THE NEW HUSBAND

4.5 stars out of 5


About a year-and-a-half ago, Glen Garrity's boat was found with his blood on it, but not his body. He's presumed to be dead, and six months from now, his wife Nina can have him declared legally dead. That will free her up to marry her new love, Simon Fitch, a teacher who appeared on her scene almost immediately after Glen went missing. Much to the dismay of her middle-school daughter Maggie - who thoroughly detests and distrusts Simon - Nina has moved the family (including Maggie's older brother, Connor) into a new home that includes Simon. 

Even though Maggie has so far resisted Simon's proposal of marriage, she's pretty sure that's how things will end up. After all, Simon's got plenty of money and anticipates her every need and want (almost before she does). The tension between Simon and Maggie gets worse almost by the minute; but when Maggie complains about something nasty she's sure Simon did to her (readers get a closer look by way of chapters told from her perspective), Simon always has a plausible excuse and ends up looking like a rose in Nina's eyes.

Until he doesn't. Little by little, Nina begins to have doubts - mostly triggered by Simon's intense dislike of her decision to return to her career as a social worker. Somehow, she suspects, he's overreacting, but the question is why? Even before her husband disappeared, Maggie learned some unpleasant and totally unexpected facts about him. Now, she's understandably wary of making another mistake. But if Simon's not the person she believes him to be, can she ferret out his intentions before her family is totally destroyed?

Somewhere around the 50% mark comes a major reveal; from that point on, it's a race to see who makes it to the finish line (and a race to see if I could get there before I absolutely had to go to bed). Safe to say the book held my attention all the way - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the privilege of reading an advance copy.

One of the big plusses of the book for me is that although Nina questions her own actions and beliefs, she never crosses over to the hand-wringing, wishy-washy female characters who tends to populate stories like this (never failing to make me want to throw up). On the other hand, the epilogue, which is attributed to one of the major characters, would be far more appropriate, IMHO, as an afterword from the author. While I agree 150 percent with the opinions expressed on spousal abuse and bullying, it just doesn't fit as part of a novel itself (and I just can't believe the text as written could have been done by this character). But that's just my opinion; read it for yourself - it's an enthralling story that will hold your attention from start to finish.

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer (St. Martin's Press, April 2020); 384 pp.