(3.5 stars)

The second half of THE NEW HUSBAND by DJ Palmer is what gets this book high marks and great reviews. But you have to be patient when you read the first half and hope that the second half will be good enough to make it worth the wait. It is. (But I rate on the basis of both halves, not just the second.)

When this book opens, Glenn has been missing for nearly two years, leaving his wife, Nina, and two teenage kids, Conner and Maggie, to wonder what happened to him and how they could live on the little savings he left. Simon stepped in to woo Nina soon after Glen's disappearance. He has promised to take care of the family financially so won Nina over too quickly. Now he and Nina have purchased a home, and Simon wants to marry Nina. Conner likes Simon; Maggie despises him.

The first half of THE NEW HUSBAND establishes Simon's obsession with Nina and Maggie's hate of Simon. Although Nina does not ignorantly go along with every one of Simon's sweet-sounding demands, she still cannot see what 13-year-old Maggie does. Although Palmer doesn't explicitly say so, if the reader is the least bit perceptive, she will realize that Simon is, indeed, a bad guy and young Maggie is smarter than her mom. Admittedly, though, Nina does finally look into Simon's past before the halfway point of the book. This isn't a complete exercise in frustration.

So this goes on for 170-some pages. In the second half of the book, the reader sees just how bad Simon really is.

I've said enough. I'll say no more. But I'm glad I read both halves.

I won an advance reader's copy of THE NEW HUSBAND from St. Martin's Press.

A new house, a new neighborhood, a new “boyfriend” for mom, but nothing but hatred for Maggie.

Having Simon, the new boyfriend, move in with them wasn’t something Maggie liked because she extremely disliked him. She just wasn’t comfortable around him and felt something was not quite right.

Since her father was never found after a boating accident, things had been rough, but this seemed worse.

As the days go on, Maggie sees more things happening that seem like control on Simon's part.

Why can’t her mother see this especially since Simon always said subtle things indicating that her mother shouldn’t go back to work because she couldn’t handle the house and a job.

As we look back, Maggie's father wasn't much better since he had been lying to her mother as well.

As we get to know the characters more…

1. Nina needed to wake up and listen to her daughter.

2. Connor needed to be more aware of what was going on.

3. Maggie needed to keep questioning her impressions of Simon.

4. And Simon needed to leave.

Can you tell I didn't like Simon? He was such a manipulator.

I kept wondering and worrying about what his real plan was and what he was going to do next.

Tension, ill will, subtlety, lies, and suspense abound in THE NEW HUSBAND.

The tension throughout the book was very strong but the ending tension was so strong, you will be talking out loud to the characters and having your blood pressure rise. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.