First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks
Published by HQ
Publication Date: 4th July 2024
Book Description:
HIS FIRST WIFE DIED. NOW THERE'S A VACANCY…
When Emma meets Matthew, a kind, handsome widower, he seems to be just what she needs.
Yet as their relationship moves fast, Emma’s friends worry Emma might be exploited. She’s a rich woman after all.
Emma doesn’t care Matthew has no money. But as the memory of his perfect first wife hangs over them, Emma does have one tiny doubt.
If Matthew’s wife hadn’t died, he wouldn’t be with her. And Emma wonders if she’s second best. Can she ever fill the dead woman’s shoes?
As jealousy and suspicion blossom between Emma and Matthew, events take a darker, dangerous turn.
Suddenly Emma doesn’t know who she can trust. Her friends? Her husband? Or even herself…?
My Thoughts:
The prologue to this book tells us that someone involved in the story dies. We know not who or why. All we do know is that they took their last breath crushed between a car and a tree. An unfortunate accident or a deliberate act? Ultimately a jury will need to decide.
Emma is a wealthy lady, CEO of a world leading company in the renewable energy field. Matthew is a freelance photographer, a recent widower trying to find a way forward after losing his wife. Well, that's what he tells Emma when they meet at conference where Emma is the speaker. But there's a lot more to Matthew than meets the eye, a fact that Emma's best friend Heidi intuits quite early on.
The story is split into two parts, the first is from Emma's point of view then on the turn of a page a new voice takes over and, in my opinion, that's where the book really begins to earn its stripes. Emma's narration of things really just sets the scene and I was just starting to feel like I was losing interest when this new voice stepped in, the action began to happen and didn't let up right through to the end.
This book certainly had me asking myself how I would react in the circumstances Emma and Matthew found themselves, but I suppose one never knows until you're faced with them. Another thing I realised is that none of us really know each other's history and very much take people at face value, a dangerous thing to do, as those involved in this story find out!
The characters are all excellent (the nice ones and the nasties) - I loved Emma's friendship group of Heidi and Gina with their associated families - they all have plenty of depth and background to them. The descriptions of Emma's home are gorgeous and I had no problem picturing the scenes set there in my head especially when events took a darker turn and the house and its woodland setting just seemed to add to the sinister atmosphere. There are clues to the overall story right the way through and while I managed to pick up on a few of them, others managed to elude me.
My recommendation is that you work your way through the first half and the second part will reward you in spades.
About the Author:
Adele Parks MBE was born in North Yorkshire. She is the author of 23 bestselling novels including the Sunday Times Number One bestsellers Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck. Over five million UK editions of her work have been sold and her books have been translated into 31 different languages. Adele's novel The Image of You has just been released as a major motion movied and she has several other titles optioned and in development including One Last Secret and Both of You. She is an ambassador of the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency: two charities that promote literacy in the UK. Adele has lived in Botswana, Italy and London and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for her services to literature.
Find Adele on X @adeleparks, Instagram @adele_parks, Facebook @OfficialAdeleParks, TikTok @Adeleparksauthor or visit www.adeleparks.com.
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