Review: What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane

Print Length: 368 pages
Publisher: William Marrow Paperbacks (December 10, 2024)

From Goodreads.com:  Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a renowned pediatric surgeon, an infamous tragedy survivor, and a national hero. He’s also very dead—thanks to a fall down the stairs. His neighbors angrily point a finger at the newest Ms. Dougherty, Addison. The sudden marriage to the mysterious young woman only lasted ninety-seven days, and he’d had two suspicious “accidents” during that time. Now Addison is a very rich widow.

As law enforcement starts to circle in on Addison and people in town become increasingly hostile, sides are chosen with Kathryn, Richmond’s high school sweetheart, wife number one, and the mother of his children, leading the fray. Despite rising tensions, Addison is even more driven to forge ahead on the path she charted years ago…

Determined at all costs to unravel Richmond’s legacy, she soon becomes a target—with a shocking note left on her bedroom  You will pay. But it will take a lot more than faceless threats to stop Addison. Her plan to marry Richmond then ruin him may have been derailed by his unexpected death, but she’s not done with him yet.

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My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

The synopsis of this story had me immediately rushing to request an advanced reader copy. I mean, how can you not love a good old fashioned revenge story especially when it features a much younger woman ensnaring an older husband with a some skeletons in his closet?

Sadly, the story itself left much to be desired.

To begin with, several of the main characters were particularly unlikable, to the point that I occasionally found myself siding with Addison aka the second Mrs. Doughtery. Even though she had her own reasons for wanting to bring about the downfall of her husband, it was easy to see that she was also the victim in a way due to things beyond her control, and she was also capable of empathy, and even sympathy when certain details were revealed. I understand that every good book needs a villain or two, but this one just continued to be over the top with the sheer number of people that were constantly in and out of the story.

And then there was the plot. Something that was just so over the top and unbelievable, that try as I might, I just could not stop rolling my eyes. From the start, we are told that Richmond suffered “two accidents” before he “fell down the stairs.” We know that these accidents happened shortly after his marriage to Addison, and we know that the police (and everyone else in town it would seem) believe she is guilty of his murder. And yet, it takes the police days to obtain a search warrant for the house and property? Conveniently giving Addison enough time to not only find the murder weapon, but to make a rushed attempt at cleaning DNA off of it as well. Of course, that was when the police finally showed up, search warrant in hand, but even catching her directly after the act and smelling of bleach wasn’t enough for them to charge her with anything.

Of course, shortly after Addison begins to unravel the truth about her husband that even she didn’t know. Another aspect that was horribly unrealistic and that not only cost a child his life in the operating room, but then called his entire career (and that of his associates) into question. But now the secrets are coming out and Addison must be silenced as well.

Again, the perfect opportunity for the author to ramp up the suspense. Only, they don’t. Sure, they tossed in a few failed attempts at intimidation, and some red herrings to keep the reader occupied, but when those who were responsible started coming to light? Well, let’s just say I got to pay myself on the back in congratulations that I had figured it out ages ago. After all, who out of everyone had the most to lose?

I think the biggest surprise for me was that final twist, and even then I had half expected it before the scene in the diner (if you know, you know). However, that just leads me to an even bigger unanswered question because if that was truth, then her lawyer obviously knows it and lied to her. So I can’t help but wonder, what exactly is in it for him to keep that secret?

All things considered, I was interested enough in this one that I did keep reading until the end, and I firmly believe that this author holds a lot of promise. I would read more from them in the future.

 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.