The First Wife

The First Wife is the first book in the Chapman Files series by American author, Tara Taylor Quinn. Divorcee Jane Hamilton is editor of Twenty-Something, a magazine that supports women. Lawyer Brad Manchester is her best friend. They support each other in any way they can. And right now, Jane needs a bit of support: anonymous threatening letters have been arriving at work, she's found out her ex-husband is a bigamist, and she's been called to testify against him in a murder trial. But James was never violent with her: could he have murdered his second wife? What Jane doesn't need on top of all that is to be pregnant. But she has Brad's support all the way: it's his baby, after all.

Underlying the tale are the observations of Clinical Psychologist, Kelly Chapman, who interviews witnesses in the murder trial. If the reader can ignore the details of how Jane got pregnant to her best friend, then the rest of the story is quite good, revealing how abuse in a relationship can be psychological and physically subtle. There's a lot of denial and not a whole lot of romance in this one, it drags on a bit before a somewhat rushed ending.