The Woman Inside by EG Scott

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this great debut novel - a psychological thriller about a couple whose marriage has turned a little sour.

The Blurb:

For better, for worse... marriage can be a dangerous game.

A page-turning thriller about secrets and revenge, told from the perspectives of a husband and wife who are the most perfect, and the most dangerous, match for each other.

******

Rebecca didn't know love was possible until she met Paul, a man with a past as dark as her own. Their demons drew them together, but twenty years later, the damage and secrets that ignited their love begin to consume their marriage.

When Paul catches the attention of the police after two women go missing, Rebecca discovers his elaborate plot to build a new life without her. And though Rebecca is quickly spiralling out of control, it doesn't stop her from coming up with her own devastating plan for revenge... they made a promise to each other, after all.

Til death do us part.

******

With a Shakespearean twist that rivals the best books in the genre, THE WOMAN INSIDE is the unmissable thriller of 2019.

Perfect for fans of The Woman in the Window and The Wife Between Us, and of TV shows Big Little Lies and The Affair.

The Woman Inside was published as an eBook by Trapeze on 22nd January 2019. The paperback edition will be out in June. You can purchase the eBook, or pre order the paperback, from Amazon.

My Review:

Well, this is a twisty turny one! There's A LOT going on in this book, and you really need to keep your wits about you. Each chapter is written in the first person, from the point of view of a different character, whose name is at the beginning of the chapter. They are mainly from our married couple, but we hear from a few other folk too. And Paul and Rebecca's early chapters are divided into 'Before' and 'After', although it's not clear what is being referred to.

Paul and Rebecca have been married for nearly twenty years, and seem to have an ideal life. Rebecca is a high flying pharmaceutical rep, and although Paul's construction business went under, he is now very successful in real estate. They have a nice house, and a plot of land on which to build a forever home.

But in reality, the cracks between them are huge. Both came with baggage, Paul was married when they met and is a skilled liar, and Rebecca has a chemical dependency which is spiralling out of control. Rebecca discovers clues that Paul is keeping things from her, and makes plans for revenge.

I didn't like either of the main characters. At all. I'm not sure whether I was supposed to like them or not, but I found that they had no real redeeming factors. Fortunately, I strongly disliked them, which meant I still cared about what happened to them. The other characters we come across aren't very pleasant either, except the policemen. I liked them, especially Wolcott, but then I've always been a sucker for a man in a waistcoat! I reckon Silvestri would be better for a night out though. v

The first part of the book is quite slow, building up the story, background and characters. But hang in there, as the pace gets going and things get more tense.  As I mentioned above, it's a twisty book, and that doesn't let up at all. I enjoyed it, and will look out for other books by this duo.

The Authors:

E.G Scott is a pseudonym for two writers, Elizabeth Keenan, who works in publishing in New York, and Greg Wands, who is a screenwriter also based in New York. The Woman Inside is their first novel.