What My Husband Did is an engaging and quick-paced thriller that keeps you guessing.

Told through two narratives, one in the past and one in the present, the story unravels in a really interesting way. It’s an easy book to get through quickly as the characters are distinctive and the plot is very to the point.

While there was a little more context that I wanted at the beginning and end, just to really set the atmosphere of the town up a little better, I love how sharp and tight the story feels at the same time. Instead of feeling heavy with description, What My Husband Did feels more like an hour-long TV episode, getting straight to the important events while ensuring that there’s just enough detail to make you care for the characters at the same time.

The setting of a small town where everybody knows everybody’s business is the perfect location for secrets, betrayals and grudges to thrive, set in a community where it’s impossible not to judge those closest to you. Full of red herrings and misdirections, you question the intentions of everybody involved, all the while trying to believe in Maddy’s hope that her husband isn’t a monster, whatever his secrets may be.

The final revelations certainly come as surprise and these chapters are full of suspense. And although I wanted a little more time spent on the characters in the present, I love the blunt ending of the past narrative which ends the story on an impacting message. While this message of how treating somebody as guilty before knowing the facts can have huge consequences feels distinct, it’s weaved in subtly throughout and isn’t pushed onto the reader, either, making it really play in the background of your mind.

This is the first book I have read by Kerry Wilkinson but I am definitely interested to read more of his work now. Do you have any recommendations on which of his books I should try next?

Thank you to NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.