A Killer's Wife centers on Jessica Yardley, a Las Vegas prosecutor with a horrifying past: her husband was a serial killer, and she had no idea until he was caught. Now, years later, a copycat killer is on the prowl, and the only lead is Yardley's connection to her past. Can she get any insight from her imprisoned ex-husband? Does she even want to ask?
It's clear from the first chapter (or the plot summary) exactly what tone author Victor Methos is trying to strike here. But the whole is a little bit greater than the sum of the parts. In the early going, the book seemed like "warmed over" The Silence of the Lambs, with "Clarice" a prosecutor rather than an FBI agent (but basically operating in the same way). But if that's the base of this soup, the spices sprinkled in help distinguish it. A Killer's Wife has a pinch of Gone Girl, a dash of What Lies Beneath... and ultimately swings hard into legal thriller in the final act.
Still, if this show doesn't map exactly to many television crime procedurals, it still has many of the trappings. The book seems to want you at arm's length, always referring to its protagonist by her last name, and not developing most of the side characters beyond their function in the plot.
It has other tricks for pulling you in, though. Short chapters with plenty of punchy cliffhangers, just enough twists you don't fully see coming to keep you engaged, and a general desire for the gift-wrapped ending it seems to promise... it all makes for a brisk read. Like I said in the beginning: it's pure, easy-reading pulp.
On those terms, if you're looking for what I'd literally call a B-grade read (not outstanding, but a fun diversion), you might consider giving A Killer's Wife a try. It even has sequels, if you wind up loving it.
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