The Boyfriend - Daniel Hurst

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

What if your exes were being killed off one by one?
Adele has had a colourful romantic past but has finally found her soulmate, Tom. They are engaged and she is looking forward to a future of blissful happiness.
Until she realises her ex-boyfriends are turning up dead.
At first the deaths seem accidental, but soon a sinister pattern emerges. All of Adele’s former partners are being killed off - in the order she dated them.
As the body count grows, Adele has to figure out who is doing this and why.
Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time until the killer gets to Tom…

My Thoughts:

Hmm, the premise of this book had such potential, and there were moments of a captivating story. However, this was let down by the stiff and unlikeable characters and their relationships.
Adele is obsessed with having a perfect life and finally growing up enough to get married. A big deal of this is made, and it just didn’t seem realistic or a natural flow to her life. I’m not sure if this was written by someone who hasn’t settled down or doesn’t understand people who do, but it came across this way.
The way Adele orders her thoughts are very regimented and wooden. It made it hard to relate to her and empathise with what she was going through. Some of her actions were very questionable as well. I was glad she sought help from the police, though, as this is often avoided in many of these types of books. At least she did have one sensible reaction to what was happening to her.
Her relationship with Tom was just baffling. He seemed to be controlling, jealous and unpleasant. She had to tiptoe around him instead of treating him like the partner he should have been. She should be able to confide in the man she has agreed to marry and not worry about bringing up an ex from her past.
The idea behind the book was good, and there were moments when I was hooked by what was happening. The ending, however, was a bit of a letdown. The killer comes out of nowhere, I suppose this could be seen as a twist, but it just felt a bit disjointed. I know there are many red herrings throughout, but there was nothing that could have indicated who it was.
So, I finished this book feeling slightly disappointed. I’m glad I persevered with it, as I did almost give up on it due to the stiff characters and their personalities, but I think the story as a whole was worth reading. Not sure I’d read anything else by this author or even recommend the book. It was just a three-star read for me.

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