Review: The New Husband by D.J. Palmer

Title: The New Husband

Author: D.J. Palmer

Published: April 2020, St. Martin’s Press

Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages

Source: Publisher

Summary: 

What makes Simon Fitch so perfect?

-He knows all her favorite foods, music, and movies.
-Her son adores him. He was there when she needed him most.
-He anticipates her every need.
-He would never betray her like her first husband.

The perfect husband. He checks all the boxes.

The question is, why?

Nina
Garrity learned the hard way that her missing husband, Glen, had been
leading a double life with another woman. But with Glen gone―presumably
drowned while fishing on his boat―she couldn’t confront him about the
affair or find closure to the life he blew apart.

Now, a year and
a half later, Nina has found love again and hopes she can put her
shattered world back together. Simon, a widower still grieving the death
of his first wife, thinks he has found his dream girl in Nina, and his
charm and affections help break through to a heart hardened by betrayal.
Nina’s teenage son, Connor, embraces Simon as the father he wishes his
dad could have been, while her friends see a different side to him, and
they aren’t afraid to use the word obsession.

Nina works hard to
bridge the divide that’s come between her daughter and Simon. She wants
so badly to believe her life is finally getting back on track, but
she’ll soon discover that the greatest danger to herself and her
children are the lies people tell themselves.

My thoughts: I first discovered D.J. Palmer last year when I read his book, Saving Meghan, which I absolutely loved! I still think about that book…and this past fall I had the pleasure of telling the author just that when I met him at Bouchercon. Not only was I thrilled to meet him, but being able to tell him how much that book stayed with me was just so cool.

I was ecstatic to get my hands on an early copy of his new book, The New Husband and without a doubt, this twisty thriller is another win. You may think you know where this book is going, but it is so wickedly clever and diabolical that I truly do not think you will be able to put all the pieces together. There are so many little parts that come into play that shocked me and left me gasping when they were revealed. 

I loved the way this book makes you feel so many different things. You will have so many different feelings towards each of the characters, good and bad, and you will not necessarily be wrong. This book is written in such a way that you can’t help but be pulled into the fray. But where should your allegiance be? Will you get swayed in the right direction or will you fall prey as everyone else does? I don’t want to say too much more and give anything away!

The writing is addictive and pulls you in from the start. It starts off nice and slow and then ramps up towards the end and gets quite intense – just how I love my thrillers to be! I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to see what D.J. Palmer writes next – he is definitely on my must-read list now!