The Starter Wife

by Rowen Chambers

She was the perfect wife. Until he no longer needed her.

When Lauren met Steven, she was instantly drawn to his charm, sophistication, and drive to succeed. But soon after their wedding, the loving, affectionate man she fell in love with became cold and controlling.

Twelve years later, Lauren’s desperate to free herself from her husband. So when she finds herself bedridden after a car accident, she devises a plan to finally get him out of her life.

She hires a live-in nurse. Young, beautiful, and easily manipulated, Hannah couldn’t be more perfect. Just as Lauren predicted, Hannah instantly falls for Steven’s charm and allure, unaware that it’s all an act.

Hannah doesn’t know the real Steven. Nobody does. But they will soon.

It’s the perfect plan. Steven will finally get what he deserves and Lauren will have her freedom.

Except Steven has a plan too. One that’s much darker… and started the day he met her.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 8, 2023

Reviews

[Kerry Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turning psychological thriller

A good page turner with a twist at the end.
Whereas I thought this book was very similar to The Housemaid and Verity, it still had me turning the pages to find out who had killed David and who was trying to kill Lauren.
The writing was perfect as were the well rounded characters especially Hannah.
What I found a little unoriginal was the nurse having the affair with the husband as it's been done so many times before.
Other than that I'd highly recommend this book especially as a starting point for new to psychological thriller readers.
Kerry Kennedy Author

[Joelle Grigsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was CERTAIN this was going to be a repeat of many other books. I was seriously mistaken. This book was great with refreshing twists and turns.

[Danielle-Gemma💜 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book that I have read by the author and unfortunately, I will not be reading a third

The pattern of this book was exactly the same as the first and because of this I was able to predict pretty early on exactly what was gonna happen

Although this was an easy popcorn thriller, there was no challenge or twist and therefore unfortunately it didn’t appeal to me

[Lynn Dubinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This storyline has been done so many times, but this book kept me hooked the whole time. Another easy and fun thriller.

[Denise Robider · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Lots of bad guys in this book and a lot of rationalizing bad behavior.

[Rebecca Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Overall, a good read but didn't love some of the ways the conversations were written.

[Celinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this author, but this is not my favorite old her novels. Still, it was worth the read. Clever plot twists.

[AGilden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand the point of first-person narration is to place readers inside the characters' heads to allow us to share their thoughts. But I think authors should still try to show rather than tell, even then. And this is the ultimate tell rather than show novel. But the plot was entertaining enough so I was interested throughout, even though there were no characters that were likeable or even relatable. Decent read.

[Pheadra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent read-in-a-day story by this author about lies and secrets and deceit. Lauren is married to Steven an extremely wealthy, good-looking, but colourless man in terms of personality. They met at university where she matched the physical attributes of what he wanted in a wife despite knowing that his best friend, David, had feelings for her. In public he treats her well but privately she is an inconvenience he wants to get rid of. When Lauren has a bad accident in which David dies but she survives needing a carer, she sets about hiring Hannah, a young nurse who resembles her to trap Steven. Without giving away the gist of how this plays out, beware the devil you know. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer rather don’t trust anyone! 4 and a half stars.

[Brittney Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was soo cheesy! The nurse falling in love with the husband and actually seeing a future?? Like we didn’t see any of their relationship develop and I thought she was delusional. I also didn’t need 5 different perspectives, it was too much and I felt like we were missing a lot of the story from it. Also didn’t think the started wife fit . I know the final chapter explained it but it was more about the mistress wanting the wife’s life. Also was not a thriller. There was no explanation for why Hannah thought people wishing her good luck was about something g bad

[Alona Perlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even more predictable than the last novel

This book is so predictable that I could have written it myself. Once again the characters are despicable. It is engaging but not at all surprising.

[Maisie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad effort but I found the plot predictable and the writing slightly simplistic at times.

[Akku · Rating 5 out of 5]

✦ 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 5✨

✦ 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 -
• toxic marriage
• psychological manipulation
• dark secrets
• domestic thriller
• power games
• twisted love
• multiple POVs

✦ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 -
Lauren thought she had the perfect husband. Steven looked charming, loving, and successful from the outside. Years into the marriage, everything changes. Control replaces care. Fear replaces love. After a life-altering accident, Lauren plans her escape in the smartest way possible by bringing another woman into her home. What follows is a dangerous mind game where nothing is what it seems and everyone is hiding something.
This book totally gave me variety + The Housemaid book vibes, not fully the same but definitely in that lane.
At first, I almost thought of skipping this book, but thank God I didn’t. The plot twists were insane and very different from what I expected. I kept guessing again and again, and every time I thought I figured it out, the story flipped. The multiple POVs in the ending chapters made everything darker and more intense. The writing is simple but sharp.
The pacing is perfect. Short chapters. Sharp twists. Every reveal hits hard. Just when you think you understand the story, it flips completely. I loved how psychological and dark it gets without being messy. The writing is smooth, engaging, and very binge-worthy.
Highly recommended if you love domestic thrillers with mind games and secrets behind closed doors.

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

She was the perfect wife. Until he no longer needed her.

When Lauren met Steven, she was instantly drawn to his charm, sophis-tication, and drive to succeed. But soon after their wedding, the loving, affectionate man she fell in love with became cold and controlling.

Twelve years later, Lauren’s desperate to free herself from her husband. So when she finds herself bedridden after a car accident, she devises a plan to finally get him out of her life.

She hires a live-in nurse. Young, beautiful, and easily manipulated, Han-nah couldn’t be more perfect. Just as Lauren predicted, Hannah instantly falls for Steven’s charm and allure, unaware that it’s all an act.

