Title: The Last Wife
Author: Karen Hamilton
Published: June 20th 2020
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Pages: 352
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Crime, Mystery
RRP: $32.99
Rating: 4 stars
THE BRILLIANT NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND
Two women. A dying wish. And a web of lies that will bring their world crashing down.
Nina and Marie were best friends-until Nina was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Before she died, Nina asked Marie to fulfill her final wishes.
But her mistake was in thinking Marie was someone she could trust.
What Nina didn’t know was that Marie always wanted her beautiful life, and that Marie has an agenda of her own. She’ll do anything to get what she wants.
Marie thinks she can keep her promise to her friend’s family on her own terms. But what she doesn’t know is that Nina was hiding explosive secrets of her own…
Review:
‘I’m not stressed, I’m seething, but there are no words, no decent ways of breaking the news to him that his perfect wife seems to have had secrets.’
Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend and now The Last Wife, is a Sunday Times bestselling writer. Hamilton’s new novel is a dark psychological drama, filled with secrets, lies and long held truths. This slow burn domestic fiction title completely ensnares the reader in this complicated tale of promises, friendship and envy.
The Last Wife unveils a complicated and untrustworthy tale of a long standing friendship, a promise and a whole of host of lies. When Karen Hamilton’s novel opens, we meet Marie, who has recently lost her best friend Nina to a terminal illness. Nina leaves behind a loving husband and two children. Nina made her oldest friend vow to uphold three promises, but Marie is ready and waiting to jump straight into Nina’s shoes. Can Marie be trusted to follow these promises? As the story slowly unravels, we see just how fixated Marie is on living Nina’s life. From parenting Nina’s two children, sleeping with her husband Stuart and living in Nina’s family home, Marie seems to have slipped very easily into Nina’s life. But Marie needs to watch her back, Nina left behind some unfinished business and plenty of dark secrets, which Marie is about to discover.
The Last Wife is my second helping of British based author Karen Hamilton’s work. I really enjoyed Hamilton’s 2018 debut, The Perfect Girlfriend. While it did take some time for me to settle into this one, I’m glad I persisted, it was a steady and revealing race to the finish line!
At first I was more than little perturbed by the lead character Marie. The events of the novel are solely narrated from Marie’s perspective. Marie came across as selfish, entitled, opportunist, obsessive and psychologically damaged. I would have liked to have delved more into Marie’s issues and I do confess to psycho analysing her for the bulk of the novel! There were times when I felt a significant amount of empathy and understanding for Marie, but other times I thought she was just plain crazy! I think the author intended for the reader to feel like they are on both sides of Marie’s fence. I couldn’t settle on Marie being unreliable or truthful. I constantly scrutinized Marie’s intentions and motivations, she was a perplexing lead!
The support cast are an interesting bunch too. From Nina, Marie’s best friend, who clearly leaves behind a legacy of lies and secrets behind, to Nina’s seemingly innocent husband Stuart, through to suspect family members, friends and acquaintances. Hamilton keeps the audience guessing and on their toes throughout the duration of The Last Wife. We are never certain of who we can trust. With a good dose of suspense, intrigue and a plenty of plot curveballs this one sure does send your mind in a spin! I really liked the use of a past murder mystery which foreshadowed the present day events. It worked well. Overall, I found The Last Wife to be an atmospheric read, full of tension and agitation. I know I felt deeply unsettled from the get go with The Last Wife. I was also compelled to stay with this one until the bitter end to unlock the past, understand the present, solve the other murder that arises, witness the cover ups unfurl and learn Marie’s final fate. This really reiterates that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, life can be messy!
The Last Wife provides plenty of introspection in terms of how events of the past can weigh heavily on our relationships. With a convergence of the past, present, secrets, lies, acts of concealment and deception all present in the one storyline, The Last Wife is a convoluted domestic drama that I recommend.
The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton is published by Hachette Australia on June 20th 2020. $32.99.
https://www.hachette.com.au/karen-hamilton/the-last-wife-the-addictive-and-unforgettable-new-thriller-from-the-sunday-times-bestseller
To learn more about the author of The Last Wife, Karen Hamilton visit here.
*Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
