Comment 601 on “The Loving Husband”

1. Emily May says:

   at 5:40 AM

   When the email came through from the publisher about this book, it said for fans of domestic thrillers and I was like is that me That s me, isn t it I must read it.I won t mention the book that this is obviously being compared to two words, rhymes with John Swirl or the bestseller from last year that it s also being compared to five words, rhymes with The Twirl in the Rain , but these books are like crack for us unromantic people They re like the opposite of romance books Instead of two angsty p [...]

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2. Arah-Lynda says:

   at 5:40 AM

   You know back when I first started reading Linwood Barclay I thought now here is a guy that pens what I would call domestic thrillers I had never really put those two words together before when describing a book Now it seems that there is glut of books on the market that fit that description and The Loving Husband is one of them.The story opens with Fran laying in bed The reader gets the sense that she may be semi awake or still hovering in a dream like state There is an intimate act that unfold [...]

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3. Andrew Smith says:

   at 5:40 AM

   The book opens with a scene that is shocking and strange It grabbed me I knew I d learn of the people involved and I wanted that I needed to make sense of this bewildering event First I d learn of the past Fran was once a dedicated career woman, writing for a magazine in London, but she didn t have much luck with men Her last boyfriend, Nick, was a shady character a good looking bad boy, involved with nightclubs and clandestine deals But her luck might be changing, she recently met Nathan at a [...]

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4. Maureen says:

   at 5:40 AM

   Thank you to shotsmag for my ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review 4.5 STARS Swirling snow across the Fens, only adds to the chill factor already present in this well crafted psychological thriller from Christobel Kent In just a few pages I was completely hooked.Fran and Nathan Hall live in a fairly rundown farmhouse on the edge of the British Fenlands Surrounding them is a damp flat landscape with big wide skies In the summer it may appear to be an idyllic location, but it s a bleak [...]

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5. Louise Wilson says:

   at 5:40 AM

   Fran and Nathan Hall live in a farmhouse with their two children One night Fran is wakened by her baby crying but the bed was empty next to her and Nathan was gone She searches the house for him and makes a devastating discovery The police start searching for Nathan but as their suspicion mounts the questions for Fran grow.Is Fran keeping a secret Was Nathan the loving husband she thought she knew A phycological thriller where family life is not what it seems.I would like to thank Net Galley, Li [...]

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6. Laura says:

   at 5:40 AM

   Domestic thrillers have slowly become a genre in their own right, and when they feature a strong storyline and good writing they are almost impossible to put down Unfortunately this just didn t live up to my expectations I thought the cover art was inspired but that was perhaps the best part about the entire thing Fran and her husband Nathan have recently upped sticks to rural Cambridgeshire with their two young children When Nathan is found brutally murdered on their vast property, Fran is task [...]

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7. Elaine says:

   at 5:40 AM

   Fran and Nathan are like any married couple or are they They decided to move back to where Nathan grew up with their two small children Nathan chooses an isolated farmhouse The farmhouse is pretty bleak and not quite what Fran had hoped for In the middle of the night, Fran is woken by their baby and finds her husbands side of the bed empty.She goes to look for him downstairs and makes the shocking discovery.The police seem to think she may be involved, she feels so isolated, alone But is the hus [...]

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8. Zuky the BookBum says:

   at 5:40 AM

   Also read my review here bookbum.weebly book reviewAVAILABLE NOW IN THE UK Firstly I d like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.This has a very samey storyline, how many books have you read where a husband has a secret second life I did enjoy this for a good while but it got to the point where the subjects of the novel got to me in a negative way and I found it really hard to continue reading For some readers this bo [...]

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9. Joodith says:

   at 5:40 AM

   Here we go again a book that promises to be utterly compulsive and eerily menacing and fails miserably.Fran and Nathan move with their two small children from the hustle and bustle of London to the desolation and loneliness of the Fens Nathan occupies himself with his work as a project manager while Fran mopes around most of the time with nothing exciting than hanging curtains and looking after a baby and a small child One cold night, having awoken to find Nathan s side of the bed empty, she wa [...]

