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