Happy Wednesday!
Thanks to Sourcebooks for the free early copies in exchange for our honest reviews
THREE SINGLE WIVES – Gina LaManna (Released September 1st, 2020)
Book Description:
An addictive second novel from the author of Pretty Guilty Women
A trio of women break bad after after too much wine, too many secrets, and too perfect inspiration from the bestseller they discussed at book club. No one is exactly sure what happened when night fell, but in the morning there’s one dead body and three women with a lot to lose.
During their book club meeting the previous evening, these women somehow began discussing the ways they might bury the body of an unfaithful husband. Of course, it was nothing more than a joke. None of them would ever mistake these plans as reality…
However, at brunch the next morning, the women are alarmed by a visit from the police announcing that a man is dead…in a way eerily similar to the previous night’s best laid plans. Did one woman take everything a step too far, or is the truth really more twisted than fiction?
Chandra’s Thoughts: 4/5 stars
“Never underestimate book club.” YA DAMN RIGHT! And……… I KNEW IT!! 🤣
Ok, so clearly as readers, book clubs are a thing and reading about one in a book is always fun. But don’t let the synopsis fool you – while the book club has it’s part, and it certainly does, really just focus on these women. (Also, can we just take a moment to take note of Anne Wilkes name? Hello, Misery….ish. 😉) But I digress…
We go back and forth through time lines and various POVs interwoven with police transcripts. This is a format I actually like a lot. It gives me that movie reel feeling as I envision all the madness that is about to occur. I weirdly figured out who the killer was straight away but with the zillions of thrillers I read, that doesn’t really matter to me if the journey to the reveal is compulsive and while this one didn’t quite start that way – the author had me quickly riveted.
There are definitely a lot of diversions to keep you from figuring out what the hell is going on and I absolutely love it. I questioned my original guess SO many times and was so happy to know I was right (again, the journeyyyyyyyyy)! I will say that the very ending for me was a bit abrupt and too neat.. but hell, I had so much fun with these women! I’d actually like to join their book club please. K, thanks.
My first by this author but definitely not my last. More please!
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
I read and really liked Gina LaManna’s book FOUR GUILTY WOMEN, so I was really excited to get a copy of her newest release. A book club that ends in murder? Three women that all have motives to kill the man but who did it?
On February 13th, Eliza, Anne, and Penny are three women all attending a book club with the author, one of Eliza’s clients. Their discussion turns into how they would murder their husbands if they could, just hypotheticals right? Not in this case.
The chapters alternate between the last 8 months leading up to the murder and the transcripts from the trial. I love this format and how it fills in gaps or makes you completely question what you believed was happening. I will say that LaManna kept me guessing on who did it for quite awhile! Plenty of red herrings and new reveals to keep you on your toes.
Even though I liked her last book, I definitely enjoyed this one a little more. She peeled back the layers of each character and wove quite the little web of lies and deceit for the reader to work through. Definitely a quick read and perfect for those that want a lighter thriller to binge. LaManna remains an auto-buy author for me!
Jessicamap Reviews 