My Lovely Wife Discussion/SPOILERS

MarnieRez3 · ‎02-19-2015

SPOILER ALERT!

I do not want to ruin this book for anyone!

This is a discussion of the book MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing. There will be major spoilers in this thread!

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@Ainhisg Thanks for alerting us to this book through your original post!

@pateacherand @GenXmuse

Thank you both for suggesting a separate discussion thread where we will not be afraid to reveal spoliers!

__________________________SPOILERS AHEAD!

STOP NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "MY LOVELY WIFE" AS I DON'T WANT TO RUIN IT FOR YOU!!

Fellow readers: The last line of this book threw me for a loop!

My understanding was that the husband searched for the victims and Millicent - the wife - disposed of them. But when he dicovered that she actually killed more than he knew about, AND that he was being set up by her, he confronted her. The daughter kills Millicent, but the husband covers for the daughter and it is ruled self-defense. He then takes the children to Scotland.

The last scene: he is in a bar, pretending to be Quentin - and he is pretending to be deaf!!!

Wait...what??

Is the author saying that the husband is going to start to kill all over again? Was Millicent NOT the madwoman she was made out to be, and HE was the one pulling the strings all along?

Any and all thoughts welcome!

MarnieRez3 · ‎02-19-2015

I opened a SPOILER/Discussion page here for MY LOVELY WIFE - and I tried NOT to include all the people still waiting for the book from the library. Please explain the end of this book! Thank you!!

MarnieRez3 · ‎02-19-2015

@pateacher

Thanks again for suggesting a VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB!

(Please pretend we are all relaxing with a glass of wine or ice cold lemonade, eating delicious cheese and fresh fruit - and there is a fabulous chocolate dessert waiting for us after our discussion!)

pateacher · ‎04-16-2010

@MarnieRez3 Like you, I assumed that the wife was the true "bad guy" in this book. She certainly set up her husband and kept him in the dark on many issues.

After he relocated the family abroad, I assumed that he would breathe a deep sigh of relief and enjoy a "normal" existence.

However, this life grew boring in contrast to his past pursuits; so he revived the game he played with his "lovely" wife.

.

MarnieRez3 · ‎02-19-2015

@pateacher
I thought maybe they were trying to imply that he had been the bad guy all along? Since it was told from his point of view, it confused me.

icezeus · ‎10-30-2010

Good Morning, great idea to start this thread. First of all the Wife was truly the whack job, and the main driver behind the killings, but a few things that stand out for me. There was a rememberance of when he was a young boy and he would sit and watch a large frog. One day the frog just dissappeared, but I remember him thinking what would it feel like to rip out the frogs tongue. (Not Normal)

I can't remember if it was one of the posters in this spoiler thread or the original thread, but someone did not get the name that he used at the end of the book. Remember, when him and his wife were trying to think of names to use as a lure to woman, one was Tobais and the other was Quentin.

I think he had a little bit of crazy in him as well, it may have stayed doormat if he had not hooked up with his wife. However, he stated how he missed the order that she brought, and perhaps the chase as well. He killed her sister, but that was because he perceived her to be a threat to his wife after all of the lies that she had told him. BTW, I'm sure other readers as well had already figured out early on that it was not the sister doing these things to her and that she was actually the culprit.

My personal belief is that he does not become a killer, he never had the stomach for it. I think he enjoys the chase, adrenaline rush and such.

He really loves his kids, and I would like to think that he would not jeopardize that. Perhaps that's my wanting to have a happy ending thought process.

GenXmuse · ‎05-15-2016

Thanks for starting this thread! It’s great to hear everyone’s perspective. I found the ending required me to look at the entire story with a different perspective and if he now continues this game but I too, think he’d want to protect his children and doesn’t have a real stomach for killing since he never wanted any details at all. I found him to be a much more sympathetic character than the wife.

In any case, this is probably one of the most surprising story arcs I’ve read in a long time. The whole premise of the novel is very unique.

MarnieRez3 · ‎02-19-2015

@icezeus

You are a precise reader, IceZeus - I incorrectly put Tobias, not Quentin in my post above! I edited it to correct my error..

I do not even REMEMBER the frog incident, but I am glad you cited it, because that gives a little more credence to the ending. It kind of supports the idea that he really was a killer at heart, and not just someone under the spell of his lovely wife.

Yes, I figured out early on that Millicent's sister was innocent and Millicent was the perpetrator.

I like your interpretation of the ending, because he did seem to be completely appalled when he found out his wife was poisoning their daughter - so, in fact, maybe he doesn't have the stomach for killing or torture the way she did. He does call her a monster towards the end of the book.

MarnieRez3 · ‎02-19-2015

@GenXmuse

Yes, crazy story arc! Agreed! You have to be a little twisted, as @icezeus says, to pair up and agree to this sick "hobby" with Millicent. But, I suppose, if we compare the husband to the wife, he was much more sympathetic a character. I think that's why the last line threw a monkey wrench in the whole thing for me!