Book Review: The Wife Who Knew Too Much | Michele Campbell

Michele Campbell writes thrillers that feel new, fresh, twist-y and fun. Every year I find myself looking forward to the release of her next book, and this year was no exception! I actually finished The Wife Who Knew Too Much last month and it is one of those books that sticks with you! It is a keeper (I bought it in hardback) that I’m excited to go back and read next year!

About the Book

Tabitha Girard had her heart broken years ago by Connor Ford. He was preppy and handsome. She was a pool girl at his country club. Their affair should have been a summer fling. But it meant everything to Tabitha.

Years later, Connor comes back into Tabitha’s life—older, richer, and desperately unhappy. He married for money, a wealthy, neurotic, controlling woman whom he never loved. He has always loved Tabitha.

When Connor’s wife Nina takes her own life, he’s free. He can finally be with Tabitha. Nina’s home, Windswept, can be theirs. It seems to be a perfect ending to a fairy tale romance that began so many years ago. But then, Tabitha finds a diary. “I’m writing this to raise an alarm in the event of my untimely death,” it begins. “If I die unexpectedly, it was foul play, and Connor was behind it. Connor—and her.”

Who is Connor Ford? Why did he marry Nina? Is Tabitha his true love, or a convenient affair? As the police investigate Nina’s death, is she a convenient suspect?

As Tabitha is drawn deeper into the dark glamour of a life she is ill-prepared for, it becomes clear to her that what a wife knows can kill her.

Reflection

The opening chapter is perfection in my opinion. It sets up a lot of the story in a way that has you questioning every page of the book until the jaw-dropping conclusion. A diary entry from wealthy socialite Nina who believes her husband is planning to kill her. I love a good hook in the opening to a thriller and Michele Campbell truly nailed it with this one!

Psychological thrillers come in so many styles, from the subtly terrifying “this could actually happen to me” to the darkly twisted keep-the-lights-on to the popcorn wild-ride can’t put it down fun. I think this one falls in the latter category. Every moment of the book felt slightly larger than life and I completely lost myself in the story. Definitely clear your schedule when you start this!

There were so many fun elements to this thriller. Connor is an enigma and we see so many sides to him. Is he the sweet boy who fell in love with the pool girl from the wrong side of town in high school? The smooth-talking business man? The arm candy for a socialite who treats him as less than she is? The man who plotted to kill his wife and take her money? The man who lost his way in life who sees his former love and hopes to get his life back?

I loved the idea that Connor had so many different stories associated with him. It kept me constantly guessing—who is he lying to? Who is lying to us, the reader?

You will not be able to help rooting for Tabitha, a woman who has taken her fair share of setbacks by life. In high school, Tabitha got a glimpse of a different life when she and Connor fall in love. But things don’t work out when Connor’s family finds out. Tabitha is from the wrong side of town, after all. Working hard to get herself a better life, Tabitha ends up married to a man who again takes her happiness. Now, back working at a restaurant in the town she always dreamed of leaving behind her, fate may be back on Tabitha’s side when Connor shows up one night, looking as handsome as she remembers.

When Connor’s wife ends up dead of a suicide, it seems that the fates may finally be shining on Tabitha and Connor. But what if Nina didn’t commit suicide? What if there is more to the story? What if her final diary entry is true, and Connor is behind her death?

This twist-y thriller is a wild ride that you don’t want to miss!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for my copy. I loved it so much, I bought a hardcover. Opinions are my own.