His first wife drowned in a seemingly freak accident and now he has a new wife!

Told in two parts, past and present, past - Amelia and present Elena, this brilliant psychological thriller is a terrifying story of domestic violence, fear and what someone people are really capable of.

What starts as two people coming together in shared grief, Nick who seems like a loving and caring man recovering from the tragic loss of his first wife Amelia, and Elena who is grieving for her mother, fall in love and live is now more bearable now they have each other. And then things start to change!

This is a brilliant twisty suspenseful thriller full of some truly surprising twists and turns. I was hooked from the start and literally kept reading ..... all day! Unable to stop reading it until the very end.

This genuinely is a "keep you on the edge of your seat" read! I loved it and I have no hesitation at all in recommending it to anyone! ( )

Having Amelia fake her death was a twist I did not expect. The story itself is really drawn out and could do without a lot of the fluff. The book was interesting but nothing great, did not have on the "edge of my seat" or anything like that. Decent read at best. ( )

I'm halfway through this story and enjoying it. As much as you can enjoy a story about verbal and physical abuse. Elena meets Nicholas at her mother's funeral. Nicholas has also lost his wife recently in a tragic drowning accident. Did his first wife, Amelia commit suicide because of Nicholas' actions?
Elena falls for the charming Nicholas and they move into the home where he lived with Amelia. Although Elena is not happy about this she agrees to it until Nicholas' work slows down and they have time to find another place to live. Her dislike of the house is exacerbated by her mother-in-law, Yvonne, coming over unannounced.
She manages to hide Nicholas' abuse and he apologies for his actions often. He tells Elena its post-traumatic stress but refuses to seek help. Elena thinks about leaving him but with two young children and no money she finds this difficult.
The Wife Before Me is worth your time even if the theme is dark. Unfortunately, it is a story that happens all too often.
I have now finished this thrilling story. The twists and turns in the final chapters are numerous and the ending is unexpected. Having said that, I’m not entirely happy with the ending. For me it’s a little unbelievable. ( )

This is a well done exploration of abuse. The ending is messy. ( )

The Wife before Me. Laura Elliot. 2018. The blurb: “A twisty, gripping psychological thriller.” “Twisty” it is, but it is also almost immediately, predictable. And you know that Nicholas Madison is the villain. Elena meets him at her mother’s funeral. Since her mother worked at Nicholas’ financial firm, Elena seems to run into him accidentally as she is settling the estate. The accidental meetings turn into dates and she learn that Nicholas’ first wife died when her car veers off the road, even though her body is never found. Elena marries him and moves into the house he shared with Amelia. He turns into Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca, and also becomes mean and brutal. He always blames it on his grief and on the fact that Elena wants him to talk about Amelia. He becomes more and more controlling and violent, and Elena begins to doubt herself and withdraw from her friends. She eventually tries to kill him and is arrested. Then the novel switches to Amelia and find out how her marriage was to him. Nicolas is a classic psychotic abuser and is eventually brought to justice. It is his violence, psychological, physical and sexual is vividly described ( )