A remarkable trio whose lives were cracked wide open by their husbands’ crimes unite to catch a serial killer in this dazzlingly captivating novel.
Beverley, Elsie, and Margot are not your average housewives. They are all wives of convicted killers. During the sun-drenched summer of 1966, the three women form an unlikely friendship after the discoveries of their husbands’ brutal crimes. With their exes—some of California’s most infamous serial killers—dead or behind bars, they are attempting to forge a new future for themselves.
Headstrong Beverley compulsively tries to maintain control of everything around her, all while raising two children. Bookish Elsie fights day in and day out for the chance to make a name for herself in the newsroom, working among men who sneer at her career goals. Glamorous Margot refuses to take anything seriously and devotes all her energy to upholding the appearance that everything is fine—anything to quell the shame from her husband’s deceit.
They know people look at them and think only one thing: How could they not have known, when their husbands were right under their noses, committing horrific crimes? How much guilt is theirs to carry? And yet when a string of killings hits the news, the three women—underestimated, overlooked, shrewd—decide to get to work. After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives and homes with one?
At once a riveting portrayal of shattered trust and a story of gripping suspense, The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives is a testament to the intricacies of women’s lives and how the deep bonds of female friendship can empower, uplift, and lead us to endure.
Format 320 pages, Hardcover Expected publication March 3, 2026 by Berkley ISBN 9780593952993
My Thoughts
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wivesopens with a compelling setup. Beverley, Margot, and Elsie share little in common: Beverley is a single mother with striking blond good looks and a driving need to control her environment; Margot is fiery and pragmatic, a woman who clawed her way up from nothing only to lose everything; and Elsie is principled, bookish, and determined to build a career in a male-dominated world. Their lives converge in the summer of 1966 for one grim reason—they were all married to serial killers.
Only they understand what it’s like to question your own judgment, to replay every memory wondering how you could have missed the truth. They know the weight of suspicious glances from neighbors, the isolation, the paranoia, and the way danger seems to lurk everywhere once your life has been shattered and proven to have a dark and dangerous side you were oblivious to.
When a new serial killer emerges, the women become convinced there’s no one better suited to find him than themselves—the women who loved, lived with, and trusted men capable of unspeakable violence.
It’s an intriguing premise, and initially it feels as though it might offer a fresh perspective on the crime genre. Unfortunately, the author rarely pushes the concept beyond its surface potential.
The characters are serviceable but not particularly memorable. While their backstories suggest emotional complexity, these threads are only lightly explored. The pacing drags through repetitive stretches, then abruptly rushes through moments that should have carried far more emotional weight and depth. The mystery itself is competently constructed, but experienced crime readers will likely anticipate the twists well before they arrive.
Arnott’s prose is readable, though largely unremarkable, and the dialogue sometimes feels stiff rather than natural. There are glimpses of deeper themes—guilt, loyalty, denial, and the question of complicity—but they never fully coalesce into something solid.
Five words: promising, absurd, disappointing, shallow, lacking
My final word: Overall, I found The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives to be an adequate crime novel that does what it sets out to do, but little more. It’s an easy, undemanding read for genre fans, yet it struggles to distinguish itself in a crowded field. The development falls short, the ending feels rushed, and by the final chapters the plot veers into territory that feels more preposterous than provocative. Fine for passing the time—but not a story that lingers once the last page is turned.
Warnings:
Violence, smoking
My Rating:
The Cerebral Girl is a middle-aged blogger just digging her way out from under a mountain of books in the deep south of Florida. I received a copy of this book to review through BookBrowse in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.
Synopsis Greg Iles continues the
electrifying story begun in his smash New York Times bestseller Natchez
Burning in this highly anticipated second installment of an epic trilogy
of blood and race, family and justice, featuring Southern lawyer Penn
Cage.
Former prosecutor Penn Cage and his fiancee, reporter and
publisher Caitlin Masters, have barely escaped with their lives after
being attacked by wealthy businessman Brody Royal and his Double Eagles,
a KKK sect with ties to some of Mississippi's most powerful men. But
the real danger has only begun as FBI Special Agent John Kaiser warns
Penn that Brody wasn't the true leader of the Double Eagles. The
puppeteer who actually controls the terrorist group is a man far more
fearsome: the chief of the state police's Criminal Investigations
Bureau, Forrest Knox.
