Publish Date: June 9, 2020
“When you run with wolves, don’t trip.” — Proverb
Tabitha Girard had her heart broken years ago by Connor Ford. He was preppy and handsome. She was a pool girl at his country club. Their affair should have been a summer fling. But it meant everything to Tabitha.
Years later, Connor comes back into Tabitha’s life—older, richer, and desperately unhappy. He married for money, a wealthy, neurotic, controlling woman whom he never loved. He has always loved Tabitha.
When Connor’s wife Nina takes her own life, he’s free. He can finally be with Tabitha. Nina’s home, Windswept, can be theirs. It seems to be a perfect ending to a fairy tale romance that began so many years ago. But then, Tabitha finds a diary. “I’m writing this to raise an alarm in the event of my untimely death,” it begins. “If I die unexpectedly, it was foul play, and Connor was behind it. Connor—and her.”
Who is Connor Ford? Why did he marry Nina? Is Tabitha his true love, or a convenient affair? As the police investigate Nina’s death, is she a convenient suspect?
Imagine if the person that you were shipping in high school (and madly in love with) walks into your life 13 years later. That’s what happened to Tabitha. This down-and-out recently divorced waitress hooks up with her high school crush Connor and she falls in love with him all over again. Unfortunately Connor is very married to the older, rich, and glamorous Nina…. but he can’t help cheating on her because Tabitha’s his soul mate that he’s loved for all of this time. Really!? What secrets is he hiding?
Tabitha finds herself in the middle of Nina and Connor’s messy marriage, with a few jaw-dropping secrets of her own. She is the mistress and I was ready to hate her, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her destitute lifestyle, her naivete, and her gullibility. Tabitha believed every word that everyone told her – hook, line, and sinker – and that’s what gets her in trouble.
Michele Campbell’s 4th book has everything that I love in her stories: complex characters, glitz, glamour, mystery, and situations that remind us that nothing is what it seems. There is a good mix of likeable and unlikeable characters and sometimes my opinion of them changed as the story went on and more layers are revealed.
The story is told from multiple timelines and perspectives: Nina’s, Connor’s, and Tabitha’s so that the reader gets the full picture. The multiple timelines were a great angle into the story. Figuring out which wife was the Wife Who Knew Too Much was a challenge because I couldn’t decide which one fit this description better.
My favorite quotes:
“If something goes wrong, I want an autopsy. If I due unexpectedly, it was foul play, and Connor was behind it. Connor – and her.”
“You think things can’t get worse, and then they do.”
“You don’t know where people’s loyalties lie. This whole place is like a viper’s nest.”
“Were they lovers? Co-conspirators? Something else? And which answer would hurt the worst?”
This book is about manipulation, secrets, lies, betrayal, greed, family, marriage, motherhood, money, and temptation. It’s a fast, easy read with a nice pace. The book ends up being a whodunnit, and the ending was an unexpected surprise that made me gasp. Michele Campbell is an excellent writer that weaves fascinating, magnetic, layered characters around a complex plot that keep readers riveted. This story is one that you don’t want to miss. Well done Michele Campbell! She knocked it out of the park, again.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 
Note: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley exchange for an honest review.
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