Book Review: The Last Mrs Sinclair by T.J. Emerson

Please join me in welcoming T.J. Emerson to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest novel, The Last Mrs Sinclair.

What would you give for the perfect life?

Leah Williams knows exactly what she wants from life – comfort, luxury and security. All the things she would have had if her childhood hadn’t been derailed by her father’s bad decisions. And then she meets Miles Sinclair. After the death of his wife last year, Miles is ready to start living his life again, and Leah knows just how to help him… what could be so wrong with that?

When Miles takes Leah to his chateau in the South of France, she’s excited to get a taste of the life she deserves, even if it means enduring the presence of Miles’ cousin Vivienne, who seems determined to insert the memory of his dead wife into every conversation.

But the Chateau Clairvallon has a history, not least as the place where the last Mrs Sinclair died. And as Leah discovers more about the accident that took her predecessor’s life, she begins to realise that the family she’s set her sights on isn’t quite what it seems.

What happened that summer?

Was it really an accident?

And is Leah in danger?

*****

Leah Williams is looking for a life of comfort and security. What’s wrong with that? With Miles Sinclair, she thinks she may have found that, despite the age gap. When he takes her to his family estate in France and proposes, the life she is seeking is in her reach.

The only obstacles… Mile’s cousin, Vivienne and the ghost of the last Mrs Sinclair.

This was the first chance I’ve had to read any of T.J. Emerson’s novels. The premise sounded so good and I’m delighted to have been invited onto the blog tour for this book and couldn’t wait to get started. I am going to try and review this as spoiler free as I can.

Leah Williams wants secrurity and comfort. She wants to marry for that rather than for love. Not my idea of a happy life but it’s not sometihng I am going to judge the character for. Throughtout the book, the voice of her mother appears in her head, motivating her in her quest for a comfortable life. The ghosts of parents like that can and does have an influence on our main character.

She also also having to live with the ghost of the previous Mrs Sinclair. Miles is still affected by the death of his first wife.

Vivienne is the character within the novel who is closed off. She doesn’t approve of Leah. That much is made clear.

However, it’s hard to know who to trust. Even Leah is a bit of an unreliable narrator. There are relationships in her past that she’s not proud of. I spent the whole novel triyng to figure out who to trust and it was a roller coaster of a read to the point where I couldn’t stop reading. I went from liking a particular character to not liking them from one chapter to the next. It made for a compelling read. All the characters play on your sympathies.

The plot moves along well and was welll developed. There were plenty of twist, turns and more twists. This novel has the reader turned around many times and that makes for a great pyschological thriller in my opinion. It had me annoyed at the characters in one moment and gasping out loud the next. There were also some truly heart-breaking elements to the stroy too. It’s a look into how trauma can have a big effect on your life no matter how long ago it happened.

Seriously, if you’re looking for a great, exhilerating read that grips you right up to the end, The Last Mrs Sinclair is for you. This is certainly not the last book I will be reading by this author. I am now a fan.

About T.J. Emerson –

Before writing fiction, TJ Emerson worked in theatre and community arts. As well as acting, she ran drama workshops in health care settings, focusing on adults with mental health issues.

Her short stories have been widely published in anthologies and literary magazines, and her feature writing has appeared in Stella magazine, Woman’s Own and The Sydney Morning Herald.

She has a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Edinburgh and works as a literary consultant and writing tutor. She is also the Creative Director of The Bridge Awards, a philanthropic organisation that provides micro-funding for the arts.

Connect with TJ Emerson via Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram and Bookbub. Click here to sign up to her newsletter. 

The Last Mrs Sinclair was released by Boldwood Books on 26th March 2025. Click to buy on Amazon and Waterstones. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.