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10. Latkins says:

    at 5:40 AM

    I read The Crooked House and quite enjoyed it, so I thought I d try this one In some ways it s quite similar, focusing on an isolated woman in a remote community, but I didn t think that this worked so well Fran is living in the fens with her husband Nathan and their two children, having given up her work in London to bring up the kids One night, she finds Nathan s body in a ditch outside her house, and discovers that he had a secret life she knew nothing about The is set partly in the present, [...]

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11. Margaret Madden says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Had to surrender The sampler was really good, but that was before any dialogue started Constant use of unfinished sentences and one or two line replies from main characters drove me crazy Very weak and rude police detective and a wishy washy FLO did not help I had zero feeling for the protagonist as she was practically dead herself Bizarre experience.

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12. Sarah says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Firstly I would like to thank TBC and the publisher as I won a copy of this book in a giveaway Unfortunately this book was just not my cup of tea at all The whole storyline just seemed to drag and unfortunately it didn t grab my interest in any way I had heard some good things about it and was determined to see it through until the end but alas even by the end it still hadnt grown on me Sure this book will appeal to some other readers who likes a plot to be drawn out but it just didn t work for [...]

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13. Linda Sims says:

    at 5:40 AM

    This isn t my usual choice of read but I was intrigued by the synopsis Fran Hall is married to Nathan he s a builder a project manager, or so he says He moves Fran and their two children to a run down farmhouse on the Fenlands Then one night Fran wakes to the baby crying, there s no sign of Nathan so she ventures outside and makes a grim discovery.Right from the very first page I was confused, the writing is all over the place, the flipping between the past and present plus the constant changing [...]

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14. I read novels says:

    at 5:40 AM

    A gripping spooky thriller You trust your husband with your life wouldn t you After all your married have children and wouldn t mind moving to a remote farm house to please your husband But what if your husband is hiding secrets from you Fran finds her husband dead and it seems that the police have their suspicions that Fran killed her own husband Fans of Apple Tree Yard and The Silent wife will know that marriage is nothing as it seems For me I think that The Loving Husband by Christobel Kent i [...]

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15. Renita D'Silva says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Good but I found it hard to warm to Fran.

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16. Jane says:

    at 5:40 AM

    I was very taken with Christobel Kent s last book, I meant to explore her backlist, but before I could do that a new book appeared and I had to read it.It s a psychological thriller, asking questions about how well we really know the people who share our lives, and about what happens when we don t tell ourselves the truth.Fran Hall and her husband Nathan lived in a farmhouse on the edge of the Fens with their two children She used to have a job she loved and a group of friends, but she left all [...]

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17. 🔮⚡️Voracious says:

    at 5:40 AM

    This book had all the right ingredients for a thrilling story but sadly, the ending fell flat for me I loved the tension and I loved trying to work out what was going on what was behind the motive for Nathan s death On the downside, I think there was way too much going on overall and at times it did get a bit confusing Perhaps most irritatingly, having finished the book, I m still trying to piece together some of the events and their relevance Perhaps it s just me, but I felt the ending was rath [...]

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18. Stephen says:

    at 5:40 AM

    thanks to netgalley and publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.I couldn t get into this book and struggled all the way until the end and just felt like the characters weren t real and felt the storyline going off on tangents maybe it was just my feeling of this book.

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19. Laura says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Review on snazzybooks I have to say that although I m usually a fan of domestic noir , which this book fits into, this story fell flat for me However I still thought it was an entertaining read.The main protagonist Fran was irritating and unlikable Now, it doesn t automatically mean I m going to dislike the book because of this, but the rest of the story wasn t enough of a hook to make me care what happened, and I struggled to really care about any of the characters.The writing style was a littl [...]

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20. Tracy Fenton says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Could not finish Couldn t get to grips with the characters, the storyline either.

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21. Clare says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Listened to in audio format.I have read other people s reviews and I am glad I am not the only person who found this book confusing Fran Hall lives with her husband Nathan and two children on the edge of the Fens One night Nathan disappears and Fran finds him dead in a ditch at the bottom of their garden Two male detectives are assigned to the case who are sure that Fran murdered Nathan.As the investigation continues the reader realises that Nathan was not a loving husband at all, he was manipul [...]

