Review: It's Always the Husband by C.L.Taylor

Welcome to Lowbridge. Where secrets hide behind every door…

When newly divorced Jude arrives in the small town of Lowbridge, she is soon drawn to widower Will, the father of her young daughter's best friend.

But Will's past is shrouded in tragedy, with questions that no one knows the answer to – and after two tragedies tore his life apart in just a few short years, gossip and rumours abound about what really happened to the women he loved.

As whispers of murder surround Will, Jude becomes determined to uncover the truth – and with her own father's tragic fate haunting her, she refuses to let another innocent man suffer.

Yet in Lowbridge the darkness runs deep, and nothing is as it seems. Can Jude protect Will from a community out for blood? Or will she become the next victim in this web of deceit?

Because whilst one dead wife is tragic, two starts to look like murder…

Review: Starting my year with It’s Always the Husband by C. L. Taylor was an absolute treat-I love a C. L. Taylor novel, and this one did not disappoint. From the very first chapters, I didn’t trust a single character… and honestly, that’s exactly how I like my thrillers. Every conversation felt loaded, every revelation suspicious, and I found myself constantly second-guessing what I thought I knew. It’s the kind of book that makes you suspicious of absolutely everyone.

The whole premise gave me strong Motherhood vibes, but it also felt very reminiscent of Big Little Lies with its undercurrents of secrets, domestic tension and simmering distrust. I loved getting to know the main characters, even though I was side-eyeing all of them the entire time. Taylor has such a knack for creating layered, believable women-flawed, relatable and yet completely capable of shocking you. The relationships felt real, which made the stakes feel even higher as the tension built.

What I particularly enjoyed was how the book blends classic thriller elements with modern-day realities. Yes, we still get those delicious traditional clues-hidden boxes, old diaries, buried secrets-but they sit alongside phone tracking, home camera systems and the very current ways we monitor (and sometimes manipulate) each other. It makes the story feel incredibly relevant and up to date without losing that classic twisty thriller feel. Full of turns I genuinely didn’t see coming, this was a gripping, addictive read that I highly recommend.

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