The Serial Killer's Wife by Alice Hunter (Part 2)

Hello again! Back for the second part of the deep dive into The Serial Killer's Wife?

Fantastic! Let's get right into it:

Chapter 32 is from Tom's perspective and he's rolling around thoughts of his predicament; the police say they've got enough evidence to charge him with the murder of Katie but he's going back and fourth on his chances in court due to the police not having a body. There's still no concrete proof in Tom's inner thoughts that confirm whether he's guilty or not - I'm on the edge of my seat trying to figure it out!

We're back to Beth in the following chapter 33 and it begins with the first mention of her potentially knowing what Tom had done in a fleeting comment made by a group of mothers outside Poppy's nursery. With her anxiety increasing rapidly, Beth is finding it hard to cope with this new fear of being suspected of knowing the terrible deeds that it seems the village folk have decided Tom is guilty of. The women who run the nursery ask if they can meet with Beth at the end of the day to have a quick chat. It's put forward in a friendly manner however I can understand how Beth must feel - nobody wants to be gossiped about. Imagine your partner being accused (and arrested) for something as heinous as a murder and then being suspected to have known about it. Having a daughter as well who's she's trying her best to protect just adds extra stress to this already stress-filled situation. I can't imagine coping any better than Beth if I was in her place.

Chapter 34: it seems that people are acting awkwardly around Beth at work and in the street, it must feel like a tension that clings to you that everyone can see and judge. One woman who is still warm towards Beth is Shirley Irish, who asks Beth if her plans for rekindling the book club is still on or whether she has enough on her plate. This is another mention towards the book club that seemingly ended along with Camilla's death; at this point I'm unsure whether this book club holds any significance in the plot, as a book club is small potatoes in the vast landscape of someone's life if their husband is going to court over a murder... In my opinion anyway. Beth mentions something concerning here about her meeting Tom for the first time, how it felt like 'fate' - sound familiar? This is how Katie felt too, and since we learned previous that Tom curated their first meeting, I have to assume that he set up his and Beth's too. It's here we learn that Tom isn't sentimental and doesn't tend to keep things - he doesn't even carry around a photo of his wife and daughter (is that a red flag? I'd be a little worried if my husband of 5+ years that I'd had a child with didn't have some memento of us with him. What are your thoughts on this?). When they moved in together he'd insisted that Beth throw away a lot of things that connected her with her past (if they had any connection to a past man, I think) and yet he wanted to keep an old sweatshirt that looked two sizes too small for him which is curious indeed. The closing lines for this segment is Beth worrying that Adam may not want to see her, what with the village gossip ramping up and things looking worse for her husband.

Chapter 35: Beth is at Adam's house. They both acknowledge it might not look great for a widower and the wife of a suspected serial killer to be hanging out so much all of a sudden, but Adam is glad Beth felt that she could come to him for comfort. These two seem to sense the strangeness of their relationship but don't feel too bad in the way the village might be looking at them. Beth in particular is more worried about the gossip surrounding her and her husband than what people may be saying about her and Adam.

Chapter 36: eight years ago, Katie is having doubt upon doubt pile up on her mind. Her relationship with Tom is clearly scaring her as in one moment she's worrying about having accepted his proposal and in the next she's thinking 'it's fine, people break off engagements all the time. I can get out if I need to', which in my opinion already means you need to get out. If you are already considering ways you could get out if you need to, it means you already need to. She messages her friends' group chat, announcing the engagement to which they all reply the usual congratulations and whatnot, but Isaac messages her privately not long after letting her know that he is happy for her if she is truly happy herself, and promising her he is there for her should she need him. He says something curious at the close, 'after the other night I thought things might have changed. XXX' - I wonder what happened on the mentioned night? Tom's half proceeds with that end line being repeated - he must have been going through Katie's phone again (another major red flag), and he concludes that something must have happened between Katie and Isaac 'the other night' when she went out to get more wine and was gone for almost an hour. He's assuming the worst and sounds furious.

Chapter 37 and we're back to Beth! She has a chat with the nursery staff about keeping Poppy comfortable and safe; not letting her be subject to bullying and the like. It all sounds positive as the nursery ladies don't appear to have any judgement for Beth. The ladies explain that it won't be difficult to handle the situation as the children there are too young to really understand what's going on in the news, to which Beth thinks, 'are they? Because that's not my experience.' I guess Beth had some trauma growing up; we already know her father left her at a young age as she's already feared over Tom leaving Poppy without a dad - this fear appears more focused due to past experience rather than a general fear. Julia also offers to come around to Beth's home later for a friendly visit.

Chapter 38 gives me chills. We are back to the nameless woman's thoughts. She's motionless on her back, her bound wrists secured to her headboard. Legs spread with each ankle attached to a bed post. She has a blindfold on, so she can't see 'him' (him supposedly being Tom, in my mind). Apparently she used to enjoy the anticipation and helplessness but nowadays she just wants everything over with; for him to act out his fantasies and leave - what kind of relationship can this be if she just wants him to leave as quickly as possible? Break up with the dude already if you're feeling this way, surely. 