The only way Penn can save his father, Dr.
Tom Cage--who is fleeing a murder charge as well as corrupt cops bent on
killing him--is either to make a devil's bargain with Knox or destroy
him. While Penn desperately pursues both options, Caitlin uncovers the
real story behind a series of unsolved civil rights murders that may
hold the key to the Double Eagles' downfall. The trail leads her deep
into the past, into the black backwaters of the Mississippi River, to a
secret killing ground used by slave owners and the Klan for over two
hundred years . . . a place of terrifying evil known only as "the bone
tree."
The Bone Tree is an explosive, action-packed thriller full
of twisting intrigue and deadly secrets, a tale that explores the
conflicts and casualties that result when the darkest truths of American
history come to light. It puts us inside the skin of a noble man who
has always fought for justice--now finally pushed beyond his limits.
Just how far will Penn Cage, the hero we thought we knew, go to protect those he loves?
Hardcover, 816 pages Published April 21st 2015 by William Morrow & Company (first published April 9th 2015) ISBN 0062311115 (ISBN13: 9780062311115) About the Author
Greg Iles was born in Germany in
1960. He grew up in Natchez, Mississippi, and graduated from the
University of Mississippi in 1983. He was active in a band called
"Frankly Scarlet", but quit after realizing that the touring lifestyle
was not conducive with his family life. Once no longer busy with the
band, he turned his attention to writing.
Greg's novels have been
translated into various languages and are published in more than 20
countries. In addition to his popular novels, he wrote the original
script for the movie 24 Hours (later renamed Trapped).
When not
writing, Greg spends some of his time playing music. He's a member of
"The Rock Bottom Remainders", which includes other authors (Dave Barry,
Ridley Pearson, Stephen King, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Roy
Blount, Jr., Matt Groening, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, and James McBride).
Greg still lives in Natchez, Mississippi, with his wife and two children.
Check out the author's website Follow the author on Twitter Like the author on Facebook My Thoughts
Special Agent John Kaiser stood at the window of the FBI's "tactical
room" in the Hampton Hotel and stared at the lights of Natchez twinkling
high over the dark tide of the Mississippi.
This book is a continuation of the Penn Cage series. I was introduced to this series, and to the author, with his last book Natchez Burning, the fourth in the series.
In The Bone Tree, former attorney and current mayor of Natchez Penn Cage continues his battle for justice, and struggles to keep his family safe while going head-to-head with the Double Eagles, an off-shoot of the KKK. Penn and his fiance Caitlin know things about the Double Eagles-- crimes they have committed over the decades, including rape, kidnapping, torture and murder-- and the Double Eagles will go to any extreme to prevent them from bringing their deeds to light.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I have not yet finished this book. It is a very long book, and I am currently preparing for a trip (in fact I'll be in the air when this review posts). So I just simply haven't had time, and will be taking the book with me to finish on my trip.
However I became a fan of the author with his last book, and nothing has changed this time around. His writing is so effortless, his characters well developed. His transitions between characters flows easily. There is action and drama to keep you reading.
I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour. Check out the website for the full tour schedule:
My final word: After Natchez Burning, and now The Bone Tree, I'll read anything by Greg Iles! He holds my interest every moment-- and that isn't an easy thing to do! He is one of the few authors who can make me eager to read an 800 page novel! If you like crime dramas, historical fiction centered around the civil rights era, and books about the deep south, dive into this one with both feet. Greg Iles knows how to weave a great yarn!
I received a copy of this book to review through TLC Book Tours and the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, and quotes could differ from the final release.
Synopsis Catherine has been
enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she
sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous - Lee seems almost too
perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls
under his spell. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic,
controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is
increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and
trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later,
struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might
be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything. This is an
edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of
obsession, and a tour de force of suspense.
Paperback, 403 pages
Published February 1st 2011 by Myriad
ISBN 0956251579 (ISBN13: 9780956251572)
About the Author
Elizabeth Haynes grew up in Seaford, Sussex and studied English, German and Art History at Leicester University.
