Friday, April 24, 2020

Review: The New Husband by D.J. Palmer

The New Husband





D.J. Palmer’s second novel, THE NEW HUSBAND, coming Spring 2020 from St. Martin’s Press asks the question: can lightning strike twice when it comes to making a terrible choice in man? 

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.

  
This psychological thriller/ family drama isn't my typical read, but the description looked interesting and I was in the mood for something suspenseful.  I defintely got that with The New Husband. From the start of the story, Simon seemed like a creep but only the daughter sees the deep level of creepiness.  Nina and her son Connor are almost clueless.  It's not easy recovering from Glen's disappearance and betrayal.

The story is told in multiple point of views, and I liked that about the story because it kept pulling me forward. There are some cliched scenes in this that seemed like they were out of a made for TV movie, but I really didn't mind that.  It did take a while for the story to really get rolling, and once I got to that point, the story really took off and I couldn't put this down.  The second half of the book is quite good in terms of pacing and tension and I found myself cheering at the point one of the clueless actually start waking up!

I really did enjoy this story and found myself staying up late to get to the ending (which I loved) and even re-reading bits I read too quickly in my haste to find out what happened.  Those are good indicators for me when gauging my enjoyment of the story.

So, overall, a good story. There's a bit I didn't see coming and I loved that about it.  The first half of the book is a little slow, but the second half more than makes up for it. Loved the ending.  This was my first book from this author and I would definitely check out future titles.
An ARC was provided. This is my honest review.

D.J. Palmer is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels. A former e-commerce entrepreneur, D.J. Palmer now resides in New Hampshire and is currently at work on a new book.


2 comments:

Northwoman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Northwoman said...

I love this genre. I'm glad to hear the ending was satisfying. Sometimes they aren't or they are too vague. Fantastic review!

Anne - Books of My Heart

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