Hey, it’s Diego.

This week, I read The Cheating Husband by James Caine.

Cheating is a trope found in almost all domestic and psychological thrillers. But there are some where the cheating is front and center.

Here is my top list of Cheating Thrillers.

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Top Cheating Thrillers

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

In The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose, we follow Sarah Morgan, a high-profile case attorney, who wakes up one day to discover her husband, Adam, has been accused of murdering his mistress. She takes on the case because she still loves him, but can their relationship survive as Sarah discovers the lies her husband has been feeding her all this time? Adam is an adulterer, but is he guilty of murder?

The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

In The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin, Ainsley and Peter’s marriage is at a breaking point. Ainsley, as the fixer that she is, suggests they should start dating other people in the hopes that it will make her husband realize what he’d be missing if they were to break up. Peter agrees almost immediately. But soon enough, rules are broken and people hurt.

And the newest addition to the list:

The Cheating Husband by James Caine (A Review)

Emma is head over heels for her hot boyfriend. They’ve been going out for five months now. But something is going on. He says she can’t come over to his place because he has a lousy roommate. Meanwhile, Karen has been happily married for years, she even has a child with her husband. In the past five months, though, Owen has been distant. Emma finds out something is going on when she accidentally reads a text message on Owen’s phone. And Karen decides to follow Owen one night, only to find him meeting with Emma. With both women piecing it all together, and emotions high, someone is about to end up dead.

The Cheating Husband by James Caine is a psychological thriller set in a Canadian city.

Caine’s writing is utilitarian. Dialogue and thoughts sound natural, and descriptions are sparse and to the point. The book is on the shorter side, so it was a quick read. And although it benefited from a fast start as well, some characters’ thoughts could get a little repetitive.

We follow Emma, Karen, and Owen as events unfold in a single timeline. This kind of story is not the one that I would normally gravitate towards, but I found myself enjoying it. Characters are proactive, and the story is easy to follow, which helped.

The story unfolds as a romantic drama with tensions escalating towards violence. As such, there is a morbid curiosity as to what the outcome will be, but there are few thrills during.

Although the story revolves around relationships, there is very little romance involved. There is no swearing and no scenes of graphic violence.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers, obviously)

Although not entirely to my liking, the ending did a pretty good job of wrapping things up well. We got a long denouement as well, which I always appreciate, as it allowed me to learn what happened to each character afterward.

The Cheating Husband is an easy read that fans of Kiersten Modglin and Freida McFadden would enjoy. It’s written in the same easy-to-follow manner with similar type of twists.

This Week’s Update

• The Beast in Me, an eight-episode Netflix original that dropped on November 13, made it to the top #1 early this week: A once-famous author has withdrawn from the world after losing her young son. Then her new neighbor moves in: a powerful real estate mogul, once the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. She is both horrified and intrigued, and before she knows it, she’s obsessively chasing the truth.

• Malice premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 14: A male nanny joins the household of a wealthy family, and his intentions may not be pure.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

P.S. Let me know how I did today by replying to this email.

P.P.S. I would love to hear your recommendations for thrillers you loved. Reply to this email and I’ll add them to my TBR list. Thanks!