Riveting psychological thriller about being a 2nd wife     

My Rating:  5 out of 5     

This great psychological thriller revolves around two women who are the second wives of two brothers.  They live next door to each other, and their mother in law lives across the road.   Not the idyllic family setting that the wives might wish for.   And then they start discovering family secrets.

At 35 years old Maggie has finally met Mr. Right (after many Mr Very Wrongs) and the story opens with the wedding ceremony.  Although Maggie’s new husband is perfect, adjusting to his 13 year old daughter is more difficult.  She starts getting to know her sister in law, Lara, who lives next door and who deals with everything life throws at her with ease – or so it appears to Maggie.

The story alternates with one chapter from Maggie’s perspective and the next from Lara’s.  The story moves fast and is completely gripping, as the psychological issues of being a second wife are gradually explored – was the first, late, wife really so perfect as everyone makes out?     Are the husbands as perfect as they appear to be?

Set in 2016, in the Brighton area of the UK, there is a lot going on behind closed doors in the two households.  Plenty of material to think about, and wonder what you would do in that situation, plus some hair raising episodes that will have you racing to see what happens next.

I loved this book.  Maggie and Lara are engaging characters, facing all the problems of second wives with moral dilemmas that are true to life and very interesting.  Then there are the secrets they discover – should they keep them, or tell everyone?

I was riveted throughout all the of the book, and found the issues that the two women faced to be so true to life and interesting, to make this a 5* book.