Unfaithful: An unputdownable and absolutely gripping psychological thriller

Natalie Barelli

Nov 2020 · Bookouture

About this ebook

“Thank you,” I say sweetly when she tells me I’m lucky to have such a beautiful family. But I want to tell her it’s not just luck. A family is like a fortress you have to defend all the time. You can’t relax because there’s always someone looking for a breach, always someone trying to get in. Someone just like her…

 

When I arrive unannounced at my husband’s studio in need of a shoulder to cry on after hearing that my best student, Alex, has died, I see a pair of wine glasses drying by the sink and my deepest fear is confirmed: my husband is having an affair.

 

Most women would fall to their knees in tears and throw him out of the house—but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

 

Instead, I go home and cook a healthy dinner for our children, walk the dog and unload the dishwasher without complaint. I will make him see that I’m still the woman he married; attractive, successful, the glue that holds our perfect family together. I need this marriage to work to protect a terrible secret of my own, something that would destroy everything I’ve already sacrificed so much for.

 

But when the police arrive at my door asking questions about Alex’s death that I can’t answer, and threatening text messages start appearing on my phone, I know that someone close has been watching me very carefully.

 

The truth is, there are three people in my marriage, but only one of them is deadly…

 

An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a twist that will knock you sideways, perfect for anyone left hungry for more after The Girl on the Train, The Wife Between Us or The Other Wife.

Everyone is talking about Unfaithful:

‘Wow just wow!! Nail-biting and suspenseful in the best way possible! What a ride!… I devoured this book in one sitting… I could feel my adrenaline surging through my veins the closer I got to the end. I was having palpitations with every twist!’ Mrs Leifs, 5 stars

 

‘WOW, where to even begin? I LOVED this book… I did NOT expect that ending… I was gripped right from the very first page… I could not put it down… YOU WILL LOVE this book… one of my favourite books of 2020.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘Holy-freaking hell!… tense, sharp, dark, twisty and final revelation that I honestly did not expect… a delicious sucker punch!… I loved it!… your mind will be blown!’ Nulifer Ozmekik

 

‘What a ride! I LOVED it! I loved the plot, I loved the characters and I LOVED the ending! Highly recommend!’ Goodreads reviewer

 

‘I read this book in 24 hours, waking up on a Friday morning with my kindle on top of my face I immediately started reading again… Seductive, sexy, shocking… so many crazy twists in this book… 5 huge stars…  I literally could not put it down.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

 

Readers love Natalie Barelli:

‘OH. MY. WOW. What a fantastic book!… steal it, buy it, borrow it or do whatever you need to do to make this book your next great read!… I promise you will not be disappointed!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘Awesome!! I finished it in 24 hours… pure edge-of-your-seat suspense, along with crazy “wtf” moments… keeps you flipping pages, with an ending that you absolutely will NOT see coming.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘OMG!!!!!… My heart was pounding! What a page-turner!!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

Ratings and reviews

Anna and Luis have a great life .. wonderful children, Luis is a successful artist, Anna is a professor of mathematics. One of Anna's best students has died and she is beside herself with grief. Needing her husband, she visits his studio without warning. To her shock, there are signs that Luis is having an affair. Instead of confronting him, she continues as though nothing is wrong. She needs the marriage to work to protect a secret of her own, something that could destroy everything she's already sacrificed so much for. (Book Blurb) When police start investigating her student's death, they have questions that she cannot .. dare not ... answer. And when someone starts sending her threatening text messages, she learns that someone has been watching her .... and knows her secret. There are three people in her marriage ... and one of them is deadly. This is a riveting story of how far a woman will go to protect her family .. herself. Everyone has a different story .. so who's lying? It's a well written tale with surprises along the way. Suspenseful from the very first page to the surprising, unexpected ending. Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Anna Sanchez is an associate professor in a college math department. She’s happily married to artist Luis and they have two children. At least, that’s how she would describe herself before a series of increasingly bad decisions nearly ruin her life. Unfaithful is a lock your door, don’t answer the phone and ignore your schedule kind of book. Thriller is an understatement. There is so much I want to say but I’ll try to do this without spoilers. Believe me, mathematics departments are not as dull as you might think. Anna is thesis advisor to Alex, a gifted grad student, who is working on a seemingly unsolvable math problem. When with her help, he finds a solution, Anna is thrilled, knowing she will finally receive the recognition she deserves in her department. When she accompanies Luis to the opening night of the exhibition of his installation art, she notices that he pays more attention to Isabelle, the beautiful blonde curator of the show, than he does to Anna. Feeling insecure both at work and at home, Anna makes a mistake that will slowly but inevitably lead to destruction. I could not put this book down and read it in one afternoon. It’s my first thriller by Natalie Barelli and it will not be my last! 5 stars Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Natalie Barelli for this ARC.

‘Unfaithful’ was an intriguing read and packed full of mystery. Anna is far from perfect but I felt that I was on her side from the start even thought I cringed at some of her decisions. The author does a fantastic job of presenting how downtrodden she was by everyone which made me hope that she would explode. As for her character, I totally enjoyed her being highly intelligent. Being someone who taught university maths and works with PhD students placed her high on the clever scale. It made it all the more disheartening when she was treated badly in the workplace. I felt her disappointment. I loved how the story then wound around Anna’s suspicions and followed on with the gathering of evidence when it came to her husband’s suspicious behaviour. I also enjoyed how she was trying to juggle all that was happening in her own life. It was great that on the surface, she was always so together but as the reader of her first person POV, I recognised that rumble of thunder that was building up for a mega storm. There are many tense moments and a few scary moments. There is one particular scene that takes place in a cupboard and that really creeped me out. The explosive ending was set up brilliantly and full of surprises! If you love a fast moving psychological thriller with infidelity at its core, ‘Unfaithful’ is just that! It’s punchy, exciting and knuckle clenching!