The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives

 

What if the sharpest insight into a serial killer came from the women who married them?

Elizabeth Arnott’s The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives is a sharply written take on crime fiction that shifts the spotlight away from the killer and onto the women left in the wreckage.

Set in 1966, it follows Beverley, Margot, and Elsie. They’re three very different women bound by one horrifying fact: they were all married to notorious serial killers. Their shared trauma forges an unlikely but powerful friendship, built on survival and an understanding no one has.

When several young women turn up dead, Beverly, Margot, and Elsie realize something chilling. Their intimate knowledge of their husbands’ habits, patterns, and psychology gives them unique insight the police are missing. They launch their own investigation. What they uncover are connections between the victims that law enforcement has overlooked, along with a trail of false leads and unsettling truths.

This is a character-driven novel first and foremost. The mystery matters, but the real heart of the story is the friendship between these women and the way that suspicion, fear, guilt, and loyalty constantly test their bond. Their investigation forces them into a man’s world of crime-solving, where they refuse to sit politely and quietly on the sidelines. That choice puts them in real danger and forces each of them to confront the emotional aftermath of their marriages and their limited place in society.

Arnott’s blend of historical fiction and crime fiction works well. The 1960s setting adds layers and tension, especially as the women push against social expectations that tell them to stay quiet and invisible. I loved watching these women insert themselves into the male-dominated field of investigation.

At its core, this novel is about female friendship, agency, and reckoning. Unforgivable tragedies brought these women together, but their bond empowers them and ultimately helps them heal. It’s a smart, twisty, emotionally resonant read that proves the most compelling crime stories don’t always belong to the killers. They belong to the women who survived them.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC. Out March 3. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: Who would you trust more in a crime novel-the police or the people who know the killer intimately?

book review | book recommendation | literary thriller 

#crimefiction #arcreads

#historicalcrime #literarythriller

#femalefriendship #mysterybooks 

About the Author

Elizabeth Arnott is an award-winning writer and journalist and has written critically acclaimed historical fiction as Lizzie Pook. Her work—covering everything from true crime to Arctic exploration—has featured in publications including The Sunday Times, National Geographic, The New York Times Book Review, and The Guardian. She lives with her husband and their young daughter in London.