Review: THE SECOND WIFE, Ali Lowe

• 
  this edition published 2026 by Hodder & Stoughton
  
• ISBN 978-1-399-74218-4
• 364 PAGES

Synopsis (Publisher)

The Fairchild family have it all. At least that's what anyone watching the family of billionaires board the opulent Titan Pacifica would think.

But as Sydney Harbour Bridge starts to disappear in the rear-view window of the luxury liner, so too does any pretence that this is a happy family.

Unbeknownst to his children, CEO and patriarch Irving had planned to use the cruise to reveal his long-awaited succession plans. As glasses clink and elaborate dinners are served to the most notorious of Sydney's elite, it will soon become all too clear that family loyalty can only take you so far.

And although six embark on the journey of a lifetime, not all of the group will make it back to dry land again . . .

My Take

Tightly plotted with at least 3 shock revelations.

You wouldn't want to meet these people on any cruise you embarked on.  

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

4.5, THE TRIVIA NIGHT

4.8, THE SCHOOL RUN

4.6, THE RUNNING CLUB  

Review: MURDER MOST ROYAL, S .J. Bennett

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library 
  
• ISBN: 9780063051218
• Series: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #3
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release: 26 September 2023 
• author website  

 Synopsis (author website)

December 2016 - A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen's estate at Sandringham. 

Elizabeth has become quite accustomed to solving even the most complex of murders. And though she quickly identifies the 70-year-old victim, Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring, the search for his killer is not so straightforward.

St Cyr led an unconventional, often controversial life, making many enemies along the way in the quiet, rural world of North Norfolk, where everyone knows each other's business.

But when a second man is found dead, and a prominent local woman is nearly killed in a hit-and-run, the mystery takes an even darker turn.

With the Christmas break coming to an end, the Queen and her trusted assistant Rozie must race to discover how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Or the next victim may be found even closer to home.

A Waterstones Best Crime & Thriller Book of 2022

My Take

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Her Majesty takes a bigger role in the sleuthing than she did in the earlier novel that I read, despite it being Christmas, and the fact that she has a heavy cold.  Recommended if you enjoy a cozy.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.4, A THREE DOG PROBLEM - #2  

Review: THE WIDOW'S HUSBAND'S SECRET LIE, Freida McFadden

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (AmazonAU) 
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9FT5G85
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hollywood Upstairs Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 12 August 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 152 pages   

 Synopsis (AmazonAU)

My husband is dead.

I attended his funeral. I watched his casket be lowered six feet into the ground. (Actually, it may have been only five feet, but that still seems like more than enough.) And then we ate an array of finger sandwiches and deviled eggs and miniature beef wellingtons that cost more than my first car.

My point is, Grant is gone. And so are all his many, many deep, dark secrets which I never really ever bothered to ask him about. He is never coming back.

So why do I still see his face everywhere I go?

My Take

The author begins this book with an Author's Note: This book is a satire

 This is Freida McFadden poking fun at herself, including in the novella a number of the tropes we often see in crime fiction novels. And the solution to why she keeps seeing her dead husband: obvious, but also odd.

As promised a quick read.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

4.5, THE TENANT

4.5, DO NOT DISTURB 

4.5, WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

4.7, DEAR DEBBIE 

4.6, THE HOUSEMAID 

4.6, NEVER LIE 

4.6, THE BOYFRIEND