The Dead Wife by Sue Fortin

Psychological thriller with a large measure of romance featuring an amateur sleuth who works for a travel agency as a features writer.

What it's about: Stephanie Durham wanted to be a big-time journalist, but that hasn't quite panned out yet so she indulges in her passion for photography while working for the website and magazine "Vacation Staycation." When she's offered the opportunity to cover the reopening of Conmere Resort Center in the Cumbria Lake District, she's pleased to attend and perhaps will have a chance to visit her mom who lives nearby. While researching the resort she reviews the articles surrounding the accidental drowning death of Elizabeth Sinclair, the young wife of one of the 3 sons who run the place. To her surprise, she's contacted by Elizabeth's mother, Sonia, who asks Steph to investigate the incident because she doesn't believe that there was anything accidental about it. So off Steph goes and gets much more than she bargained for. NO SPOILERS.

Should you read it? If you like a mystery that's fairly predictable with a huge dose of romance (hard to buy into it actually), then this is the book for you. You may also need a strong ability to suspend disbelief because of the way everything goes down. Stephanie is meant to be a strong, sympathetic character, but her emotions definitely win over her brain given what she does. A large amount of coincidence and improbability made me roll my eyes at times. I never felt the tension or suspense despite the situations Steph gets herself into, and I certainly didn't like any of the other messed up characters, especially Steph's mom or any of the Sinclair family. I knew early on "who did it" so it seemed that it took a long while to get there and the conclusion was anticlimactic. I'm finding it hard to rate as I really enjoyed the description of the setting while not really liking the plot or the characters. Without the instant romance, I'd probably have rated it higher.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I'll likely give her another go somewhere down the line despite the fact that I was a bit disappointed with this one. I admit I have really high expectations for psychological thrillers especially as I'm looking for something truly original where I can be surprised.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre -- domestic drama, mystery, amateur sleuth