Blog Tour: The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton. I am excited to share my review for this twisty tale!

THE LAST WIFE Author: Karen Hamilton

Publication Date: July 7, 2020

Publisher: Graydon House Books

Book Summary:

In Karen Hamilton’s shocking thriller, THE LAST WIFE (Graydon House, July 7, $17.99) Marie Langham is distraught when her childhood friend, Nina, is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Before Nina passes away, she asks Marie to look out for her family—her son, daughter, and husband, Stuart. Marie would do anything for Nina, so of course, she agrees. 

Following Nina’s death, Marie gradually finds herself drawn into her friend’s life—her family, her large house in the countryside. But when Camilla, a mutual friend from their old art-college days, suddenly reappears, Marie begins to suspect that she has a hidden agenda. Then, Marie discovers that Nina had long suppressed secrets about a holiday in Ibiza the women took ten years previously when Marie’s then-boyfriend went missing after a tragic accident and was later found dead. 

Marie used to envy Nina’s beautiful life, but now the cards are up in the air and she begins to realize that nothing is what it seemed. As long-buried secrets start surfacing, Marie must figure out what’s true and who she can trust before the consequences of Nina’s dark secrets destroy her.

Brenda’s review

The Last Wife takes us into our main character, Marie’s head, after the death of her best friend, Nina, who had what Marie wants most. A tangled, messy, twisty web of obsession, jealousy, possession and secrets start to form. Being in Marie’s head is intense, and her thoughts are a bit much at times. I wasn’t sure how to feel about her, and, at times, I felt empathy for her, and she entertained me and other times I was rolling my eyes at her.

There are a few unlikeable characters here with secrets of their own weaved into the story making this a twisty one. It’s all about those secrets and the story takes on a lighter feel to it then this dark and twisted reader is used to. The drama to the story moves it forward and there’s are a few strings to the storyline. I became tangled up in the strings trying to figure out what direction the story was going and just when I thought I untangled the line, it got tried up in another one. Around the halfway mark, the story goes in a direction I was not expecting, and buried secrets start to come to light. Marie is determined to find the answers, and the tension begins to rise, and I was exhausted from looking for answers to my questions.

Things wrap up well and this one makes for a lighter, suspenseful read with some drama to it!

Author Bio: Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy and worked as a flight attendant for many years. Karen is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. She is also the author of the international bestseller The Perfect Girlfriend

Social Links:

Author Website Twitter: @KJHAuthor Instagram: @karenhamiltonauthor Facebook: @KarenHamiltonWriter Goodreads

Buy Links: Harlequin  Barnes & Noble Amazon Books-A-Million Powell’s

Thank you to Justine from HarperCollinsPublishers | Harlequin for a copy to read and review.