Customer Reviews

The Killer's Wife: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THE KILLER'S WIFE is just an okay debut. It deals with an intriguing concept, namely what it's like to be the spouse of a serial killer. After divorcing her killer husband (who's now on death row), Nina Mosley has relocated to a small town under an assumed name with their seven-year old son. When the novel opens, a father of one of the killer's victims has tracked Mosley down and plans to expose her.

This novel is certainly readable, but struck me as kind of underdevloped. THE KILLER'S WIFE is a short read, and I felt like I barely knew any of the characters. The author relies heavily on multiple flashbacks, which prevents the present-day plot from achieving any sense of momentum. This book has one interesting twist near the end, but I found very little else about the novel to be surprising or suspenseful.

I do like Bill Floyd's writing style, however, which leads me to hope he will write more novels in the future, ones with better developed plotlines.

Great book!
I'm reading it on the commuter bus and this book actually makes me wish my commute were longer!
Fast-paced action but with great use of flash backs to add depth to the characters. The descriptions of the setting and background characters is spot on and sometimes laugh out loud funny. The author has obviously lived in the 'burbs. Can't wait to read more from this guy.

This debut bogs down in places where Floyd seems more interested in his thesaurus than in moving the story forward. And is quite choppy between the present and the past - almost as if there were two separate authors.

Six years after Nina Mosley's ex-husband is found guilty in the serial killings of many across the country - thanks to Mosley herself finding the evidence - Randy is now on death row in California. But if only life were so simple and she could change her name and forget her past. Except that isn't possible when the father of one of Randy's victims tracks her down and is making life unbearable for Leigh (what she now calls herself) and her son Hayden. Their new life in Cary, North Carolina is shattered when they are publicly revealed and another vicious murderer wants to copy what he learned from his mentor.

I tend to try to read debut authors in the hope of finding a unique book that differs from the "James Patterson" type of novels that get a lot of hype, but usually fall short when you invest the time to read them. This book is great from page 1. Just like the previous reviewer, I started the book and was finished before I knew it. The concept is original and the writing is very well done. Everyone I have shared the synopsis with has been interested in the book and several have since gotten a copy of the book. If you are interested enough in the book to read this review, do yourself a favor and GET THIS BOOK!!

I tend to try to read debut authors in the hope of finding a unique book that differs from the "James Patterson" type of novels that get a lot of hype, but usually fall short when you invest the time to read them. This book is great from page 1. Just like the previous reviewer, I started the book and was finished before I knew it. The concept is original and the writing is very well done. Everyone I have shared the synopsis with has been interested in the book and several have since gotten a copy of the book. If you are interested enough in the book to read this review, do yourself a favor and GET THIS BOOK!!

I agree with the complaints that some of the previous reviewers have written about this book. It is easy to tell this is the author's first novel. He does seem to try to use words that he pulled out of a thesarus instead of just using the language he is comfortable with. The book also has a very "rushed" feel to it, as though the author knew where he wanted the story to go but just wasn't completely certain how to get it there. Ok, with all that said, let's talk about the story....

Leigh Wren and her son Hayden are trying to move on with their lives. Leigh is raising her son on her own since her husband was found out to be a serial killer and sentenced to prison (death row to be exact). Leigh has moved on with her life and has a good job, good friends, and is finally trying to put her past behind her and move on. This becomes hard to accomplish after she one day is approached by the father of one of her ex-husband's victims and is told, by him, that he believes she was not as innocent as she claimed to be. This sets off a chain of events that puts Leigh and Hayden in mortal danger and is made worse when new victims are discovered, mutilated the same way her ex-hubby killed his victims. Has hubby escaped from prison? Is there a copy cat killer lurking about? Is Leigh involved?

This may not be a "book-of-the-year" effort, but Mr. Floyd does a decent job his first time out of the shoot, keeping the tension and suspense moving. He just needs to do a little more work on the details and convince the readers that they really do care about the characters in the story.

So now that you know not to expect this to be a timeless classic, give the story a try. It's a short, fun read.

This book was one of the better books I have read. It has some real depth to it and I think is a real good/easy read!

A fast read and a page turner. A bit slow moving in the beginning but picks up and is worth the effort. It is somewhat graphic for the faint at heart- I enjoyed it and look forward to more from the author.

This is the first book in quite some time that I could not put down. I typically get through the first three chapters...and then get a new book. I am looking forward to seeing more from Floyd soon.

This well regarded debut novel has been compared to the writing of Dennis Lehane. Although I enjoyed the story, I did not see that. With a female heroine and southern setting I felt reviewers stretched in making the comparison.

Leigh Wren's husband, Randy, is a serial killer. At first Leigh doesn't believe the evidence she is seeing that leads her to realize what a monster she has married but after the birth of her son, she can't hold back any longer. She reports Randy to the police and her testimony puts him in death row.

Leigh moves across the country and attempts to begin a new life for herself and her son. However, Charles Pritchett, the father of one of Randy's victims, hires detectives to find her and when they do, he begins stalking her. He wants to make her life miserable and tells the authorities that he isn't satisfied that Liegh wasn't an accessory to his dauthter, Carries' murder.

The two detectives that Pritchett hired are aghast at his actions and attempt to help Leigh and give her information to fight Pritchett's charges.

At this time, new murders are taking place that have a similarity to Randy's. Could he be communicating with someone while in prison and could that person be carrying out his murderous activities?

Floyd tells a good story that is easy to read and enjoyable. I think he will be writing successfully for a long time and become a favorite of many readers.