The Book:
The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell, 2020
The Characters:
Nina, her current husband Connor, and former husband Edward
Tabitha, who dated Connor in high school
The Plot (from Goodreads):
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?
As Tabitha is drawn deeper into the dark glamour of a life she is ill-prepared for, it becomes clear to her that what a wife knows can kill her.
The Twist:
Juliet (Nina’s assistant) was the product of Edward’s (Nina’s previous husband) rape of their housekeeper Gloria. She sued Edward for paternity, but he had no obligation since she was over 18. In her anger, she plotted against Nina. She set Connor up with Nina and then killed Nina by drugging her and pushing her in the pool. Connor didn’t agree with her plan but knew that she had done it. He hadn’t gone to the police because Juliet had his fingerprints on the glass she had drugged Nina with and was planning to use it to frame him.
Connor confessed all of this to Tabitha while she was on bail. She was wearing an ankle monitor that recorded his confession, and she had found Nina’s diary to corroborate it. There was a confrontation between Juliet, Connor, and Tabitha, and Connor was shot and killed. Juliet and the security guard on her side were killed as well in a shootout with the cops.
The Ending:
Tabitha signed away Nina’s fortune to charity. She got $3M from Connor’s life insurance. She bought the grill she used to work in.
The Review:
My thoughts on The Wife Who Knew Too Much are mixed. I really wanted to like this one, but I had a really hard time bringing myself to like Tabitha. She was just so whiny and uninteresting. Her whole personality was based around being left by this guy in high school, but a. they dated for two months and b. he didn’t break up with her. I dislike characters (and women in real life, tbh) who hang all their happiness on men.
I didn’t think Nina was neurotic and controlling as the book description says she is. She wasn’t paranoid; Connor was in fact cheating on her, as you can see from the description!
I liked the plot, and the story moved quickly. I think if the story had been slower paced, I would have gotten bored fast. The writing was good though and kept the pages turning. The ending was a bit convoluted, but good enough.
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