The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd

HOW DO YOU CONFRONT YOUR HUSBAND WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?

Gripping psychological suspense from a brilliant new voice in crime fiction

‘You can hear the ominous music from the first line onward – this is a fantastic thriller.’ Lee Child

‘An original, assured and compelling tale of obsession. Amy Lloyd is a startling new talent, destined to become a big name.’ Peter James

Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was arrested and imprisoned for the brutal murder of a young girl in Florida’s Red River County. Now he’s the subject of a true-crime documentary that’s whipping up a frenzy online to uncover the truth and free a man who has been wrongly convicted.

A thousand miles away in England, Samantha is obsessed with Dennis’s case. She exchanges letters with him, and is quickly won over by his apparent charm and kindness to her. Soon she has left her old life behind to marry him and campaign for his release.

But when the campaign is successful and Dennis is freed, Sam begins to discover new details that suggest he may not be quite so innocent after all …

‘If you’re an addict of true crime documentaries, you will binge all night on The Innocent Wife. In this breathless, pounding ride, Amy Lloyd keeps us guessing about a convicted killer thrust into the world as innocent online hero and the woman who begins to reluctantly dig into his murky past.’ Julia Heaberlin, author of Black Eyed Susans

‘I read The Innocent Wife in one sitting – a deliciously wry and dark exploration of fascinating subject matter that will keep you guessing until the last page. Amy Lloyd is a fresh and original new voice in thriller writing who deserves to go straight to the top.’ – Sarah Pinborough author of Behind Her Eyes

‘Loved The Innocent Wife! Dark, twisted and compelling. Kept me guessing and totally gripped! 5 stars’ CJ Tudor, author of The Chalk Man

‘The Innocent Wife is a stunner that leads the reader down a twisty path to a surprising, yet satisfying conclusion. You won’t be able to stop turning the pages!’ –Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King’s Daughter

‘I devoured The Innocent Wife in one sitting! A unique setting, deeply flawed characters, a crackling mystery, and an unexpected ending make this a must-read!’ Hollie Overton, author of Baby Doll.

Available from Amazon

My Review

The book centres around a relationship between Samantha, a teacher from England and Dennis, an American who is a convicted murderer serving on Death Row.

Sam has just come out of a relationship and has incredibly low self-esteem. When Dennis singles her out from the other women who write to him, Sam finds herself flattered and drawn in, she believes that he is innocent and travels to see him, leaving her family and job behind.

When Dennis is released from prison, will the relationship survive? Has he been unfairly imprisoned for twenty years or is he a callous and dangerous killer?

The character of Dennis was fascinating to me, kind and caring one minute, sinister the next. The story keeps you guessing about his innocence in the murder, his feelings for Sam and his intentions for the future. I honestly couldn’ t work him out and felt nervous about what he would do next.

On the other hand, Sam just frustrated me (as the writer intended) and her naivety and submissiveness left me urging her to stop being such a pushover.

The plot has plenty of twists, characters who stir up emotions and just the right amount of suspense.

.I usually enjoy books more where I connect to at least one of the characters but this book isn’t one of them. However, the intrigue was enough to keep me reading and I will definitely be looking out for Amy Lloyd’s next book.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Biography

Hello! Thank you for visiting my author’s page. The Innocent Wife is my first novel and it will be available on e-book from the 10th October 2017 and then in hardback on the 28th December 2017.

When I started writing The Innocent Wife, I was trying to write the book I wanted to read. I love true crime and was fascinated by the new wave of true crime that was gaining popularity, like Making a Murderer and Serial, so I wanted to play on that phenomenon. I love the way that when we consume this kind of true crime, we think we are detectives ourselves and we feel passionate about righting the wrongs in the justice system. I also like the more sinister implications of this new trend. What if a documentary wasn’t telling the whole truth? How can we ever be sure that someone is innocent or not?

I’ve also been curious about the kinds of people who write to inmates and especially women who marry dangerous men on Death Row. Often they seem to believe the men are innocent despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Do they really believe they are innocent, or are they drawn to the danger of these men? What would happen if that man were suddenly released and they were thrust into the reality of being married to them?

The Innocent Wife was my chance to explore all these questions and put them into the kind of fast-paced thriller I love to read. To me, it is the characters that turn a good book into a great book and I loved creating flawed and messy characters who don’t always do what they should.

I hope you enjoy The Innocent Wife as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you so much for the support and hopefully there will be lots more like this to come.

The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd