The Innocent Wife
A Richard and Judy Book Club pick
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3.7 • 801 Ratings
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- £1.99
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- £1.99
Publisher Description
THE TOP TEN BESTSELLER
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You were obsessed with his case. You fought for his freedom. He was acquitted.
You married him.
But now you’re wondering if he’s so innocent after all.
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As recommended by MY FAVOURITE MURDER: 'It is so really ****ing good!'
'This book had me hooked from the first page to the last.’ LISA JEWELL
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Twenty years ago, Dennis Danson was sentenced to death for a brutal murder in Florida.
But there were flaws in the case, questions hanging over the prosecution, suspicions of a miscarriage of justice. Sam, an English schoolteacher, finds herself drawn into an online community obsessed with the case, and with the eighteen-year-old who tearfully protested his innocence. Who was the ‘Short Man’ that police never found? Why did they fixate on Dennis so early? What happened to the missing evidence?
Sam writes to Dennis, and Dennis writes back. They become friends. She visits him. They fall in love. They marry. And, at long last, a confession from the real killer seems to prove Dennis’s innocence. He’s acquitted; declared a free man.
Sam is overjoyed, but part of her starts to doubt Dennis, and the ways he seems to change once released. She pushes it aside. After all, they’re husband and wife.
Till death do them part.
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Amy's readers are raving about the book they 'just couldn't put down':
“I picked up The Innocent Wife this morning on my subway commute to work and couldn't put it down! I read it during my lunch break, commute home, on the stair master… It was just that addicting!”
“Absolutely fantastic book… couldn’t put it down”
“a superb rendering of sustained storytelling that grips you from the off”
“I read the book in two days, couldn't wait to find out what happened next”
“Fantastic, gripping, page turning… Drew you in and kept you there until the very end”
“A fantastic debut! … It gets you hooked from the very beginning, and yet it's never predictable, you're in for some surprises until the very last page”
“The Innocent Wife was gripping. I read with heart racing”
“I literally couldn't wait to steal five minutes with it during the day and loved my evenings completely immersed in the tension”
“I couldn't put this down… thriller fans, you're in for a treat”
“complex and fascinating… very clever and very well executed”
“original and utterly compelling … I honestly feel bereft now that I've finished it and can't wait to spend 2018 talking about this fantastic novel”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In British author Lloyd's labored debut, Samantha, an English schoolteacher, becomes obsessed with the case of Dennis Danson, who has been on death row since 1993 for the gruesome murder of a high school girl in Florida's Red River County. He was suspected of killing four other girls, but their bodies were never found, and Sam is convinced he's innocent. Sam starts to correspond with Dennis, and they develop a bond that prompts her to fly to the U.S. to visit him in Altoona Prison. Their initially awkward romance eventually results in their marrying; an unexpected confession leads to Dennis's release from Altoona. Sam, naive and unconfident, and Dennis, secretive and withdrawn, move into the remote Danson family home in Red River, where they must face the hostility of the locals. Dennis's reconnecting with a sinister childhood friend, Lindsay Durst, complicates the couple's uncomfortable life together. Dennis's backstory growing up poor with an abusive drunk of a father and a chronically depressed mother follows familiar lines. The contrived and unexpected climax disappoints. Fans of serial killer fiction will find nothing new.
Customer Reviews
A good read
Enjoyed this story, a very readable style
Slow to gather pace then disappointing ending
Just finished reading the book and found myself audibly exclaiming “eh???”. The story was slow to gather pace, predictable and at times boring, however towards the end it seemed to at last show some promise, only to then abruptly and clumsily end leaving more questions than answers (& not in a good way!). The characters were unlikeable and hard to relate to. Overall at the end I just felt cheated & I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Sorry!
The innocent wife
Good read from start to finish. I couldn’t put the book down. Kept me on the edge of my seat!