2.66 Stars
The Expat Affair
Kimberly Belle
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2025
Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row
320 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers | Women’s Fiction
I loved this Author’s 2019 release, Dear Wife; it was a five-star read for me. This one left me feeling disappointed. I was hoping for an exciting thriller in a cool foreign city, and while the premise was unique, the execution, unfortunately, left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
After a tumultuous divorce, Rayna goes to Amsterdam to start over. She meets Xander and has a one-time fling with him. When she wakes the next morning, Xander is dead in the shower, and his diamonds have been stolen. Then we have Willow, whose husband used to be Xander’s boss. Willow and Rayna try to uncover the truth. I liked how the author portrayed expat living, and she did a great job of what it’s like to live in Amsterdam.
The first half of the book is part one, and it was very slow going. I wanted a thriller at breakneck speed, and all I got was the droning on about the diamond industry. It was overly detailed and very repetitive. There is some tension and suspense, but not enough for my liking. Xander felt left out, so it was hard to care about him and why he died. I did like Rayna and Willow as characters in the beginning, but as the book moved forward, their lack of depth came out. Some of their choices had me rolling my eyes, and it made it hard to sympathize with them, especially Rayna.
Then there is part three, the ending. There were a couple of surprises along the way that I liked, and this book would be great for fans of lighter thrillers with a foreign setting. It doesn’t deliver on its promise of excitement. Part One gets two stars, Part Two gets three stars, and Part Three gets three stars, so that’s an average of 2.66, rounded up to three.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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