This was a fun little thriller, with enough twists and turns to stay interesting. I did find the body count to be a little unrealistic, though - it seems Elizabeth can move about with impunity as the corpses pills around her. I also found the epilogue to be a little too neat to be realistic - I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't regret reading it though - as I mentioned above, it was fun. ( )

This was an interesting twist to the thriller genre. The serial killer in question is already in custody and in prison having been found guilty for what are being called “The Widower Murders”. The designation comes about because the ring finger and wedding rings from each of the female victims has been removed.

The wife in question, rather than go through the sadness and humiliation of the trial, ran away with their infant son and has been in hiding for the last five or six years. As the story opens, she is working as a teachers assistant at a school. She receives a mysterious phone call threatening the life of her son.

As the story unfolds, the wife has 100 hours to bring the ring fingers and the rings to the voice on the phone or her son will be killed. Each hour she receives a photo of her son laying on a bed, his mouth taped with a C-4 laden collar tied around his neck.

She has to basically backtrack her movements returning to places she hid out in order to receive help from people she has trusted in the past. Many of those who help are at risk and additionally, there are enough shady characters she has had to rely on that the reader is never 100% certain that those she trusts are really there to help or hinder. This adds a level of intrigue to the story that keeps the reader off balance.

It's a chase and a race against the clock. Others are pulled into the story including an FBI agent who was disgraced after the wife ran away and did not testify. His son is abducted by the same mysterious stranger and also has a C-4 collar on his neck with the threat of death imposed in order to solicit the FBI's help in retrieving the fingers. Why do they want the fingers and rings?

Ha! That, you will have to read the book to find out. Suffice to say, the reason is surprising as is the outcome of the book. I love a story that you can't get the ending until its the end and this is one of those. This is truly, a very good thriller. While I can't say I felt any one way or another for any of the characters, I did enjoy the thrill of the chase. Well worth a read. ( )

Great book. I did not foresee the ending at all. Exciting and suspenseful, I will read more from this author. ( )

I had a great time reading this novel. It was a great "race against time" novel with a twist ending that I suspected but didn't really see coming.

Elizabeth Piccioni had a good life until her husband was arrested by the FBI as a serial killer. During the trial and publicity, Elizabeth runs away to try to give her son a normal life. Now five years later, her son's life is at risk by a psycho who wants the trophies from her husband's murders. Elizabeth has 100 hours to race back to her old life and try to find the trophies so that her son can be saved.

The story was exciting and gripping as the characters raced to the end. As I mentioned, I suspected a twist at the end since a few things during the story seemed too easy and obvious. The degree of the twist though was something that I did not expect. However, nothing was out of character for anyone. There was no sacrifice to the reality of the story in order to achieve the surprise. Instead the characters were all three-dimensional, easy to picture and equally easy to care about. Well, I did find that her son was a bit of a caricature. He didn't really have any personality; considering though that for 95% of the book he was solely in the background as a threat and motivation to the main character, I didn't really mind. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Swartwood. ( )

I highly recommend this suspense thriller! It was so addictive I read it in one sitting. I eagerly look forward to the next book by Robert Swartwood! The pacing is impeccable, and the story had me hooked right from the first page. I don't want to give away any clues to the mysteries.

This is a well written, suspense with nonstop thrills, chills, and mystery. “Watch out Stephen King, there’s a new voice, and his name is Robert Swartwood. A dark, gritty thriller, The Serial Killer’s Wife is a sensational debut. Readers will relish this story’s many captivating, powerful, and compelling layers. ( )