Title: The Other Mrs Miller
Author: Allison Dickson
Published: July 23rd 2019
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Pages: 352
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
RRP: $32.99
Rating: 4 stars
Two women are watching each other.
Phoebe isn’t sure when the car started showing up. At first she put it down to the scandal around her late father, but she’s certain now it’s there for her. What’s interesting about an unhappily married housewife, who barely leaves her house?
Only one knows why.
Every morning, not long before your husband leaves for work, I wait for the blinds beside your front door to twitch. You might think I’m sitting out here waiting to break into your house and add a piece of your life to my collection. Things aren’t quite that simple. It’s not a piece of your life I want.
When a new family move in across the street, it provides Phoebe with a distraction. But with her head turned she’s no longer focused on the woman in the car. And Phoebe really should be, because she’s just waiting for an opportunity to upend Phoebe’s life…
Review:
Debut author Allison Dickson of The Other Mrs Miller was led on a path of writing dark thriller and suspense novels after experiencing success with her 2013 Indie horror title, Strings. This July her first novel dropped in the hands of readers and she certainly delivers a story full of unexpected twists.
The Other Mrs Miller begins with Phoebe, a socialite of sorts, who fills her days with very little. All this is about to change when a mysterious car begins to make its presence known. Phoebe believes that this car may connected to her father, who recently passed away – shrouded in scandal. Then the reader meets an observer, a figure who is waiting to pounce at just the right moment. What is this person’s connection to a bored housewife? Adding to the swirling suspension are a new set of neighbours for Phoebe to contend with. It provides Phoebe with an opportunity to focus her attention away from the strange car and the feeling that she is being constantly watched. However, Phoebe is letting her guard down, providing the perfect grounds for someone to create chaos in her life.
A book filled with delicious secrets, polarising plot twists and shady characters defines The Other Mrs Miller from debut novelist Allison Dickson. Breaking out in the domestic suspense field with this standout novel, Allison Dickson ensures that her audience is putty in her hands as she delivers plenty of startling moments in The Other Mrs Miller.
As soon as I met Phoebe, the bored housewife of Allison Dickson’s new novel, I wasn’t quite sure we to make of her. I didn’t know if I liked Phoebe, or if I could trust her. Phoebe is just one of many characters in this novel that are impossible to pin down. I think this is deliberate ploy on behalf of the author to play a number of mind tricks with the reader. In fact, The Other Mrs Miller is filled with suspect characters, dead ends, wrong turns and shocking twists. The use of a number of perspectives to unfurl this compelling story adds another bewildering layer to this clever thriller. For a first time novelist, I feel that Dickson’s style is confident and very readable, hooking the reader in from the opening, to the very close of the novel.
I would have loved to have read The Other Mrs Miller in one sitting, but unfortunately I had to stretch this one over the working week. The style of writing, the complex characters and the story at hand, begs this one to be read over a short period of time. The Other Mrs Miller is a great domestic noir addition to the shelves of thriller and suspense fans.
The Other Mrs Miller by Allison Dickson is published by Hachette Australia. Out now. $32.99
https://www.hachette.com.au/allison-dickson/the-other-mrs-miller-gripping-twisty-unpredictable-the-must-read-thriller-of-2019
To learn more about the author of The Other Mrs Miller, Allison Dickson, visit here.
*Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
