The Innocent Wife by Sally Royer-Derr | Review

 Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.  

The Innocent Wife by Sally Royer-Derr
Genre(s): Thriller
Release Date: January 13th, 2025
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Pages: 279
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
Spice: Trigger Warnings

Trigger Warning - Grooming, SA 

I enjoyed this twisty thriller by Sally Royer-Derr but it did make me feel icky in parts.

Natalie is recently divorced, and just moved with her young daughter into a home close to the school she just transferred to work at. On her first day, she is introduced to another teacher, Lucas Hanson. Natalie already knows Lucas but he doesn’t seem to recognize her. She remembers how he groomed and took advantage of her when she was just a teenager. 

Olivia is Lucas’ young wife. They got married and moved towns as soon as Olivia turned eighteen. Over the past six years, Olivia has been catering to Lucas’ demands and high expectations but she’s tired of all that now. She wants to start making her own choices, but Lucas won’t let her…

Natalie’s daughter Emma tells her mom about the man watching her from across the street. Unexpected gifts are showing up at Natalie’s doorstep and she’s getting ominous texts. Who is the man watching her house? Has Lucas figured out who she is?

The narrative is told from Natalie and Olivia’s perspectives as they navigate their friendship, and work through their trauma. I stayed up until 2am to finish this in one reading. I won’t give the ending away but I had some theories and although I was wrong, I was excited to know I was thinking along the right path.