BOOK REVIEW : DEAD TO HER BY SARAH PINBOROUGH

TITLE : Dead To Her

AUTHOR : Sarah Pinborough

GENRE : Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

FR RATING : ⭐⭐ (2.5 stars)

DATE OF PUBLISHING : 6th August 2020

FR REVIEW

DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Dead To Her is my first experience with the author. I found the synopsis interesting and wanted to try some thrillers as I haven’t been picking them up as of late. The story is a mystery, thriller and follows the characters Marcie and Keisha. Marcie is the second wife of Jason Maddox. Her entry to the social circle was challenging and gaining acceptance from the other society wives was difficult. However, after some years, she has finally settled into the comfort of her position as Jason’s wife. All sense of security is lost when her husband can’t keep his eyes off his boss’s new wife Keisha. She is beautiful, wild, and bold. Marcie is not going to let an interloper take away her hard-earned stability.

The story overall was interesting. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. The who-dunnit style story had its positive moments. While there were twists and turns keeping the reader glued to the book, there were parts that were hard to wrap my head around. I felt the plot was all over the place and took a lot of time to get to the mystery part of it. The story went on too long with Marcie and Keisha’s inner monologues, rants, and explicit scenes to get to the point of the story.

The plot and pacing were erratic and felt unorganized to me. I didn’t also expect it to be quite explicit in a lot of scenes. I guess not knowing about was quite a shock when the scenes happened. I wasn’t expecting it. It also took up a lot of space in the story and to me, it didn’t feel necessary to add them. I wish the author had put the overall mystery together quicker and let the characters do the work rather than relying on the shock factor every single time a new twist was revealed. I guess this is more of a preference for the way the story is told.

The characters were what you would expect the stereotypical society ladies to behave. The social hierarchy, malice towards new members, conceited behavior is all on point. The story is full of lies, betrayals, backstabbing, and deception wrapped up in voodoo and superstitions. The characters are dreadful, their priorities messed up. As I mentioned earlier, the whole story was a mix of things, while the plot twists kept on coming literally until the end and with an ending leaving you gobsmacked, the execution could have been better in my opinion.

I was left with so many questions and the integration of certain elements took the story from being a domestic thriller to a confusing mix of plot points. This book was not for me and I know a lot of people enjoyed the crazy ride this book takes you on, so it might be different for everyone. I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped. I thought the book was ok, and it had the potential to be really good. I gave the book 2.5 stars. I would recommend this book to people who like a domestic drama thriller with twisted and dark characters with crazy plot-twists. If you like a wild ride with black magic thrown in you might like this one.

SYNOPSIS

From the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

There’s nothing like a woman scorned

Something old…

When Marcie met Jason Maddox, she couldn’t believe her luck. Becoming Jason’s second wife catapulted her into the elite world of high society. But underneath the polite, old money manners, she knows she’ll always be an outsider, and her hard-won life hangs by a thread.

Something new…

Then Jason’s widowed boss brings back a new wife from his trip to London. Young, beautiful, reckless – nobody can take their eyes off Keisha. Including Jason.

Something you can never, ever undo…

Marcie refuses to be replaced so easily. People would kill for her life of luxury. What will Marcie do to keep it?

‘A marvellously compelling read’ Liz Nugent

‘So deliciously dark and twisted, and that setting was just perfection’ Lisa Hall