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22. Vikki Patis says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Whenever I m unsure about a book, I always read a few reviews on , to see how it s gone down in general The Loving Husband has received a mixed reception some reviewers love it, others aren t impressed And I m probably in the middle, so I d agree with the average 3 review.One cold winter night, Fran Hall is awoken by her husband, Nathan, getting into bed beside her A few hours later, she wakes up alone, and wanders downstairs to find her husband Find him she does, but he s in a ditch on the outs [...]

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23. Dana says:

    at 5:40 AM

    I quite enjoyed this book I did want to know what happened, but something was missing The story jumped about from the present to the past and back again The story is somewhat far fetched partly because of the timescale I know it is fiction, but fiction has to maintain some hold on reality.Fran is not a particularly likeable character and yet I didn t get the impression she was so weak as to be manipulated by Nathan She had had the strength to break up with her previous partner when she saw the w [...]

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24. Lisa *OwlBeSatReading* says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Not as good as I had hoped Rating 2.5 starsWhat started out as a tricky and difficult read, which I considered adding to my DNF shelf at 5%, 12% and again at 20% , turned out to be good ish I gave this my best shot, but it certainly wasn t all smooth and flowy, so I couldn t get really engrossed into its storyline at any point throughout It s a shame, because I was looking forward to this one Trouble is, I ve been spoilt with Crime Psychological Thrillers of late, with the likes of The Ice Twins [...]

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25. Val Robson says:

    at 5:40 AM

    I wanted to like this book but have finally finished it after twice as long as I d expect to read such a book and am left frustrated and confused The book opens with Fran Hall finding the body of her husband, Nathan, who has been murdered Fran and Nathan moved from London back to the Fens a few years before the story takes place Nathan was brought up in the area and the unravelling story to find his killer introduces the reader to many of his childhood friends and acquaintances along the way.I f [...]

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26. Damaskcat says:

    at 5:40 AM

    I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.Fran is woken up by her baby crying and she realises her husband, Nathan, isn t in bed beside her They have moved to an isolated farmhouse on the edge of the Fens in order to make a fresh start away from the rat race in London but Fran has not been altogether happy with her new surroundings When she makes a shocking discovery her life is turned upside down Who can she trust Can she even trust herself and her own memories While this no [...]

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27. Roman Clodia says:

    at 5:40 AM

    There are plenty of novels around built on the same premise as this one a husband goes missing or is killed and the wife uncovers dark secrets that underpinned their marriage but this is one of the better in that sub category Kent is a subtle writer and keeps the atmosphere edgy and unsettling as Fran Hall has to both keep her own secrets while fending off the suspicions of the police and uncover the secrets of her elusive husband The setting of a rural village in the Fens adds a slightly spooky [...]

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28. Maggie says:

    at 5:40 AM

    Fran agrees to move to the large house on the fens to please her husband, even though she feels totally creeped out about both the house the surroundings Struggling with a small child and a new baby she feels and isolated When she finds her husband dead outside the house her world spirals into chaos as she discovers that maybe she never knew him at all.This book kept me on the edge of my seat Christobel Kent captures the atmosphere of the landscape, its bleakness in winter and the gathering fe [...]

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29. Amy says:

    at 5:40 AM

    What The Hell The Loving Husband is a train wreck of a novel Characters have no background, no distinguishing characteristics No one is likable this would be fine if it were a good book and there was a reason for everyone to be unlikablebut it isn t, and there wasn t It s hard to believe a copy editor ever saw the manuscript I could complain about the myriad grammatical offenses, but that s low hanging fruit, and it s much interesting to note that the structure is an utter mishmash Pointless fl [...]

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30. AngryGreyCat says:

    at 5:40 AM

    The Loving Husband was a book mentioned in The English Kindle Mystery Group, it probably falls most closely into the domestic thriller category and is meant to lean on the popularity of the bestsellers of that genre The opening was good, the wife finding her husband s body at their farmhouse in the isolated fens while an unidentified man looks on The home is not being described as a charming farmhouse but instead gives a feeling of desolation and decrepitude lending to the atmosphere of the nove [...]

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