The New Husband by DJ Palmer Review

Title: The New Husband 

Author: DJ Palmer 

Age Group: Adult 

Genre: Mystery/Thriller 

Series: Standalone 

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

The publisher sent me a free advanced readers’ copy of this book. Thank you so much to DJ Palmer and St. Martin’s Press! 

I was lucky enough to receive DJ Palmer’s debut novel, Saving Meghan, and I loved it. The New Husband is his sophomore novel, and I daresay that it might be the best of his works yet. This novel asks the reader a truly chilling question: How well do we really know the ones we love and care about? This book was a finely tuned, taut thriller that had me alternately gasping, screaming, or scratching my head. The New Husband is one of my favorite books of 2020; it was deliciously creepy and so confusing, all at once. This book was a mystery, but to call it that simply would be to do the author a great disservice. This book was just like the cleverest sleight of hand, all smoke and mirrors and red herrings. I was on edge the whole time; a sense of dread permeates the book. I had no idea what was going to happen. Usually, as a genre, mysteries tend to make me leery. I have a bad habit for predicting the plot. But with this book, I was blindsided the entire time. I had no idea what to think. I love mysteries and thrillers because they can peel back the layers of our hidden, private lives, exposing secrets, lies, and perhaps even something deadly. 

Nina Garrity has been hurt before. When her first husband, Glen, disappeared, leaving her with decades of questions. But when the charming, caring Simon Fitch, all smiles and good looks, meets her by bringing back her dog, Daisy, she begins to relax. After all, Simon knows everything about her: her past, her favorite food, supports her and loves her unconditionally. Everything seems perfect. But usually when something seems to be good to be true it is, and Simon is hiding dark, deadly secrets. Add to that her daughter, Maggie, is convinced that her father is still alive, and refuses to welcome Simon into their fractured family. But Simon Fitch has something terrible in store for Nina, if she keeps digging into his past... 

This book was a spine-tingling mystery of domestic bliss; or is it? Everything seems perfect from the beginning. But beneath the shiny veneer, all is not what it seems. Nina Garrity, the axis of a broken woman that this novel revolves around, is an amazing main character; I loved watching her grow throughout the novel. I really sympathized with her. Just become we love someone doesn’t mean we truly know them. I was just as confused as Nina as the book went on; this book had so many twists and turns it practically gave me whiplash. Who is Simon Fitch, really, and what is he hiding? I loved this book; it was chilling, shocking, and darkly suspenseful. I loved the sense of dread and anticipation lingering over every word. I also adored the way Nina’s children, especially Maggie, dug into Simon’s past, until all of his dark, terrible secrets came to light. I did not see this book coming; I read DJ Palmer’s first novel, Saving Meghan, and I loved it, but The New Husband for sure takes the cake as his best thus far! This mystery novel was unlike any I’ve read; I had no idea about any of it, but especially the ending! DJ Palmer did a fantastic job with his sophomore novel! The bottom line: The New Husband is a chilling, taut domestic thriller that was a spine-tingling journey into a dark abyss from which there seems to be no escape, and I loved every moment of it! Next on deck: The Last Flight by Julie Clark!