Hannah doesn’t know the real Steven. Nobody does. But they will soon.

It’s the perfect plan. Steven will finally get what he deserves and Lauren will have her freedom.
Except Steven has a plan too. One that’s much darker… and started the day he met her.

My Thoughts: The characters in The Starter Wife are twisted and show some of the darkness within them, but we don’t know the whole story until the very end. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, another curve ball came out of the blue.

An unexpected reveal at the end ties the loose ends together, earning 5 stars for me.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

First we start with manipulation. Then we go to 'passive aggressive'. Then we go to 'planning of revenge'. And finally we end at "ohhh crap - what have I done?" That about sums up this story!
Four main characters in this story:
Lauren - who has been in a major car accident and for now, is bed-ridden due to a lot of leg injuries.
Ashley - the best friend of Lauren, who is just plain mean to Hannah - as her concern of course is the well-being of her best friend, Lauren.
Steven - the wealthy, good looking, successful, charming husband of Lauren. The over-doting, concerning, kind & loving soul (you get my drift here).
Hannah - the young hired nurse to make sure all of Lauren's needs are taken care of.
I bet you already think you know how this story goes. Let me tell you - you're wrong! Manipulation is the name of the game here. Everybody in this story is on their own story-line and each of them have no idea that they are not the manipulator they think they are! Some of their plans are pretty dark - and it may not even be who you think is behind it. I really enjoyed this book!

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will say this: the author has a great writing style.

I felt like we were being told things over and over rather than shown. And everything seemed to happen so FAST. I pretty much had the twist figured out.

I didn't like ANY of the characters. Not ONE. They were flat, cliché, and I just didn't care what happened to any of them. I don't mind if I don't like the character, but still find myself rooting for them, but I felt like they all got what they deserved.

This one just wasn't for me, but I would definitely be willing to try this author again.

[Winter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could use some editing. Gus is erroneously referred to as Hank. Lauren hears everything going on between Hannah and Steven but never follows up with Audrey when she says the cameras never catch anything. Steven takes all the cameras down but Audrey never notices. Hannah getting her apartment was confusing, seemed at first she bought it, but then it's said she leased it. "Almost all the money" being used for it doesn't make sense if she used the money to pay for expenses and purchase a car.

[marjorie birney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read

This book was great. It kept me wondering what was next time and again. the twists and turns will have the reader thinking they know what's going on and it has lots of surprises. Startling ending and the last chapter will have you wanting to read more from this author. This is my second one and I will be wording more. Enjoy and you won't want to put it down once you start reading more. Recommending, absolutely.

[Barbora Erben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book from beginning to end. It was an enjoyable read for me. Unfortunately, I often find that with books of this type, the denouement of the whole story is too much. It's just too far-fetched. Yes, I enjoyed it, but by the last chapter I had to smile a little and just thought "yeah, that's very likely". I'm taking one star off for that. Anyway, it doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed the read and it definitely wasn't my last book by this author.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. The wife was very wimpy in my estimation. I really did not get a "gripping psychological thriller" part of the book. I thought the wife should have been stronger and gone after him a bit. Also, why was she so steadfast in maintaining the college friendships? Certainly, she could have found better friends.

[Tammy davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists and turns

This is an awesome story, rich handsome husband, beautiful but injured wife, her best friend. (those three since college), and wife's young pretty nurse. The main characters, think of all the fun a writer can have with these people. Now read the book and have fun finding out. You will enjoy it!

[Betty Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my 2nd book by this author and I really enjoyed it. The differing perspectives kept me interested and reading late into the night. The twists and turns made me wonder if anyone could be trusted and the ending was very surprising to me. If you like psychological suspense with a twist then you need to read this book.

[Diane Ricevuto L. Ricevuto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who Should You Trust

I realized immediately that I made a mistake of reading this story. Some of the dialogue was ridiculous and juvenile. However, I did enjoy the twist towards the end. I liked the comments and present day feelings that each character discussed at the end of the story.

[Chasity McGilvray · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just really slow AF. I kept reading thinking that it was going to pick up but it never did. I should have DNF’ed it but I didn’t 😒.
I could tell from the first 10 chapters what was happening.. I knew Audrey loved Lauren husband bc of the way she talked about him. I basically guessed the whole thing.
This just wasn’t it for me.

[Joy Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read, but I had the main “surprise” figured out about midway through. No other real surprises. I did enjoy the book though. This was the first of Chambers’ books I have read. I plan to read more of his books in the future.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy, fast paced thriller. It was pretty easy to figure out the plot early on the book. Lauren, Steve, Audrey and David were best friends all through college and many years later. Friends with some deadly secrets!

[Jessica Earhart-Banker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will keep you guessing all the way to the very end! I was on the edge on my seat the whole book! Other than the extra chapters at the end that didn't seem necessary this book will give you a thrill! Highly recommend! It will make you second guess everything!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t expect it to be a thriller. Randomly picked for the title. I’m not normally a thriller reader. I enjoyed it. Especially all the twists. Oddly, sadly, I felt like I really knew bits of all these people.

[Adrien Leatherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great thriller! It was suspenseful but not scary. Kept me guessing, answer was plausible. Not anything jaw dropping or award winning but just a really good, quick read. I really enjoyed it (incase you couldn’t tell)!!

[Andrea Tripp · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱
The story itself probably deserves 4 stars. It was interesting and held my attention. However, the author uses lot of simple, short sentences that made reading it very choppy and brought me out of the story several times.