The New Husband: A Novel

by D.J. Palmer

Overview

What makes Simon Fitch so perfect?

-He knows all her favorite foods, music, and movies.

-Her son adores him. He was there when she needed him most.

-He anticipates her every need.

-He would never betray her like her first husband.

The perfect husband. He checks all the boxes.

The question is, why?

Nina Garrity learned the hard way that her missing husband, Glen, had been leading a double life with another woman. But with Glen gone—presumably drowned while fishing on his boat—she couldn't confront him about the affair or find closure to the life he blew apart.

Now, a year and a half later, Nina has found love again and hopes she can put her shattered world back together. Simon, a widower still grieving the death of his first wife, thinks he has found his dream girl in Nina, and his charm and affections help break through to a heart hardened by betrayal. Nina's teenage son, Connor, embraces Simon as the father he wishes his dad could have been, while her friends see a different side to him, and they aren't afraid to use the word obsession.

Nina works hard to bridge the divide that’s come between her daughter and Simon. She wants so badly to believe her life is finally getting back on track, but she’ll soon discover that the greatest danger to herself and her children are the lies people tell themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250782335
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	363,751
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

D.J. Palmer is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels, including Delirious and Desperate. After receiving his master’s degree from Boston University, he spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer before turning his attention to writing. He lives with his wife and two children in New Hampshire where he is currently at work on his next novel.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The New Husband:

"A thoroughly engaging read full of breath-holding moments and pulse pounding tension, DJ Palmer’s The New Husband is an incredible tale of secrets and obsession."— The Nerd Daily

Praise for Saving Meghan:

"Mother doesn't always know best in this thrill ride of a novel...gripping and twisted." —Karin Slaughter, bestselling author of The Good Daughter

"Plenty of twists...will keep you turning the pages as you guess...and guess again." —Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of After Anna

"An acute, sensitive portrayal of family love under extreme stress...[with] a touch of Hitchcock." —William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob

From the Publisher

02/10/2020

In this cleverly plotted but creepy domestic noir from Palmer (Saving Meghan), 30-something Nina Garrity thinks she has found Mr. Right after her unfaithful husband vanished, presumed drowned during a solo fishing trip, more than a year earlier. Nina’s 13-year-old daughter, Maggie, has reason, however, not to welcome Nina’s now live-in relationship with widower Simon Fitch and resolves to do everything possible to sabotage it. Beyond the “ewwh” factor of Simon’s being a teacher at her Seabury, N.H., school, Maggie gets flashes of an explosive, darker self beneath his solicitous façade. But when she tries to share her fears, Nina is quick to brush them aside—until Simon’s efforts to exert increasing control over many aspects of Nina’s own life plant seeds of doubt. Tension mounts as mother and daughter independently snoop into Simon and his past. Twists proliferate as the plot becomes increasingly implausible and bloody—and also, despite the appealingly spunky Maggie, less pleasurably suspenseful than just plain disturbing. That said, Palmer fans will be satisfied. 100,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: Meg Ruly, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2020-01-27
Nina Garrity’s new boyfriend might not be all he seems.

More than a year ago, Nina’s husband, Glen, disappeared from his fishing boat on a Saturday morning, leaving behind evidence of a torrid affair and a drained bank account but no body. When Simon Fitch, the social studies teacher at her daughter’s middle school, comes into the picture, it seems like something is finally going right. When Nina and her kids move in with Simon, however, cracks in their relationship begin to appear. Nina decides to get a job to help support her family, but Simon is very much against it. Nina finds herself second-guessing a lot of her decisions in the face of his kind but firm resistance. Maggie, Nina’s daughter, absolutely hates Simon and refuses to play nice. Her son, Connor, is fine with the situation, but Maggie is convinced Simon has something out for their family. As time marches on and both Simon and Maggie reach the ends of their ropes, Nina has to decide whom to believe. In a twisty novel that never lets up, Palmer (Saving Meghan, 2019, etc.) has crafted a narrative that explores domestic violence and family trust in an interesting way. Switching between Nina's and Maggie’s points of view lets the reader see different sides to Simon, a character who doesn’t quite reveal himself until midway through the novel with a big, unexpected twist. Though it's sometimes frustrating how easily Nina lets Simon off the hook and Maggie’s voice doesn’t always sound quite right for a middle schooler, the way the novel always answers questions with more questions makes it hard to put down. Clues are cleverly laced throughout, keeping one guessing.

A well-crafted, increasingly tense page-turner.

Kirkus Reviews