The Second Husband is a psychological thriller published in June 2022.

Emma Hawke finally has a chance at happiness. It’s been twenty-seven months since her first husband died. While her relationship with him had been in turmoil, losing him to an unresolved murder was not easy. But, now she is in a loving marriage with a husband who dotes on her and runs a successful research company. Things are finally looking up.

However, everything comes crashing down around Emma when one afternoon she opens a door to an unexpected visitor, Detective Lisa Webster. She informs Emma that her dead husband’s case is being re-opened. Though Emma has been cleared of the murder, she doesn’t want to go down that road again. She is afraid that the things buried in her darkest corners might come crawling back. But that’s the least of her worries. Emma couldn’t have even imagined the things that lie ahead of her.

How did it make me feel?

The Narrative

I really liked the premise of this story. The Second Husband is aptly titled. It was able to hold my attention and at times make me really curious. However, there were some things that I couldn’t make sense of. Like, some characters and sub-plots were just placed haphazardly and didn’t segway into anything that contributed to the story. Since I have the ARC, maybe it has to do with the editing. I really hope these things have been fine-tuned in the final edition.

Also, the ending was so abrupt. I thought I was missing pages but I researched and apparently that’s how it is. And I’m not just talking about the loose ends. The ending didn’t make any sense at all. That left me really sad.

The Characters

For me, the characters were neither here nor there. Nothing bad about them however nothing remarkable either. I wouldn’t remember these characters after some time. 

Would I recommend it?

If the ending was decent, I’d probably say give it a chance. Because it does have its moments, I can’t deny that. But, unfortunately, The Second Husband is not the book I’d recommend to you off the top of my head. 

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