The Marriage Lie – Kimberly Belle

Psychological Thriller
4*s

Well once again the premise of this book is intriguing. Imagine finding out your devoted husband has died in a plane crash, only he wasn’t supposed to be on a trip to Seattle because he is attending a conference as a key speaker in Orlando. That’s what happened to Iris when just that morning they’d snuggled in bed and planned on having a baby. After being married for seven years you’d think Iris knew all the big things about Will but when she tries to work out how he was on that flight she realises how little she knew.

I’m not going to say too much more about the plot, I’ll let you discover for yourself what Iris uncovers and the real reason why Will wasn’t where he’d said he’d be, and it’s a thrilling journey. The plotting is superb with plenty of twists and turns right from the beginning to the very last page and along the way we meet some interesting characters.

Poor Iris is suffering from grief for the man she thought she’d married along with a burning desire to find out who her husband really was. For all the conflicting emotions she comes across as a credible character, although perhaps she should have asked some of those questions before she married Will, he seemed so perfect and he’d had a tragic early life so of course she didn’t want to open old wounds.

Iris’s family were lovely, the fussy mother and her twin brother Dave who doesn’t hesitate to help her find out exactly who Will was, where he came from and what he was doing in Seattle, were particular favourites of mine. They were realistic, all the more so because behind them all stood the solid father, quietly managing the inevitable overspill of emotion. Together this wonderful family unit highlights how little Will had, apart of course from Iris.

Iris and Dave go to Seattle to follow in the footsteps of the deceased Will and one of the things I loved about this book was the bond between the siblings. It isn’t unusual to read about sisters in books but I realised how rarely brothers feature, unless to act as a bit of muscle or the odd snarl here and there. This was an authentic sibling relationship which mirrors the genuine pleasure the pair gained from each other’s company, even in this the weirdest, and saddest of situations.

As with so many of these psychological thrillers this is a book to put time aside for and enjoy the ride with all its high points and shocking moments, trying to discern the sneaky red herrings whilst pondering how some of the things you are reading can possibly be resolved in a realistic manner. Now I’m not going to pretend that there aren’t a few coincidences, a bit of trickery to smooth out some bumps, that is only to be expected but on the whole I was convinced by much of this book because of the characters, they really behaved as real people do. Some were straightforward and some much less so – don’t worry you will recognise them when you meet them… eventually.

I was delighted to receive a proof copy of this book from the publishers Harper Collins UK via Midas PR who have supplied me with so many good books in 2017. The Marriage Lie will be published on 29 December 2016 so keep some of that Christmas money aside to treat yourself to a great book to start 2017.

First Published UK: 29 December 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Uk
No of Pages: 384
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
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