You know those times when all of your questionable, sick obsessions culminate into a diabolical storm of spine-tingling epicness you are completely engrossed by and can’t seem to pull yourself away from?
THAT. JUST. HAPPENED.
As a child who was weaned on Unsolved Mysteries and the Goosebumps series, I think it’s fair to say I have a healthy (meh okay, alarming) appreciation for the grotesque musings of a twisted mind. As I’ve gotten older, these fascinations have found sanctuary in the Investigation Discovery Channel and all manner of messed up story lines (think The Woman in the Window and Baby Teeth).
Recently I’ve discovered the most darkly hilarious podcast ever made, My Favorite Murder, and I’m pretty sure I’ve found my tribe. The hosts, Karen and Georgia, are two ladies I’d love to just go out and get margaritas with, while dissecting the sick minds spanning the centuries. It’s messed up, but I’ve chosen to embrace it.
That’s now a thing.
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing is a domestic suspense thriller that touts itself as a hybrid version of Dexter and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (but honestly, it’s got more of a femme fatal vibe that is reminiscent of the book Sunburn by Laura Lippman. Millicent and Polly pretty much parallel one another in both appearance and detachment. They’re some icy bitches).
oh my!
The story is told from a first person account of the husband and each chapter is short and sweet, leaving little cliff hangers to keep the reader tantalized. By reading from the husband’s perspective, the reader’s perception of good and bad is somewhat blurred; are these two people really sickos or just misunderstood by society? If you choose the latter, you might be a sociopath.
The book begins with Millicent’s husband (who the reader never discovers the actual name of) picking a woman up at a bar while pretending to be deaf and giving the alias, Tobias. “Tobias” and the woman sleep together, which isn’t a typical practice for the husband and he ends up leaving, deciding that she’s not the one. As the book progresses, the reader learns that this is a sick game Millicent and her husband play to decide who’s a viable victim; the husband stakes the women out and the wife makes them disappear.
The thing that’s creepy and highly suspenseful in this book is how unassuming this couple is. Millicent is a high-profile real estate agent and the husband is a tennis pro who coaches at the local country club. They are social climbers of the Hidden Oaks community, strategizing the best ways to infiltrate the upper crust while raising their children, Jenna and Rory.
It’s one of those character developments that makes the reader think, “Hmmm, how many crazy psychopaths do I associate with in my daily life?” And on top of reading this book, listening to a podcast that basically centers around chameleon-like individuals who commit horrendous crimes and blend into the background. It’s a thing of nightmares.
Without giving away too many juicy bits, I can tell you this is a story you won’t immediately pinpoint the outcome of. At least not for the first three-fourths of the book. I could kind of deduce where the storyline was heading and the actual conclusion was a little less suspenseful than I was anticipating.
It all ended more abruptly than I was hoping for and I was left underwhelmed by the outcome. I wanted the story to continue and didn’t feel like the conclusion did justice to the intense buildup; it fizzled instead of banged.
All things considered however, it was an extremely well-written thriller that had me chomping at the bit. I got greedy and just wanted more.
Make sure you clear your day’s schedule before picking this one up. Otherwise, good luck trying to put it down!
You can find your copy here:
Happy & healthy reading!
Lexi
