Dear Wife

At the start of this intense thriller from Belle (Three Days Missing), a woman called Beth drives west from Arkansas into Oklahoma to escape her violent husband. She’s carefully planned her exit for almost a year. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Hardison returns to Pine Bluff, Ark., after a business trip to discover that his real estate broker wife, Sabine, is not yet home and has once again left the house a mess. When Sabine’s car is found abandoned, and her whereabouts remain unknown, Det. Marcus Durand of the Pine Bluff PD investigates and soon focuses on Jeffrey as the chief suspect in her disappearance. As the first-person narrative shifts among Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus, hints of each main character’s motivations emerge. The stakes rise when the police learn that Jeffrey abused Sabine. Multiple plot twists keep the reader guessing all the way to the stunning conclusion, and the link between Beth and Sabine comes as one of the book’s bigger surprises. Belle once again displays a knack for high suspense. Agent: Nikki Terpilowski, Holloway Literary. (June)