Book Review: The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter

“They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew.”

Set to be released on 27th May, The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter follows Beth and Tom Hardcastle, 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.

Rating:

Thank you to NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With a title like The Serial Killer’s Wife, this is undoubtedly a book that many of us will buy over the coming months. There’s nothing we love more than to get into the head of a serial killer, and what better way to do that than through the point of view of his wife?

Of course, the title does take away some of the “Did he? Didn’t he?” which could have added more mystery to the story, but there’s still plenty to question. With short chapters and a quick pace, it’s an easy book to get through which makes it all the more exciting as you can race through it to reveal the answers.

While I did immensely enjoy this twisty and engaging thriller, I did find Alice quite a selfish character and therefore a little annoying at times as she couldn’t look past her own situation. But this is one of those books where your irritations are explained in the final chapter, so it depends on whether you feel that the end justifies the means or not.

And I certainly think that it does. Although I did guess one of the twists, there was still a lot that took me by surprise and I was constantly interested in how it was going to progress.

I definitely look forward to seeing what Alice Hunter writes next!