The wife who knew too much

Tabby is miserable, divorced from a violent man who doesn't accept that the marriage is over and stuck in a dead-end job in her hometown. When her teenage sweetheart, wealthy Connor Ford, shows up at her workplace, she's right back to those summer-romance feelings. He appears to feel the same, and neither cares too much that he is married. Then Connor's wife, Nina, is found dead, and Tabby is quickly the new Mrs. Ford. As she gets used to the lifestyle that comes with her new marriage, if not the nasty employees who make life awkward at her new home, Tabby begins to feel very alone; she also begins to notice that Connor might not be all she thought and realizes she's in danger. Cleverly revealed subterfuge and a genuine aura of danger and confusion make this a fast and exciting read for fans of Liv Constantine (The Last Time I Saw You, 2019).

Tabitha Girard, the heroine of this fast-moving if farfetched romantic thriller from Campbell (A Stranger on the Beach), gets a second chance at love when fate brings gorgeous Connor Ford back to their New Hampshire hometown after a summer fling 13 years earlier when they were teens. Their lives have since taken opposite trajectories: Tabitha's barely making ends meet waitressing after divorcing her abusive husband, while Connor has married a much older widow, heiress Nina Levitt. And yet, he manages to persuade her they're destined to be together, if only he can somehow wriggle out of his marriage without triggering the draconian prenup. Things quickly turn dicey as Nina smells a murder plot, Connor blows alternately hot and cold, and even a trusting soul like Tabitha starts to suspect that Mr. Wonderful just might be setting her up. Campbell shifts the action among dazzling locations ranging from Nina's oceanfront Southampton estate to Dubai, but without significantly deepening the characters. For those craving sudsy escapism, this page-turner is poolside ready. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)