The Serial Killer's Wife by Alice Hunter
Publication Date 27th May 2021
Published by Avon Books UK
Book Description:
They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew.
Beth and Tom Hardcastle are the envy of their neighbourhood – they have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, the perfect family.
When the police knock on their door one evening, Beth panics. Tom should be back from work by now – what if he’s crashed his car? She fears the worst.
But the worst is beyond imagining.
As the interrogation begins, Beth will find herself questioning everything she believed about her husband.
They’re husband and wife – till death do them part…
My Thoughts:
This is a tricky book to review without giving away too much of a spoiler. Tom, Beth and daughter Poppy have moved to the Cotswolds from their bustling lives in London to set up a much nicer family life for the 3 of them. Beth has her ceramics cafe which is building up trade nicely, although this has taken its toll on Beth's ability to get to know the locals as it has taken up so much of her spare time.
So when the local constabulary knock on the door asking to interview Tom, Beth has very few friends to call on for support. What would they think of her? She hears mutterings among the school mums suggesting she must be involved too - but Tom's innocent isn't he?
I wasn't sure whether I really liked Beth to be honest, despite there being nothing I could put my finger on to say why. I felt sorry for her having to deal with the fallout of Tom's arrest - her privacy was destroyed for a while, as is the case when a big story hits the media. But probably the last quarter (if that) of the book started to get me thinking. What if the school mums were right after all?
As I say, I don't want to spoil the tale but for me the jury is still out as to whether the book worked as a whole. It felt a bit like the author changed her mind part way through as to which of two paths she was going to take the story. Overall yes, I enjoyed reading it but it doesn't rest comfortably for me how the tale concluded. And I think it's best to leave things there before I say too much! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4
My thanks to the publisher for approving the review copy of the book via NetGalley.About the Author:
After completing a psychology degree, Alice Hunter became an interventions facilitator in a prison. There, she was part of a team offering rehabilitation programmes to men serving sentences for a wide range of offences, often working with prisoners who'd committed serious violent crimes. Previously, Alice had been a nurse, working in the NHS. She now puts her experiences to good use in fiction. THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE draws heavily on her knowledge of psychology and the criminal mind.
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