Christina’s driving home from a night at the pub. The wind is whipping, and the rain is pounding down on her windshield, making it nearly impossible to see. It’s only the sudden jolt of her car, accompanied by a loud thud, that alerts her that she’s hit something in the road. She assumes it’s an animal, but a visit from the police later that night tells her differently. Her husband Michael had been struck down by a hit-and-run driver and was at the hospital in critical condition. But rather than admitting to being the guilty party, she waits until they leave to call her twin brother Fred for help getting rid of any evidence.

Her marriage is far from being happy. At the pub earlier that night, she’d been telling Fred just that. And it was the state of her union with Michael that was on her mind when she hit him. While the police don’t seem to suspect her of trying to kill her husband, all it would take was an eyewitness to put her behind bars. Running him down would look intentional. As a persistent detective investigates the accident and pursues Christina for answers, she begins an investigation of her own.

Why was her husband walking on such a rainy night? Where did he go, and who did he see? She thinks she knows. But is what Michael’s hiding as horrible as she imagines? Or is it even worse? In the meantime, Christina has secrets too — and someone’s threatening to expose her.

A propulsive, fast paced, gripping thriller, “Did I Kill My Husband?” by A.J. Campbell is literary quicksand with its power to pull you into the story — and keep you there. It’s always incredible to find a book so good that it makes you forget time and place. Yet, it’s a rush to find one that’s so well-written and captivating that you forget you’re reading. The story seems like it’s taking place in front of your eyes instead of on a page. “Did I Kill My Husband?” is that kind of book. It’s that kind of amazing.

With ultra short chapters, “Did I Kill My Husband?” is a quick, suspense-filled, engrossing read. The big twist that came toward the end was surprisingly one I didn’t see coming, probably because it involved a character I didn’t suspect of anything, including being interesting. I audibly gasped when Michael’s secrets involving this character were revealed.

What a story! Even the title is compelling. Did Christina kill her husband? I hoped it would turn out to be true throughout most of the book, but especially after that twist. It could have ended with that scene, and I’d have been left with my jaw dropped and my mind blown. Instead, the last few chapters have an epilogue feel to them, giving a conclusion to everything that happened. It’s a perfect ending for an unputdownable book.

“Did I Kill My Husband” is my second book by A.J. Campbell, and it’s concreted me as her fan. I can’t wait to read more. ( )