She currently works as a police intelligence analyst and lives in Kent with her husband and son.
Part of this story takes place in present day London, and part takes place some years before in Lancaster.
Lancaster, England
Catherine Bailey, like all of us, has a past. However her past has drastically scarred her, leaving her crippled with obsessions and compulsions and avoidance issues. The doctors call it by simple little acronyms like "OCD" and "PTSD". I think Catherine would simply call it "life shattering". Several years ago, she had a violent and obsessive boyfriend, leaving her paranoid and always looking over her shoulder, never trusting her surroundings.
Stuart is the upstairs neighbor. Being a therapist, he seems to see beyond all of the compulsions to the woman that lies beneath, and he is drawn to the woman she was and he knows she can be again.
I found this gritty and emotional story quite fascinating. When looking at Catherine "today", you see a broken woman, weak, out-of-control, totally irrational in her behavior. Yet the way that the book is written, shifting quickly from the past to the present and back again, you get to slowly walk through her past relationship, watching it build little-by-little. As you do, you find that the present-day actions and behaviors that previously seemed irrational begin to make total sense. She isn't crazy at all. Her obsessive behaviors seem almost "right" in light of the past.
A note of warning: This book can be quite graphic, violent and vulgar. But it is real, believable, and not exploitative.
My final word: Guttural, this story reaches deep within, leaving you a little uneasy as you think perhaps "There but by the grace of God go I." How a person can enter your life so innocuously and damage it so irreparably. How you could be taken from a strong and powerful woman, and left shattered and fearful. And mixed in amidst the twisted fears and terror is a touching romantic story. Frightening but intriguing and, in the end, utterly fascinating.
My rating: 8.5 out of 10
Disclosure:
I received an ARC of this book to
review through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was
not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are
my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.
Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.
Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.
With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.
Best known for his dark police procedurals featuring the tough, complex and emotionally scarred LAPD detective, Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch, Michael Connelly has been called "infernally ingenious" (The New York Times), "one of those masters...who can keep driving the story forward in runaway locomotive style" (USA Today) and "the top rank of a new generation of crime writers" (The Los Angeles Times).
Consistently exquisite prose and engrossing storylines play an integral role in his swelling success. However, Connelly believes that solid character development is the most important key. As he explained to MagnaCumMurder.com, "I think books with weak or translucent plots can survive if the character being drawn along the path is rich, interesting and multi-faceted. The opposite is not true."
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connelly attended the University of Florida; there he discovered the works of Raymond Chandler -- author of many classic Los Angeles-based noir dramas such as The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye, and Farewell, My Lovely. The cases of Philip Marlowe inspired Connelly to be a crime novelist -- and by studying journalism, he put himself in the perfect position. "I went into journalism to learn the craft of writing and to get close to the world I wanted to write about -- police and criminals, the criminal justice system," he told MagnaCumMurder.com.
After graduation, Connelly worked the crime beat for two Florida newspapers. When a story he and a colleague wrote about the disastrous 1985 crash of Delta Flight 191 was short-listed for the Pulitzer, Connelly landed a gig in Marlowe's backyard, covering crime for one of the nation's largest newspapers -- The Los Angeles Times. Three years later, Harry Bosch was introduced in The Black Echo, which earned Connelly the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Connelly has since won every major mystery honor, including the Anthony (The Poet, Blood Work) and the Macavity Award (Blood Work).
While Connelly has written stand-alone novels that don't feature his tragic protagonist Harry Bosch, he is best identified by his rigid, contentious and fiery -- but also immensely skilled and compassionate -- detective. According to The Boston Globe, the Bosch series "raises the hard-boiled detective novel to a new level...adding substance and depth to modern crime fiction."
Called "one of the most compelling, complex protagonists in recent crime fiction" (Newsweek) and "a terrific...wonderful, old-fashioned hero who isn't afraid to walk through the flames -- and suffer the pain for the rest of us" (The New York Times Book Review), Bosch faces unforgettable horrors every day -- either on the street or in his own mind. "Bosch is making up for wrongs done to him when he rights wrongs as a homicide detective," Connelly explained in an interview with his publisher. "In a way, he is an avenging angel."
