Author: Karen Hamilton
ISBN: 9781525831744
Publication Date: July 7, 2020
Publisher: Graydon House Books
In Karen Hamilton’s shocking thriller, THE LAST WIFE
(Graydon House, July 7, $17.99) Marie Langham is distraught when her childhood
friend, Nina, is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Before Nina passes away,
she asks Marie to look out for her family—her son, daughter, and
husband, Stuart. Marie would do anything for Nina, so of course, she
agrees.
Following Nina's death, Marie gradually finds herself drawn
into her friend's life—her family, her large house in the countryside.
But when Camilla, a mutual friend from their old art-college days, suddenly
reappears, Marie begins to suspect that she has a hidden agenda. Then, Marie
discovers that Nina had long suppressed secrets about a holiday in Ibiza the
women took ten years previously when Marie's then-boyfriend went missing after
a tragic accident and was later found dead.
Marie used to envy Nina's beautiful life, but now the cards
are up in the air and she begins to realize that nothing is what it seemed. As
long-buried secrets start surfacing, Marie must figure out what’s true and who
she can trust before the consequences of Nina’s dark secrets destroy her.
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Enjoy this Excerpt:
PROLOGUE
Clients trust me because I blend in. It’s a natural
skill—my gift, if you like. I focus my lens and capture stories, like the ones
unfolding tonight: natural and guarded expressions, self-conscious poses,
joyous smiles, reluctant ones from a teenage bridesmaid, swathed in silver and
bloodred. The groom is an old friend, yet I’ve only met his now-wife twice. She
seems reserved, hard to get to know, but in their wedding album she’ll glow.
The camera does lie. My role is to take these lies and spin them into the
perfect story.
I take a glass of champagne from a passing server. I
needn’t be totally on the ball during the latter half of the evening because by
then, people naturally loosen up. I find that the purest details are revealed
in the discreet pictures I snatch during the final hours, however innocuously
an event starts. And besides, it seems this event is winding down.
The one downside of my job is the mixed bag of emotions
evoked. I rarely take family photos anymore, so normally, I’m fine, but today,
watching the wedding festivities, the longing for what I don’t have has crept
up on me. People think that envy is a bad thing, but in my opinion, envy is a
positive emotion. It has always been the best indicator for me to realize
what’s wrong with my life. People say, “Follow your dreams,” yet I’d say,
“Follow what makes you sick with envy.”
It’s how I knew that I must stop deceiving myself and
face up to how desperately I wanted to have a child. Delayed gratification is
overrated.
I place my camera on a table as the tempo eases and sit
down on a satin-draped chair. As I watch the bride sweep across the dance floor
with her new husband, I think of Nina, and an overwhelming tide of grief floods
through me. I picture her haunted expression when she elicited three final
promises from me: two are easy to keep, one is not. Nonetheless, a vow is a vow.
I will be creative and fulfill it. I have a bad—yet tempting—idea which
occasionally beckons me toward a slippery slope.
I must do my best to avoid it because when Nina passed
the baton to me, she thought I was someone she could trust. However, as my
yearning grows, the crushing disappointment increases every month and the
future I crave remains elusive. And she didn’t know that I’d do anything to get
what I want. Anything.
About the author:
Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola,
Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy and worked as a flight attendant for many years.
Karen is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots
in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her
wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. She is also the author
of the international bestseller The Perfect Girlfriend.
Social Links:
Twitter: @KJHAuthor
Instagram: @karenhamiltonauthor
Facebook: @KarenHamiltonWriter
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