Title: The Dead Husband
Author: Carter Wilson
Published: May 2021, Poisoned Pen Press
Format: Paperback, 400 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
A murderer, a victim, and a witness… but no one in this house is innocentTwenty years ago an unspeakable tragedy rocked Rose Yates’s small, affluent hometown… and only Rose and her family know the truth about what happened.
Haunted by guilt, Rose escaped into a new life. Now she seems to have it all: a marriage, a son, a career. And then her husband is found dead.
As far as Detective Colin Pearson is concerned, Rose is guilty. Her marriage wasn’t as happy as she’d led everyone to believe, and worse, she’s connected to a twenty-year-old cold case. She can play the part of the victim, but he won’t let her or her family escape justice this time around.
Grieving her husband and struggling to make ends meet, Rose returns home, hoping to finally confront her domineering father and unstable sister. But memories of a horrific crime echo through the house, and Rose soon learns that she can’t trust anyone, especially not the people closest to her.
From USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson comes a story of deception, hereditary sin, and what we’ll do to protect our own.
My thoughts: I first discovered Carter Wilson when I read Mister Tender’s Girl a few years ago, which I absolutely loved!!! I knew after reading that one I would be reading anything he wrote. I love how different each of his books are, proving that he doesn’t right the same old thing each time.
This latest one is a dark, twisted story that really keeps you on edge all the way through. I loved how the book moved back and forth from the present day to the past, where something ominous happened, but you aren’t quite sure what. Whatever it was that happened has been driving Rose in everything she does, and after the death of her husband, she feels she needs to lay these ghosts to rest finally. In addition to that, we also have the detective’s point of view, in the present, who is investigating the death of Rose’s husband because he just doesn’t think things add up.
I loved how this book was laid out, slowly giving us pieces of information in both the present and the past to keep us hooked. And with Rose being a writer, she of course falls under suspicion, especially when it comes to be known that her books tend to mirror real life.
This book is full of secrets, crazy family drama and such dark undertones that it really hooks you right off the bat. It’s an unsettling read for sure, but if you like a tense, twisted thriller, this is definitely the book for you!