Bosch is clearly a product of his deadly, unforgiving environment. "The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that when you look into the darkness of the abyss the abyss looks into you. Probably no other line or thought more inspires or informs my work," said Connelly in the same interview. With each passing novel, Bosch looks deeper and deeper into the abyss; and readers continue to return to see just how far he will gaze.
Good To Know
Michael Connelly received a huge career boost in 1994 when then President Bill Clinton was photographed walking out of a Washington bookstore with a copy of The Concrete Blonde under his arm. Connelly remarked to USA Today, "In the six years I've been writing books, that is the biggest thrill I've had."
Real events have always inspired Connelly's plots. His novel Blood Work was inspired by a friend who underwent transplant surgery and was coping with survivor's guilt, knowing someone had died in order for him to live. The book was later developed into a feature film starring Clint Eastwood, Angelica Huston, and Jeff Daniels.
One of Connelly's writing professors at the University of Florida was cult novelist Harry Crews.
Connelly named his most famous character after the 15th Century Dutch painter, Hieronymous Bosch. As he told Bookends UK in an interview, Bosch "created richly detailed landscapes of debauchery and violence and human defilement. There is a world gone mad' feel to many of his works, including one called Hell' -- of which a print hangs on the wall over the computer where I write."
My Thoughts
The last time I'd eaten at the Watermark Grill I sat across the table from a client who had coldly and calculatedly murdered his wife and her lover, shooting both of them in the face.
Town/Location/Environment:
Los Angeles and Mulholland Drive. Also briefly in one of my favorite towns of Port Townsend, WA.
Jason Jessup was convicted 20+ years ago for the murder of a 12-year-old girl. Now new DNA evidence is braced to make him a free man. Michael “Mickey” Haller, normally a defense attorney, is brought in to prosecute Jessup and make sure that justice is served. Haller, an experienced defense attorney who has never worked the other side of the courtroom before, brings in his ex-wife Maggie “McFierce” McPherson, a well-respected prosecuting attorney, to play second chair for him. He also elicits the services of investigator Harry Bosch, his half-brother. The three of them make a great prosecutorial team, and they fight to make sure that Jessup stays in prison where they believe he belongs, despite new evidence.
This book plays dual roles, as #16 in the Harry Bosch series and #3 in the Mick Haller series.
I’ve dragged my feet for a few months on starting this book, and now I have no idea why! From the first few pages, it had me in its grip. Entertaining and engaging, it grabbed me and held me throughout the story, although the end was a little anti-climatic.
Mick Haller is an honest man and good at what he does, although he may at times allow himself to be caught up in the “game” that court trials have become and lose sight of what it is really supposed to be about-- justice.
Mick brings in his ex-wife Maggie to play second chair during the trial. Maggie pushes him and makes him better. The sexual tension between them adds a lot of nice energy. You feel that Mick is always trying to live up to his ex-wife’s expectations of him, and that he dreads ever letting her down. They have the quintessential love-hate relationship.
Mick also has an investigator working the case by the name of Harry Bosch. They didn’t really delve into the backstory on these guys, but it seems that perhaps Mick and Harry are half-brothers. There seems to be tension and an air of disapproval between them, but they work well together.
This is my first Connelly story, so I don’t know the history of Haller, McPherson and Bosch, but I enjoyed the familiarity that played out amongst them, and there was lots of tension-- sexual chemistry, resentment, old grudges-- along with mutual respect.
My final word: I don’t believe there was ever a moment in this story where I found myself bored, as there was plenty of suspense. It was very easy to read, with lots of dialogue, and great characters-- just the way I like it! The conclusion may have been slightly anti-climatic, but not enough to have detracted from the story at all. I normally don't read much crime fiction, but this one left me wanting to go back and read all of the others to precede it in the series.
My Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Disclosure:
I received a copy of this book to review through GoodReads, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.
Blogging since 2009, I'm a south Florida girl living in the home of mudding and hog hunting. Just trying to survive amid too many books and vastly outnumbered by a ZooCrew, hoping not to wind up a trophy head mounted on someone's wall in the process. Lover of lists, an eternal procrastinator, and really just a flower child at heart.
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