With the above nonsense over with, let's get into Chapter 39: Beth's door knocking signals Julia's arrival. She's got a bottle of bubbly in each hand which she acknowledges out loud doesn't fit quite right - what with her predicament - but they are celebrating a new friendship. Beth asks her how she manages to look so put together and yet she participates in various clubs, has triplets and a house to run, to which Julia confides that her image is mostly projection. She tells Beth how her life is a hell of her own making (which I really connected with, as I've been in a hell of my own making before - haven't we all?) but she projects all the confidence and glamour she can. She had Camilla to confide in previously, but she lost her which left a gaping hole in her life. She feels as if no-one else truly sees her, again something I can relate to, and she jokingly mentions the 'best friend position' is still vacant. The first bottle of bubbly is finished and as Beth goes to the kitchen to retrieve the second one she realises how tipsy she feels, deciding internally that she will let Julia finish off the second bottle as she seems to handle her alcohol much better.

Chapter 40: so Beth wakes up with a hangover sent from a higher power and she's not looking forward to having to deal with a three year old. She wonders how Julia is faring and also whether she might act awkwardly towards Beth after having disclosed so much with her the night before. Poppy joins Beth in making what she claims to be a great hangover cure and her speciality - butterscotch oatmeal cookies (which does sound delicious, but can someone let me know if these cookies do cure hangovers? Not that I drink a lot but it would be interesting to know!). While baking, Beth thinks about how fondly and warmly Julia described Camilla the night before as her personal experience with Camilla had been completely different. 'Aloof' is how she recalls Camilla and one of their only conversations that lasted more than a minute was about the butterscotch cookies and how to potentially improve them. Once the cookies are finished Beth decides to call Maxwell for an update; more incriminating evidence has been found but no body still. It's agreed that a body would be pretty damning proof depending on where it was found and whether there was DNA that linked Tom to it. Maxwell tells Beth that the initial hearing is set and that Tom would like to see her. Beth wonders if she wants to see him. This question took me back a bit - if you're certain on your husband's innocence wouldn't you want to see him? There must be conflict in her mind as she hears more and more evidence is being found against Tom.

Dropping off Poppy at nursery Beth doesn't spot Julia but her husband, Matt, who doesn't say a word to anyone but gives her in particular a 'withering look' before rushing off. She feels bad because Matt is probably having to drop the triplets off at school due to Julia having a hangover too, which is partly due to her. Once Beth finds her way to her café, she tells her employee, Lucy, Tom wants to see her. Lucy hasn't appeared judgemental this entire time and continues this way by simply asking Beth how she feels about it and whether she will see Tom or not. This question stumps Beth - she doesn't know if she wants to go see Tom and she doesn't know if she believes his innocence. While pondering this Adam walks into the café under the guise of a coffee break, but he does ask Beth a favour: if she could collect Jess from nursery with Poppy and have her over for a playdate that afternoon. He makes big puppy dog eyes and really hams it up, which Beth finds charming and sweet so she agrees. She gives him a free cookie with his coffee and lots of flirting happens here which made me feel sort of uncomfortable to read. It's been such a short time since her husband got arrested and she's flirting with the local widow? I'm not sure I'd be getting so close to that line myself if I was in her shoes. The last line of the chapter goes, 'I watch as he leaves, and a strange sensation stirs inside me. I must be careful there.' What?!

Chapter 41: Beth picks up Jess and Poppy from nursery and encounters Julia while she's there, who gives her an awkward cold shoulder, which doesn't sit right with Beth, understandably. Is there more to this reaction from Julia? Adam comes to collect his daughter right on six 'o' clock as he promised, bringing a bottle of wine with him and inviting himself to come in and have a glass with Beth so she doesn't have to drink it alone... Which is super weird. These two characters are getting so close and chummy far too soon for the reader's comfort. That being said, Adam is very perceptive (which makes sense since he's been cast as a bit of a loner since his wife, Camilla, died, so this must have made him people-watch rather than join in and become more in tune to how people react and what it means) he talks with Beth about how he can tell she has a tough exterior for her child especially given her situation, but that he doubts it's a new exterior. He thinks she had this wall built long before Tom was arrested. She feels he truly sees her. Beth doesn't reply to his guess and her silence speaks volumes for him and us all.

Chapter 42 and we are back to the nameless woman who's being used as a sexual vessel. Apparently Tom once did something that made her say no, and ever since then he tries harder and harder to make her say - scream, even - 'No, No, NO!' After their current 'session' is finished, this woman senses dissatisfaction in Tom right before he pins her body down with his and begins smothering her with his jacket, but not to the point of death, 'This is the part he really enjoys. The power of life or death in his hands'. If this man is Tom, as I suspect it is, he has got a serious screw loose and this kind of sexual satisfaction might be the reason Beth has that wall Adam can see; perhaps that wall was built so that Beth could protect her mental wellbeing whilst being subjected to this kind of torture. Who knows? When Tom comes a second time he yells someone else's name, we don't find out who, then proceeds to cry in this poor woman's arms for quite some time while apologising. This entire situation is bizarre, I don't really know what to make of it. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are on this please!

I hope this chunk of writing will get you thinking and excited for the next instalment! Happy reading everyone and stay hydrated! ✌😀