Six months ago, Darcie saved a little girl’s life. She has desperately tried on avoid any publicity but goes missing the morning after she receives a sinister note. Can DCI Dan Riley find her safely…?
The Housewife’s Secret is the 7th book in the DCI Riley series. I have previously read and reviewed books 5 and 6: The Night of the Party, and The Lie In Our Marriage. The cases are standalone but nuances of Dan’s private and personal relationships have developed over the series.
Darcie is a housewife, married to a cardiologist. But she has been keeping secrets from him. She is pregnant and she is seeing a psychologist to help her deal with her past. Dan is supposed to be heading on holiday with his family but is informed about the case hours before departure. He senses something is concerning about the case and swiftly find Darcie’s phone with probable blood on it. The holiday is postponed…
The book is written from Dan’s perspective in the present day to show the police investigation. There are also flashes of humour as he avoids his wife’s wrath at missing their holiday and is forced to wear an awful suit by his colleague. The case is interweaved with first person viewpoints at various points in Darcie’s past and present. This allows us to glimpse clues about the secrets and potential reasons for her disappearance.
I enjoyed the layers of this book. We see Darcie’s perspective at the very beginning but it then becomes clear we don’t know her at all. Poor Dan! He is all set to enjoy some family time and a holiday but he can’t resist this case. He immediately has bad vibes and fears for Darcie’s safety but needs to piece together the truth quickly. From halfway through, it is clear someone is acting oddly and is therefore responsible but I enjoyed seeing how Dan came to the same conclusion.
The Housewife’s Secret is a tense and engaging crime thriller and police procedural.
The Housewife’s Secret by Anna-Lou Weatherley
I cast my eyes over the impressive meal I’ve cooked and the half-empty crystal wine glasses. As our guests smile graciously, I squeeze my husband’s shoulder. It’s vital I get his friends to like me. To believe this version of me. Because I’ll do anything to stop them learning the truth…
Ever since I met my handsome husband Dr Gabe Bonneville, I started playing the role of the perfect housewife. He works hard as a surgeon, so I look after our home, and throw elaborate dinner parties with champagne cocktails for his best friends Hugh and Anita. He’s my safe place and my chance to have the family I’ve always wanted.
I’ve managed to hide the mornings when I wake up and see a face in the shadows. I haven’t told Gabe the truth about the woman who raised me, or told him about the therapy I’ve been getting so my secrets stay hidden in the dark. I haven’t questioned his past so he doesn’t ask about mine. I see the way Anita looks at him sometimes, but I’ll never say a word.
Until the letter arrives at the front door. The beautiful, expensive card shakes in my hand as I read the neat black handwriting.
Someone knows I’m not just a housewife. And the lies I’ve told will be all that’s left when I disappear…
Fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn and The Housemaid will be gripped by this unputdownable thriller and its non-stop twists and turns! A breathtaking ride from the very first chapter to the explosive ending.
I was born in Hampshire but grew up in London where I still live today with my two children. I was originally a dancer who re-trained after a ‘disco accident’ in Ibiza to become a journalist – I’ve even won some awards, though I don’t like to talk about them – ha! I’ve been a women’s lifestyle writer for over fifteen years and am the former editor and acting editor of the fabulous J-17 magazine and Smash Hits respectively and have written for all the major glossies including Grazia, Company, Marie Claire and More, where I was their resident tell-it-like-it-is advice columnist – loads of fun! I’ve also written for NME, Loaded and Front magazine (I can be down with the lads too!).
During my journalistic career I’ve seen and done some amazing stuff, highlights include becoming a nun (for a day), rally racing with the late, great Colin McRae, bunjee jumping off a 350 ft bridge in designer heels, whiskey tasting for a week in Kentucky (don’t remember much of that) and hanging out with all manor of A-list celebrities (er, Take That and Jordan, anyone?).
After I had my son I started to write novels (having children does strange things to a person) and had my first young adult novel, Ibiza Summer, published in 2004. My first adult novel (it is a little racy) Chelsea Wives was published in 2012, followed by Wicked Wives in 2013.
When I’m not writing, which isn’t often, I like to hang upside down on a pole – I’m a qualified pole fitness instructor, and drink fancy wine (though not necessarily at the same time, that woud be dangerous). I adore creating exciting, three dimensional, glamorous and flawed characters against a backdrop of exotic locations. Revenge, sex, sin, glamour, excess, crime and intrigue is my speciality. My next novel, title to come, promises all the above and more!
