She made her bed. You’ll lie in it.
Rebecca only wanted to help out – to be kind. Richard seemed so alone after his wife, Nicole, died, and Rebecca wanted to make sure he knew he had someone to rely on.
But now she’s in Nicole’s immaculate house. Drinking from her favourite crystal wine glass. Keeping shoes in her orderly closet. Comforting her sweet and grieving step-daughter. It feels like Rebecca is living another woman’s life.
And as she gets to know the neighbours, Rebecca hears stories that make her wonder: was free-spirited Nicole happy in this perfect life, or did she feel trapped? Did she feel, as Rebecca is beginning to, that something wasn’t quite right?
What does TWG think?
You can definitely tell that Sheryl Browne has a history in writing contemporary/romantic fiction as well as books like this! That’s totally not a negative at all by the way, it’s just that if I didn’t know any better, I would have put a large section of this book under that genre heading and not the psychological one.
Three women, two of them being puppets….figuratively speaking, but who is holding the strings?
‘The Second Wife’ switches between the narratives of each main character, telling the story through their own eyes. But whose story do we pay attention to? Do we believe a story which can no longer be challenged? This book highlights the fact that nothing is ever at it seems, and the lengths which people can go to for their own personal gain, regardless of who they knock down on the way.
I did say at the beginning of this review that a large portion of the storyline was a bit split genre, and I do stand by that. However, the psychological element of the storyline kicked in over halfway through and when it did kick in, boy did it kick in! I thought the relaxed-ish vibe was very cleverly done as it led me into a complete false sense of security – was a happily ever after possible? Or were the characters just as twisted as each other?
‘The Second Wife’ is a gritty, twisted novel which has so many hidden agendas that I felt like I was on a ride I would never get off of. The way that Sheryl Browne was able to genre split throughout the novel was very impressive and i felt that it worked with the overall vibe of the book.
The only irk for me was that I felt the storyline was a little predictable, but nonetheless I did enjoy reading about some incredibly deranged characters!
A psychologically twisted novel with a romantic notion to make you feel that a happily ever after is near, ‘The Second Wife’ is a highly enjoyable, twisted and intense read.
About the author.
So why does Sheryl write in two genres? Quoting E. L. Doctorow, Sheryl says: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights…” This she thinks sums up a writer’s journey, you never quite know where you are going until you get there. You might start with an outline, but a strong character will always divert from the plot. If Sheryl’s not sure where a character is going, she simply has to trust him to show her the way. Plus, according to one reviewer, she also has a scary insight into the mind of a psychopath.
To find out more about Sheryl’s novels, go to www.facebook.com/SherylBrowne.Author/ or follow @SherylBrowne on Twitter.
The Writing Garnet 
Thank you so much, Kaisha! You are spot on. I do look how the romantic notion of love can go so badly wrong – driving some people to all manner of deranged acts! Brilliant! I love it! 🙂 xx
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