4.5★s
“How quickly things can change. In an instant, your path can take a sharp turn and lead you somewhere you never anticipated.”

The Serial Killer’s Wife is the first novel by British author, Alice Hunter. When the police came to question her husband in relation to a murder, Beth Hardcastle’s reaction is one of shock and confusion: how could they possibly believe that her Tom, the perfect husband and father, would have anything to do with it?

But as Tom is detained and then arrested, she fears that the life they have built in the little village of Lower Tew, their dream, is about to crumble. They have been there two years. Tom commutes to London for his work as a finance portfolio manager; Beth had been happy to give up her position as a London recruitment consultant when they had Poppy, and now runs a ceramics café.

Beth hasn’t made any real friends yet: the playgroup yummy mummies don’t talk to her; there has been no invitation to join the book club that regularly met in her café; and even though she tells the police “We’re very happy; we’ve carved out the perfect life for ourselves here”, she later confides to the only person she feels comfortable with: “It’s surprising what you can hide behind the image of a perfect life.”

When the police question Beth, Tom’s solicitor advises her: “Answer their questions with as little detail as possible. Answer with brevity and clarity. It’s easier to remember what you’ve said, too.” Beth declares that she doesn’t know anything, anyway. She has her hands full keeping three-year-old Poppy safe and dodging the media circus camped in front of their cottage. How could Tom have brought this down on them?

The main narrative is from Beth’s perspective, with occasional contributions by Tom and by Katie, the apparent murder victim, as well as short pieces by an unknown woman who describes encounters with a man (Tom?) who gets off on strangling her. Beth’s behaviour and reactions are slightly off, giving the reader cause to wonder about her protested ignorance.

While the initial scene-setting could have been more subtle, this is an impressive debut: cleverly plotted, with twists that will take most readers by surprise. Hunter’s depiction of the village is excellent, and she keeps the reader guessing with each new wrinkle in the story: it’s no spoiler to say that Tom is definitely a murderer, but there’s a lot more to this tale. Undeniably a page-turner.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Avon Books UK