My Lovely Wife

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Millicent and her just-shy-of-forty
husband are typical Florida suburbanites,
living in a home with an extravagant mortgage
while juggling the everyday activities of two
children who are growing up way too fast.

She's a successful realtor, and her
husband, who remains unnamed, works
as a country-club tennis pro. After fifteen
years of marriage, boredom sets in.
They long to feel the undeniable
attraction and excitement that once defined them.

Committing murder and getting away with
it proves to be the solution. They find it's
amazingly easy to eliminate someone
without the police suspecting a thing. The
sizzle is back in their marriage, and after
burying the first body, the thrill of the kill begins.

They follow a simple plan. The narrator husband reels
in potential, vulnerable victims with a clever pick-up line,
certain to appeal to any woman with a heart, while
his wife carries out the evil deeds. Meanwhile, even
with her extracurricular activities, cool and collected
Millicent manages to find the time to serve nutritious
meals and diligently check homework. They appear to be
the perfect family.

The devious couple comes up with the ideal
scenario to divert attention from themselves,
but fool-proof plans often go awry, especially
when blackmail, meaningless one-night stands,
and salacious secrets are involved. Murder has
suddenly become very, very complicated.

Don't let the title of this dark, brooding, debut
novel fool you. There is nothing "lovely" about it.
If you are looking for a thriller with a wickedly
disturbing ending, by all means, read this one.

Simply sublime.