Title: The Second Wife

Author: Ali Lowe

Publisher: Hachette Australia, 2026; RRP: $34.99

Review: Marian Chivers, Ballarat Writers Inc. book review group

The author

Ali Lowe is the author of six novels, including the breakout The Trivia Night, The Private Island, The Running Club, and The School Run, which was a WHSmith Book of the Month. A journalist by profession, she was Features Editor at OK! in London and has written for bridal magazines, parenting titles, websites and newspapers.  She has dual Australian and British citizenship and lives on Sydney’s northern beaches with her husband and three children.

The blurb

The Titan Pacifica is a luxury cruise liner on an eight-day voyage from Sydney to the idyllic, coconut-palm shores of the South Pacific. On the exclusive Deck Nine, Irving Fairchild, CEO of billion-dollar logistics business Fairchild & Sons, celebrates his 70th birthday. His family is invited and he is footing the bill. Irving is about to make the big announcement about his successor and everyone has a vested interest in who will be the chosen one.

But the news is unexpected. Six set sail on the luxurious cruise but not all of the group will make it back to Sydney.

The book

The Second Wife has an interesting structure: it is divided into ten parts (nine days of the cruise with the location and a section titled Afterwards). Within each section there are chapters following three main characters: Gen (the second wife), Celia (the daughter-in-law), and Molly (the concierge with a secret or two). There are also transcripts from a hit podcast The Deadliest Cruise of All Time featuring various members of the crew. In the Afterwards section there are also excerpts from the biography of Storm, a dancer who is roommates with Molly and who also has secrets.

If descriptions of Cartier watches, Hermes scarves, Louboutin shoes and so on is your catnip you’ll enjoy this book. It gives some interesting insights into how a cruise ship functions and the way murder can be handled at sea. Both the morgue and the jail on board get utilised on this particular cruise.   

There are enough plot twists and surprises to keep you reading; trying to work out who’ s next and who really did it. Just how many killers are there? Some members of the family are so obnoxious that it’s a shame their wealth couldn’t buy them a better personality, and the reader almost feels like they deserve to be offed.

There was a point where I became confused as to who’s story was being told: Molly’s or Storm’s. I managed to figure out a few of the clues but was still kept guessing. The mysteries drive the narrative as I found few of the characters likeable or able to be taken at face value. 

The publisher recommends The Second Wife for fans of Big Little Lies and White Lotus and it definitely fits the brief. There are even some sneaky references to similar books within the novel. If you like twisty and suspenseful with a touch of luxe, this novel is for you.

Review copy provided by the publisher.