The Wedding Vow by English author Dandy Smith is a work of fiction in the psychological suspense, thriller, and interpersonal drama genres filled with betrayal, lies, and manipulation.
Verity and Linden Lockwood have the perfect marriage, four years of wedded bliss they promised to be together forever. They have a blessed life with a home in Windemere, Bath, where Verity runs a successful business, Verity Rose, and Linden sees himself as a successful writer.
Upon returning from one of her business trips, Verity tries to call Linden to pick her and Flora, her assistant, up at the train station. With no success, they take a taxi home. Verity is expecting to meet her best friend Mimi, who (much to Linden’s disapproval) has a key to her house.
As Verity steps out of the taxi, she sees Mimi running from her house with a blood-curdling scream to call the police. Upon entering, Verity finds herself stepping into a pool of blood and sees Linden on the floor, severely beaten to death.
One year later, with the case unsolved, Verity feels it’s time to move on. As she sorts through Linden’s belongings, she discovers a loose floorboard in his walk-in wardrobe, underneath is a stack of love letters, a burner phone, and a laptop. Her husband was having an affair. Intent on finding the identity of the other woman, everyone is a suspect, and Verity will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.
The author masterfully brings together elements of psychological thriller and literary fiction, offering a narrative that is both alarming and thought-provoking. The novel delves deep into the darkness of relationships while touching upon themes of loyalty, morality, and the consequences of one’s actions. The line between truth and deceit is as thin as a hair.
Written in a dual timeline and POV between the wife and the other woman, the characters are richly developed, with complex inner struggles that make their journeys compelling and relatable, and there is a strong feeling of genuine humanity in the dialogue and thought presentation. Nothing ever felt fabricated or melodramatic about the central leads, and their actions are sometimes shocking, but always realistic and in keeping with their emotional journey.
Smith’s ability to balance tension with moments of vulnerability makes for an interesting take on the thriller genre, where moments of interpersonal drama halt the action for some powerfully introspective ones. These big moments may pause the action, but in turn, I felt a lot more informed about Verity and Linden as a result, and became even more invested in the story when the pace picked up again.
The writing is sharp, and the plot is ingenious, keeping readers hooked with well-paced twists and turns that continually subvert expectations. I thought I had guessed who it was, but no, the story went off in a completely different direction, and I do not believe anyone will be able to guess the ending of this one.
The Wedding Vow is atmospheric, twisted, and rich in mystery. Its spine-tingling suspense is sure to leave a lasting impression on fans of psychological thrillers and literary fiction alike. It’s a story I will not forget in a hurry; the storyline will have readers glued to every page. I highly recommend.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith. You can read their comments below or add your own review.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith is a novel with many twists and turns and had me second guessing who did it many times.
It is the story Of Linden and Verity and their seemingly perfect marriage. Verity runs a successful business and Linden is an author. When Verity is away at a yoga retreat Linden is murdered and Verity is distraught. Then she finds out Linden was having an affair and everything gets murky. Verity is determined to find out who it was despite what it could cost her. The book is told in the view of the Wife and the Other Woman and their are many suspects who could have murdered Linden and been having an affair with him. Verity feels like she didn’t really know him as well as she thought. All the side characters have secrets also making for a juicy read. I changed my mind many times about the perpetrators and didn’t see the final twist meaning I am still going over the book and how things came together. I enjoyed that the suspense was maintained throughout the entire book keeping me wanting more. Every character was a suspect on both counts and it made me consider their motives throughout. This was the very definition of thriller – will be looking for more from Dandy Smith.
Verity Lockwood, seemingly, had it all; a very successful business career and a happy marriage, until one day she didn’t!
Coming home she finds her husband, Linden, murdered and her best friend/neighbour,Mimi, fleeing the scene.
Dandy Smith, in The Wedding Vow, sets the scene then proceeds to write a thrilling plot until we eventually find the culprit. There are many mysteries and many possible theories but the true outcome is only revealed after learning of the history from the point of view of both the wife and the other woman.
The Wedding Vow, is guaranteed to keep you hooked until the end! I know I had to find every available opportunity to pick it up and continue until I finally found the answers.
Great work, Dandy Smith! I look forward to reading your next work.
A really great book by Dandy Smith! The wedding vow had everything I love in a book. The mystery kept you guessing the entire way through – I didn’t want to put it down! A must read for anyone who likes mystery, thriller and drama! I’m actually going to read it again to go over some of the clues I missed!
Love it – highly recommend
Was so glad I was selected to read and review ‘The Wedding Vow’ by Dandy Smith – published by Echo Publishing and released on the 27 March 2025. I could not put it down and had it finished in under 24 hours – the twists and turns kept me turning those pages into the night and again early in the morning.
The hard part with reviewing this book is I don’t want to give anything away, I want you to go on that same ride I did. Verity and Linden Lockwood vowed to be together always just like their wedding vows – for richer, for poorer, till death they do part. 5 years of wedded bliss pass and the outwardly perfect couple seem to have it all or do they?
Verity starts to become concerned when she can’t reach her husband when he is due to pick her up after she has been out of town at a Yoga Retreat. Linden is found murdered in their home and Verity’s world comes crashing down around her. A year later her world crashes again when she discovers Linden had a mistress, everything she knew was not as it seemed and Linden’s killer is still out there. Can she find the other woman before she ends up dead also?
I enjoyed the style of writing used in the telling of this story – alternating chapters – ‘The Wife’ and ‘The Other Woman’ – straight away we are seeing the story from two main characters and we discover the other life Linden was living. I loved the way suspense was constantly being held and I was so invested and yes I did change my mind a few times on who ‘The Other Woman’ was.
At the end I just sat and thought wow what a book, so take it from me – pick it up and I guarantee you will find it hard to put down. Looking forward to reading more from Dandy Smith, now I discovered this fantastic author through Beauty and Lace Magazine. Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book.
The Wedding Vow
By Dandy Smith
I have just finished reading the Wedding Vow ,I was not sure what to expect at first but I got so engrossed into the story I couldn’t put it down .
I thought I had this story solved then something else happens and changes everything completely.
Verity and husband Linden were married for 5 years until linden is brutally murdered in their perfect home .
Verity is shattered but a year later it is shattered again when she finds out Linden was having an affair with another woman she soon finds out they were not the perfect couple she thought they were.
Determined to uncover who murdered her husband everyone is a suspect from her neighbour to her best friend .
She is determined to find out who the other woman is and who linden was having an affair with .
Variety then realises she did not know her husband as well as she thought she did.
But will the truth be more dangerous than she thought .
If you like domestic thrillers mixed with drama and plenty of secrets and twists and turns then you’ll love this book for sure .
Thank-you beauty and lace I give this book a 10/10 .