Review: Pretty Little Wife

Hi there! Welcome to the reading world!

I’m so excited to feature the first full length review on the blog with a debut thriller, Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane. 

Takeaways:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Recommend for: fans of Gone Girl and domestic thrillers with a mystery

This book follows multiple perspectives including Lila, the mysterious wife of a town-beloved teacher who has suddenly disappeared and Ginny, the driven and intuitive detective tasked with finding the missing teacher. Nothing is as it seems in this novel that combines complex characters with well written tension and intrigue throughout.

Pretty Little Wife definitely has that “hard to put down” factor- the tension in the book from all the characters for their own reasons is palpable. Who is this missing person really? Who wants to find him, and why? Ginny is my favorite character- she’s strong and fiercely smart, and her and Lila interacting always leaves you wanting to know what happens next. There are also some plot twists in here I didn’t see coming as well, so you definitely are on the edge of your seat at times wanting to know what happens next. 

What I didn’t love about the book at times was that it sometimes read a little predictably. Characters who were developed to have certain personality traits and skills suddenly seemed off for the sake of furthering the plot, and some of the plot twists weren’t necessary to me. Additionally, I wish we’d gotten to see some more development of side characters as well beyond the roles they served for plot. 

Overall, I enjoyed Pretty Little Wife. It’s definitely got some unexpected twists and turns, and it uses the morally gray protagonist to create a lot of tension and apprehension as you don’t know what to expect next. I definitely plan to check out Darby Kane’s next book as I read more thrillers in the new year.

If you’re interested in Pretty Little Wife, it releases next week on Tuesday, December 29! 

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading the review. Have you read Pretty Little Wife? What’s your favorite thriller recommendation? 

-Rae