#BlogTour Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle.

About the Author
Kimberly Belle is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of six novels, including her forthcoming domestic suspense, Stranger in the Lake (June 2020). Her third novel, The Marriage Lie, was a semifinalist in the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Mystery & Thriller, and a #1 e-book bestseller in the UK and Italy. She’s sold rights to her books in a dozen languages as well as film and television options. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Belle divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam.

Follow @KimberlySBelle on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit kimberlybellebooks.com, Buy Dear Wife

About the book
Beth Murphy is on the run...

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning--one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought, because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.

Sabine Hardison is missing...

A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she's taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.

As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine's carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that's certain is that someone is lying and the truth won't stay buried for long.

Review
'He robbed me of the ability to trust in others' - truth.
The story begins with the escape of an abused wife. Beth has planned it meticulously. Burner phones, false leads, new identity and despite being able to breathe for the first time in years, she knows it's just the start of a really long process to rebuild her life.

Simultaneously a woman called Sabine goes missing and her husband becomes the focus of the police investigation. Is he the caring, attentive husband he appears to be? Why isn't he that bothered by her disappearance? So many questions, which just makes it all the more interesting.

Who is Beth really? What is her connection to the missing woman. Are they the same woman just at different times during one story? Is Sabine on the run too? These questions and the doubt are actually the details that create this sense of being a passenger without knowing the destination or the driver. The author lets the truth drop bit by bit as the story evolves.

Belle writes a wicked psychological thriller and a tense crime read. What won me over was the authenticity when it came to the domestic abuse aspect of the read, and it's done without gratuitous details.

This type of abuser works hard on their two faces - the public and the private one. This type of abuser has a support network of enablers. Their victims are generally not believed and their characters are maligned as part of the misinformation dissemination process, and as part of the carefully structured physical, psychological and emotional abuse.

The author is an incredibly gifted plotter and storyteller, and delivers a fantastic read.

Buy Dear Wife at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 16 April 2020. Buy at Amazon com.