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The Second Husband

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The Second Husband

By: Louise Candlish
Narrated by: Denica Fairman
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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A mesmerising psychological drama about desire and betrayal from the bestselling author of Our House.
Be careful who you let into your heart - and your home…

When Davis Calder moves in next door to Kate Easton and her two children, no one has any idea of the devastation about to be unleashed. With Kate struggling to accept her teenage daughter Roxy's independence and with tensions between Kate and her ex-husband Alistair still very much alive, there's enough family drama to go around already.

Before they know it, clever, charismatic Davis is the only one who seems able to keep the peace. Soon Kate has fallen in love and agreed to be his wife. At last she can come to terms with the betrayals of her first marriage. At last she dares hope she has the happy ending she deserves . . .

'Moving and thought-provoking' Daily Mail

'Superbly crafted' Elle Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Marriage Fiction
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Reasonably engaging as an accompaniment to doing something else. Predictable scenario from early on. Recording spoiled by the narrator. Most female characters given silly squeaky voices but worse was the amount of dialogue delivered in a too loud and screeching voice. Awful and very annoying.

Predictable story

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This was well enough written but rather predictable. One twist, about half way through, prevented the book from being totally mundane, but in spite of a dash overseas and some rather irritating conversation, the ending just resolved itself, with no help from the characters. It didn't help that the narrator of my audiobook version had a rather patronising, super-sweet voice.

Kate Easton has been divorced from her first husband, Alistair, for ten years, when he announces that his child support will have to be reduced and suggests that she split the flat and take in a lodger. Reluctantly she agrees and Davis Calder takes the room. He is peripatetic teacher, coaching teenagers through their exams, and offers to help Kate's daughter Roxy in her application for Cambridge University.
In spite of Kate's resolution to steer clear of men and concentrate on Roxy and her nine-year old brother, Kate is undeniably drawn to him.

Because I listened to the audio version, I fortunately missed the tag line spoiler, that was apparently on the book. But in spite of this, it wasn't too much of a surprise as there were plenty of suggestive hints in the narrative. The resolution of the resulting problem was totally ineffective as the issue, predictably, resolved itself, much as I had expected.

Not a bad listen to keep me awake on a couple of five-hour drives, but not something that makes me want to dash out and buy another book by the same author.

Predictable.

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Unfortunately the narration completely ruins this book, it’s unbearable when the narrator is raising her voice or talking in angry tones

Spoilt by narration

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I always like the way this author writes - engaging and pacey and making me eager to know what next. Unfortunately the latter part of the story has no twists or turns, intrigue or surprises. Definitely a book of two halves for me.

Good start, disappointing end

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I have enjoyed all Louise Candlish’s books, listening to the audio version of each but I just can’t bear the narrator’s over the top style on this one. I will be buying the paperback instead as I just can’t listen to any more!

Annoying narrator!

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