She’s part of the family now. For better—and for worse . . . When Alex met Natalie she changed his life. After the tragic death of his first wife, which left him a single parent to teenage daughter Jade, he was desperate to leave the pain of his past behind. But his newfound happiness is shattered when the family home is gutted by fire and his loyalties are unexpectedly tested. Jade insists she saw a man in the house on the night of the fire; Natalie denies any knowledge of such an intruder. One of them must be lying, but Alex is faced with an impossible choice: to believe his wife or his daughter. As Natalie’s story unravels, Alex realizes that his wife has a past he had no idea about, a past that might yet catch up with her. But this time, the past could be deadly . . .
Gwen Lake is a forty-five-year-old police officer with a desk job, an ex-husband and a future not even close to the American dream. A year after her divorce, and more out of boredom and curiosity than anything else, she agrees to a meeting with her ex's new wife. She has no idea that the encounter will lead to murder. And she has decidedly mixed emotions when her ex-husband is arrested for the crime. Instead of accepting the lead detective's advice to book a Club Med vacation and leave the investigation to the professionals, Gwen decides to work the case on her own. Her life is about to get a lot less predictable and a lot more dangerous.
"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?"--Provided by publisher.
“Breezy and smart.”—KIRKUS “Talented!” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author After more than a decade alone, attorney Lynn Bartlett was ready to shake up her reliably comfortable life. So when successful, kind-hearted Jack Hughes—with his home in Silicon Valley, his safely remarried ex-wife, and his two grown children—proposed, it seemed like a dream come true. After all, how hard could it be? All you had to do was be nice to everybody and you’d all get along. Welcome to the perilous world of the second wife, where nothing turns out quite as expected. With an unemployed, unmotivated stepson who declares he’s moving in “temporarily,” a stepdaughter who oozes scorn, and a husband who’s hiding something, Lynn’s imagined domestic bliss begins to crack. Add in an ex-wife who shows up at inopportune times, a law partner who may be involved in illegal dealings, and a client whose attractions prove far too tempting, and Lynn finds both her marriage and her career could be in trouble. Not even the Anne Boleyn Society—an informal support group for second wives—has all the answers. Sure, they can commiserate when Lynn says, “I never thought it would be so hard,” but they don’t know the half of it... “A smart, darkly funny novel about the plight of a second wife... Lynn’s wryly funny, rueful voice is what makes Secret Lives appealing.” —Diane White, BOSTON GLOBE “Sassy, irreverent, and smart. Catherine Todd has a wicked sense of humor.” —Carla Neggers, bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series “Not only should this book be required reading for any second wife as well as anyone contemplating a second marriage, but it’s a riveting, beautifully written story on its own. I stayed up very late reading just to see how Lynn worked through the same turbulent mess that hits so many Second Wives who enter into a marriage without realizing how much baggage inevitably comes along with it. VERY HIGHLY recommended." —RENDEZVOUS MAGAZINE
Cultural Representation of the Second Wife: Literature, Stage, and Screen, is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary, cross-cultural work that provides insights into the realities of second wives the world over. This book allows the reader a three-dimensional view of the second wife experience. It asks: What does it mean, and what does it feel like, to be a second wife in a polygamous union or in a monogamous partnership? Is there a difference? Together, the writers in this book cleverly create an in-depth study of the subject through the productions referred to in the title, to offer a different approach to the popularly held views of the second wife. The book addresses the intricacies, customs, practices and lifestyles of the various Eastern and Western cultures and demonstrates the abilities of the Humanities to connect and interrelate with other disciplines as well as with the reader’s own world.
If you want to live, you must let go of the past... Twenty-eight-year-old psychologist, Alisha Dimarchi, is abducted by an obsessed client and imprisoned in his Pakistani compound for over two years. Forced to change her name and live as his second wife, her life is filled with trauma and heartbreak. Thrust into a world of violence and oppression, Ally must fight not only to keep herself alive but to protect the lives of the people she now considers family. At night, she retreats into her memories of the only man she has ever loved-a man she believes no longer loves her. Thirty-four-year-old handsome surgeon, David Dimarchi, has spent the last two years mourning the disappearance of his wife. After a painful and isolated existence, he begins the process of healing. It is then he is visited by a stranger, who informs him that Ally is very much alive and needs his help. In a desperate attempt to save her, David enlists the help of a mercenary. Together they find themselves in the center of more than just a rescue mission. Will he be able to reach her in time, and if he does, will she still want him?
From the author of Her One Mistake, hailed as “chilling, captivating” by New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda, comes a riveting new suspense novel about three ambitious women whose lives are turned upside down in the aftermath of a horrifying fire, which destroys a successful advertising agency and threatens to expose a tangled web of lies. Laura has returned to work at Morris and Wood after her maternity leave, only to discover that the woman she brought in to cover for her isn’t planning on going anywhere. Despite her close relationship with the agency’s powerful CEO, Harry Wood, she feels sidelined—and outmaneuvered—as she struggles to balance the twin demands of work and motherhood. Mia was only supposed to be a temporary hire at Morris and Wood, but she’s managed to make herself indispensable to everyone. Everyone, that is, except Laura. If people only knew why she was so desperate to keep her job, they might not want her to stay. Janie gave up everything to support her husband and the successful agency he runs. But she has her own dark secret to protect…and will go to any lengths to keep it safe. With signature prose lauded as “breathtaking” and “bone-chilling” by USA TODAY bestselling author Cristina Alger and plenty of shocking twists and turns, Three Perfect Liars is an unputdownable thriller for fans of Watching You and The Couple Next Door.
Revealed are the second wife’s attempt to murder by any means possible her wealthy fifth husband for his money; a town’s clan-tribal mentality; a corrupt legal system of unethical and conspiring lawyers; close relationship by the enforcement agencies at the local, state, and even federal level and their utter failure to act independently; rampant greed; immoral sex by the second wife; use of religion for personal gains and to present false appearances; inadequate protection by the State Health Services; The State Bar and its ease of being manipulated by local attorneys; and malicious denial of basic civil and human rights.
