The Other Mrs Miller – Allison Dickson
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Published: March 2020, Sphere
Swathi’s Rating: 4/5
About the Book
Two women are watching each other.
Phoebe Miller isn’t sure when the rusty car started showing up in the cul-de-sac she calls home, or why its driver would be spying on her. What could be interesting about an unhappy housewife who drowns her sorrows in ice cream and wine and barely leaves her house?
Only one knows why.
When a new family moves in across the street–the exuberant Vicki, who just might become the gossipy best friend Phoebe’s always wanted, and her handsome college-bound son, Jake, who offers companionship of a different variety–Phoebe finds her dull routine infused with the excitement she’s been missing. But with her head turned she’s no longer focused on the woman in the car. And she really should be…
Swathi’s Thoughts
So Phoebe Miller has a stalker. She’s been watched by someone, she assumes to be because of her late father’s bad name he left behind. Phoebe never leaves home, barely communicates with her husband Wyatt, hardly keeps their marriage going. She’s filthy rich and has absolutely nothing to do than sitting on her butt all day with a glass of wine. Until a family of three moves next door and Phoebe finds herself attracted to the teenage son and looking for the adventure of sleeping with a minor. Sounds bad eh? Wait until it gets worse. Oh, there is the ‘other’ Phoebe but you’ll have a bit to wait to know more about her.
This is a strange suspense thriller that surely racks one’s brain right until the last chapter. Loved the psychological element of the plot even though the storyline is not very elaborate than what’s on the Blurb. Allison Dickson makes sure she creates the uneasy, stomach-lurching sensation while reading the book. A simple story with a compelling, believable writing is what I call a good thriller!
This was a quick read for me. None of the characters were likeable but I guess that is the whole point about the book – you’re supposed to hate them to keep the suspense going. There is a gray area to all of them, making them impossible to trust/like. Maybe root for them to see who kills whom first? I hear The Other Mrs Miller is going to be a TV show in the UK and I can’t wait to watch it on the Telly! I could almost picture this as a TV drama even while reading the book. Recommended to someone who likes a fast paced, domestic thriller. Many thanks to Little Brown UK for my copy of the book.
Meet the Author
It all kicked off with a short story about a haunted GPS exacting vengeance on a cheating husband, which appeared in an anthology almost no one read. From there, she told a chilling tale of a home infested with highly intelligent roaches, and then showed us an Earth forever changed by carnivorous moon dust. Dozens more short stories followed, but eventually, she started writing novels, several of which currently reside in a virtual trunk that shall remain forever locked. However, she managed to find a tiny hit in her contemporary indie horror novel STRINGS in 2013, setting her on her current path of writing dark domestic thrillers and suspense. Her forthcoming major debut, THE OTHER MRS MILLER, drops on July 16th, 2019.
When Allison isn’t writing, she’s usually obsessing over crochet, food, and murderers. She lives with her husband, two teenagers, and two four-legged beasts in Dayton, Ohio.
