Book - My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Millicent and her husband are your typical couple: They live in Florida suburbs with their two teenage children, Rory and Jenna. He works as a tennis instructor at the local country club and she as real estate agent. They also have a good social life. 

However, after 15 years of marriage, the couple became bored and decided to spice up their union with an unusual hobby: murder.

We learn that they do not commit the murders together. The unnamed husband, goes to bars impersonating Tobias, a deaf man, in order to find potential victims for Millicent to kill. 

One day, Tobias sees on the news that the body of one of the women Millicent killed the year before were found. However, he was shocked to find that she was not dead for long. In fact, she was just killed, which means that Millicent was holding her captive. 

Confused, Tobias confronted his wife about this, and she told him it was a surprise because it coincided with Owen Riley's (a local serial killer who murdered several women years before) anniversary of disappearance. 

Hyped by the possibility of using Owen as a scapegoat, Tobias starts sending letters to the news reporter claiming to be Owen and threatening more killings. At the same time, the couple starts thinking about the next victim. But this convenient solution has its faults and the consequences are unimaginable. 

This book starts extremely slow and has way too many domestic life scenarios and references. That includes flashbacks from the past, e.g, about the circumstances Millicent and her husband met and when and why they moved to their neighborhood. I feel that most of these were unnecessary and a bit boring. 

The couple's kids also play a role in the book, as Rory finds his dad sneaking out to go to bars at night wearing a suit and thinks he is cheating on Millicent. Jenna develops anxiety about the supposedly serial killer Owen being out. There is also a side story regarding Millicent's past that led to them becoming engaged in murder. 

I can't say this wasn't entertaining, but I've certainly read more suspenseful thrillers. The end is what I thought it was going to be, however I wasn't expecting the final twist. And although the characters, specially Millicent, are portrayed as smart, considering how the story went I have to say they're not as bright as it seems. Much of the way they act and their decisions are non-nonsensical. On a positive note, I liked the author's writing style and the fact that she didn't name Millicent's husband gives the book a more creepy vibe. 

Note: As the book is told by the husband's perspective and he is not present in during the captivity and murders of the victims, there aren't any graphic descriptions of those moments.

Rate: 2.5/5