The Life She Wants

Totally Gripping Psychological Suspense with a Heart-Stopping Twist

By: Mel Sherratt

Narrated by: Emma Gregory

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

From behind the curtains, Sarah spotted the man coming out of the house, followed by the woman. It would be strange seeing people in the property. She wondered how much it would change their lives. For now, she would bide her time and hopefully get to know them better. She needed to gain their trust.

When I met Richard, I fell for him instantly. He was able to give me everything I had always wanted, the dream house, security and above all, love like I’d never known. We lived a quiet life in the middle of nowhere; we didn’t need anyone else.

So, when the empty house next door is sold, I am wary. Will our neighbors invade the perfect life Richard has built for us? As soon as I meet Juliette and Danny, I am reassured. Overwhelmed by grief after the death of their young daughter, they have moved in search of a quiet life and a chance to start again. Over dinner one evening, we hit it off instantly, and I know they are just the neighbors we need.

All is well until Juliette spots a young girl in our garden. Richard convinces her that she is seeing things, that it’s the grief taking over. But Juliette won’t let it go. She is sure she saw a child. She believes that Richard is threatening her. She starts to think that I’m not safe.

I need to convince Juliette that she’s imagining it. I need to keep Richard happy. If I am to protect everything I have built for myself, she must never find out the truth. 

That my perfect life is built on the deadliest lie.

A heart-stopping psychological thriller with a truly brilliant twist, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, T.M. Logan, and K.L. Slater.

©2021 Bookouture (P)2021 Mel Sherratt

Critic Reviews

"One hell of a psychological thriller which I couldn’t get enough of. One more chapter I kept telling myself then before I knew it I had devoured it in one sitting! It is fan-flipping-tastic.... Wow...wow...wow what a story. I loved everything about it, each page leaving me wanting more...utterly addictive." (Baker's Not So Secret Book Blog)

hated the story line

Not interesting, a little ridiculous, and did not like the narration. Found it difficult to listen to even though I somehow managed to finish it. Waste of a credit.

Not the best

Waste of a credit. Poor story, poor performance. Don’t buy it, not worth it at all

A good mystery

It took me a while to get used to the narrator. Don't give up. This is a good story but you have to pay attention because it goes back and forth in time and can get somewhat confusing at times, You might wonder why some women stay in bad, abusive relationships; consider the economic impacts...also think what years of emotional and mental abuse does to the psyche. The characters are relatable. Overall, it makes you aware that you might think twice about getting involved in someone's life or maybe make you get involved quicker.

Delightful Narration

This is a great quick read—with a twisty plot and dark undertone. The narrator was incredible and really brought the story to life.

Such a gripping book

This book kept me wondering what was going to happen next, and who it would happen to, AND who would have done it. Really enjoyed this book.

Took a while

Took a while to figure out who was who and when, kept having to go back, which in the end wasn't really worth the time or effort. Weak unbelievable storyline.

REALLY enjoying this&couldn’t wait to review🤗

I still have a few hours to go but i wanted to review this quickly and I will edit it once im finished😁 i am HOOKED on this and its really really good! The narrator is doing about 5 voices and WOW she is SOOO good! I will be looking for more that emma has done👏🏽💯 brilliant story, emma really brings this book to life and makes you feel you are there with them and exactly what every place looks like😊 some narrators blow me away with just how good they are and this is one of them!💯👏🏽😊 i will update when finished😊. Finished it and it was BRILLIANT!! Loved every single chapter of it! I will definitely be looking for more books that Emily has read FOR SURE! She was outstanding!😱💯👏🏽And i will see if anymore from this author also!! Thank you everyone so much! Sad this has ended☹️👏🏽😊❤️

Not even Emma Gregory’s narration could save this

Just so silly.

The basic plot was okay - yes, these twisty psycho thrillers always require some convoluted back stories, but I’m happy to suspend my disbelief for a bit to get the premise established. But this story required almost every single character to have experienced major trauma, abuse, neglect and all the dysfunction associated with it, but somehow none of this to be picked up for any of them by health professionals, support services or even friends, at any point. Then they all meet together in a remote village and engage in bizarre deceptions and sometimes total character changes, back and forth.

Every single male character is either wicked or absent. Every female character is passive and feeble.

This needed a strong edit to remove repetitious phrases (hoping to never hear ‘she slapped him playfully’ again) and unconvincing shifts in tone mid conversation.

Ultimately it was tedious, predictable, and I honestly didn’t care who survived by the end. Think I may be over listening to thrillers based on coercive control…

Well done Emma for giving it your best shot on narration. Great midlands accents as always.

Another Cracker

Another great novel by Mel Sherratt, it felt like a book within a book, cleverly written and full of emotional storylines which kept me gripped.