ARC Review--Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle
Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle was provided to me by NetGalley and Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Spoilers Warning
Readers of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train will immediately notice similarities to Kimberly Belle's Dear Wife: wife goes missing...husband wants to find her...husband blamed or suspected for her disappearance...things are not what they seem.
This book came to me with tons of 4 and 5 star reviews of NetGalley and Goodreads. For me, it was a no brainer. Let's get his twisty morsel and have a go! I mean, if people are ga-ga over this, I didn't want to miss out on the next hit. Well...
Dear Wife tells the story of Sabine, who goes missing one evening while not returning from a home showing (she's a realtor). Her husband, Jeffrey, is upset. During moments of introspection and after some conversations with Sabine's sister, Ingrid, it comes out that their marriage has had its fair share of problems. There's been abuse. There's been affairs. But surely it wasn't too bad for Jeffrey to have harmed his wife, right? Surely not so bad that she just took off and bolted?
It's told through several perspectives: Beth (made to seem like its Sabine...but that secret was spit out early); Jeffrey; and Marcus.
Enter: Marcus--the cop. He's suspecting things all right. But sadly, for this reader, his suspicions gave up the goods. The minute Marcus entered the scene...the minute this reader had discovered all of the books major secrets. He's got a bad marriage too...enter Emma/Beth.
Despite being fast-paced and mildly tense in spots, I was left with a big meh...I had figured out the plot so early on that reading it became (about halfway through) something to get done and confirm. I had my fingers crossed that Belle would twist me up again at the climax, surprise me...that maybe she made me feel like I had it all figured out...then Wham! But no...I well and truly had the goods all along. Sigh.
This is my first novel by Belle. I see that many of my friends have high opinions of her work. It's no wonder: she is talented at keeping the tension building and suspense growing to a late climax. Props for that. I'm just disappointed when I'm able to have a mystery thriller figured out so early in the book. For that...⭐️⭐️
