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nicnic_readsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
3.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars! Cleo is a scriptwriter for a tv series for the Baking Detectives, and she is married to Wallace. She tells her husband that she wants to divorce him but she never gives him an explanation because she doesn’t feel like he would forgive her if she told him the reason.
While Cleo is still working friends and coworkers start getting hurt and killed and in a way that mimics her tv series, and the police think she is the killer.
This story is told in dual timelines, Cleo’s past and present, and we learn about her previous relationships and her current relationships and why these crimes are taking place. This story takes us on a journey and we learn a lot about who she is, her friends and family. I did not expect the ending. Really good book!
While Cleo is still working friends and coworkers start getting hurt and killed and in a way that mimics her tv series, and the police think she is the killer.
This story is told in dual timelines, Cleo’s past and present, and we learn about her previous relationships and her current relationships and why these crimes are taking place. This story takes us on a journey and we learn a lot about who she is, her friends and family. I did not expect the ending. Really good book!
hollysfield's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emallovesreading's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lcolechin1711's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hannahcolechin22's review against another edition
3.5
“To have someone love you, be obsessed with you, do anything to be with you, is terrifying."
This book has convinced me to stay single for the rest of my life – I think it’s just the safest option to be honest. Dorothy Koomson’s ‘My Other Husband’ follows Cleo Forsum who is in the process of drafting the final episode of her TV show ‘The Baking Detective.’ As people who she cares about start to get hurt, it becomes clear that someone is trying to frame her for murder. Cleo thinks she knows why, but telling the police would mean confessing about her other husband.
The structure of this book was perfect. Jumping back and forth between timelines was an excellent decision as we are told what’s happened on the surface and then come back to the how and why later on. This technique ensured that not too much was being given away, but just enough was being told to get us longing for answers. The dates, timeframes, and locations at the beginning of each chapter were also an added bonus – for such a layered and complicated plot, this helped to keep me confidently in my place. As the plot thickened and things started to get a bit more intense, the jumping between timeframes became much faster and chaotic – I loved it; a very engaging structure.
The plot itself was filled with suspense. I think it was so successful because it didn’t have a massive info dump at the end about ‘who dunnit,’ which many other books of this genre do. Instead, this book’s plot was cleverly layered, and certain clues and discoveries were revealed along the way. It was very much like a puzzle slowly being put together rather than just a calculation being answered right at the end. I did think that there were some slow moments in there that made the plot lose a bit of momentum, but I was definitely engaged throughout the majority of the book.
I really liked the psychological focus on the characters, it was very unique. Heath was probably the most developed and strongest character of the book – his mental illness, his backstory, his obsessions were all explained very well; he felt very realistic, and I could see where all his actions stemmed from. He made me feel physically sick at points and I always felt so uneasy when his presence was known – great character!
On the other hand, there were many other characters that I felt were only touched upon. Wallace, for example, Cleo’s ‘true’ husband was lacking in depth for me. I wanted more from him considering the part he plays in this book. His family, as well, weren’t as fleshed out as I hoped. Of course, I’m a Sidney-defender till the day I die, but taking a step back, he didn’t actually feature that much – I just wanted more, some characters had so much potential. Cleo too was also lacking a bit for me, and I felt that this was rather odd considering she’s the protagonist – I wanted more backstory from her, the same level that Heath got. However, despite all this, I was a big fan of the focus on the psychology and mental states of the characters.
I have mixed feelings about how everything turned out in the end. I do love me a good plot twist and this book definitely has that; ticked all those boxes. However, the ending doesn’t sit right with. For a book that covers such dark themes and features some very violent moments, I thought the ending would have reflected this too. I was quite dissatisfied to be honest; I was not expecting that ‘happily ever after,’ ending, it should have ended before the prologue, that would have been excellent. Because of the way it did end, I felt that some characters did not get what they fully deserved and I was not happy about that.
However, this book got me thinking, and that’s always a good sign. At the end of each chapter, I was always left wondering what path Cleo would take and what she would choose to do next. It was thrilling, I was definitely invested, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
This book has convinced me to stay single for the rest of my life – I think it’s just the safest option to be honest. Dorothy Koomson’s ‘My Other Husband’ follows Cleo Forsum who is in the process of drafting the final episode of her TV show ‘The Baking Detective.’ As people who she cares about start to get hurt, it becomes clear that someone is trying to frame her for murder. Cleo thinks she knows why, but telling the police would mean confessing about her other husband.
The structure of this book was perfect. Jumping back and forth between timelines was an excellent decision as we are told what’s happened on the surface and then come back to the how and why later on. This technique ensured that not too much was being given away, but just enough was being told to get us longing for answers. The dates, timeframes, and locations at the beginning of each chapter were also an added bonus – for such a layered and complicated plot, this helped to keep me confidently in my place. As the plot thickened and things started to get a bit more intense, the jumping between timeframes became much faster and chaotic – I loved it; a very engaging structure.
The plot itself was filled with suspense. I think it was so successful because it didn’t have a massive info dump at the end about ‘who dunnit,’ which many other books of this genre do. Instead, this book’s plot was cleverly layered, and certain clues and discoveries were revealed along the way. It was very much like a puzzle slowly being put together rather than just a calculation being answered right at the end. I did think that there were some slow moments in there that made the plot lose a bit of momentum, but I was definitely engaged throughout the majority of the book.
I really liked the psychological focus on the characters, it was very unique. Heath was probably the most developed and strongest character of the book – his mental illness, his backstory, his obsessions were all explained very well; he felt very realistic, and I could see where all his actions stemmed from. He made me feel physically sick at points and I always felt so uneasy when his presence was known – great character!
On the other hand, there were many other characters that I felt were only touched upon. Wallace, for example, Cleo’s ‘true’ husband was lacking in depth for me. I wanted more from him considering the part he plays in this book. His family, as well, weren’t as fleshed out as I hoped. Of course, I’m a Sidney-defender till the day I die, but taking a step back, he didn’t actually feature that much – I just wanted more, some characters had so much potential. Cleo too was also lacking a bit for me, and I felt that this was rather odd considering she’s the protagonist – I wanted more backstory from her, the same level that Heath got. However, despite all this, I was a big fan of the focus on the psychology and mental states of the characters.
I have mixed feelings about how everything turned out in the end. I do love me a good plot twist and this book definitely has that; ticked all those boxes. However, the ending doesn’t sit right with. For a book that covers such dark themes and features some very violent moments, I thought the ending would have reflected this too. I was quite dissatisfied to be honest; I was not expecting that ‘happily ever after,’ ending, it should have ended before the prologue, that would have been excellent. Because of the way it did end, I felt that some characters did not get what they fully deserved and I was not happy about that.
However, this book got me thinking, and that’s always a good sign. At the end of each chapter, I was always left wondering what path Cleo would take and what she would choose to do next. It was thrilling, I was definitely invested, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
muhformorgan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book literally kept me up at night
The quote “Dorothy Koomson is master of the jaw dropping twist” is so accurate
I put 2 and 2 together about something as I was falling asleep and then had to get up, grab the book, go back and forth to confirm what I’d worked out.
An incredible read, will be forcing everyone I know to read this!
The quote “Dorothy Koomson is master of the jaw dropping twist” is so accurate
I put 2 and 2 together about something as I was falling asleep and then had to get up, grab the book, go back and forth to confirm what I’d worked out.
An incredible read, will be forcing everyone I know to read this!
amyrea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
book_diva2020's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mkeykrem's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lfbennett407's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Toxic relationship