The Book:
The Senator’s Wife by Liv Constantine
Published May 23, 2023 by Bantam
Date read: May 2, 2023
The Characters:
Tasha and Madison
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
In this town, anyone is replaceable. . . .
After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on. The horrifying ordeal drew them together, and now they’re ready to settle down again—with each other.
As Sloane returns to the world of White House dinners and political small talk, this time with her new husband, she’s also preparing for an upcoming hip replacement—the latest reminder of the lupus diagnosis she’s managed since her twenties. With both of their hectic schedules, they decide that hiring a home health aide will give Sloane the support and independence she needs post-surgery. And they find the perfect fit in Athena Karras.
Seemingly a godsend, Athena tends to Sloane, and even helps her run her charitable foundation. But Sloane slowly begins to deteriorate—a complication, Athena explains, of Sloane’s lupus. As weeks go by, Sloane becomes sicker, and her uncertainty quickly turns to paranoia as she begins to suspect the worst. Why is Athena asking her so many probing questions about her foundation—about her past? And could Sloane be imagining the sultry looks between Athena and her new husband?
Riveting, fast-paced, and full of unbelievable twists, The Senator’s Wife is a psychological thriller that upends the private homes of those who walk the halls of power. Because when you have it all, you have everything to lose.
How did The Senator’s Wife end?
The Reveal:
Whit was conspiring to kill Sloane to get all her money. He was the one poisoning and gaslighting her, not Athena. He was planning for Athena to take the fall for it, though, and he was trying to seduce her to keep her close. Whit had also killed Pam after Pam accidentally killed Robert, making it look like a suicide.
Athena was actually an FBI agent. They had been investigating Whit for a while, and the home health aid job was the perfect opening for her. When she finally got into Whit’s office she found the bactrim and belladonna that Whit had been poisoning Sloane with. She suggested to Whit that she would “help” Sloane die and that he should leave town while she did it so that he wouldn’t be implicated. She used this time to rescue Sloane, get her safe, and then stage her death.
The FBI was then able to implicate Whit and the vice president (and various other players) in some shady construction deals that resulted in a fire that killed hundreds.
The Ending:
All the bad guys went to jail. Sloane and Athena stayed friends.
The Review:
I always look forward to a new thriller from this dynamic duo! I don’t usually love political thrillers, but if it’s written by Liv Constantine you know I’m going to read it.
The Senator’s Wife is a very slow burn, but if you make it through the lead-up, the twist is worth it. Fortunately the chapters are short and the prose is compelling, and I loved the reveal and the ending.
If you like political thrillers with a lot of drama and buildup, this is the one for you!
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