I have been on a Desperate Housewives kick lately. There's just something about outlandish suburban drama that puts me in a good mood, so when I saw my wish was granted and The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives dropped in my queue, I was thrilled.
When Brooke and her husband move into the elite community of Presidio Terrace, she wants to finish writing her book and be a good wife. But gossip doesn't take long to circulate in PT, so when she learns her neighbor is the infamous Black Widow--whose first two husbands died in mysterious circumstances where she is the presumed killer--and is on the verge of marrying her third husband, Brooke sees inspiration. As their friendship grows, however, a pre-wedding party and an unexpected disappearance sends everything spiraling into doubt.
I loved this book. From the opulence to the gossip, Miller does an excellent job of creating a high-end community whose main problem is the occupants. They nitpick about door color and grass length one minute and joke about murdering their husbands in the next breath. The women are deliciously vain and loathsome while simultaneously being hilarious and relatable. This feels like an indulgent beach read, scandalous and cinematic and so very readable. I finished this in a single sitting, and I think many readers are going to be engrossed by the webs these characters weave for each other. The pacing and structure worked well, although I would've liked to see a little more differentiation between character voices. Some of them bled together at times because motives overlapped. This didn't detract from my reading experience, however, and I think anyone who loves Desperate Housewives or Big Little Lies will love this book. Engrossing and wickedly entertaining, The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives is one you won't want to miss. Out in July, add this to your TBR now. Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.