Book

Midwest Book Review

One day when Anne Gallagher’s relationship with a man named Ben was in its initial stages, she returned from a lunch outing to discover that all the furniture in her condo had disappeared. Had she been robbed? No. It was just Ben. After pressuring her to move in together, Ben had responded to her reluctance by making the decision for her.

Then he proposed on the spot. Gallagher was shocked but also charmed, as she relates in a passage from her new memoir, Collateral Wife: A True Con Marriage.

“I’d never felt this rush of confusion and emotion before in my life. It made me feel more attracted to him than ever before. And while I knew Ben to be impulsive, I also knew that his nature was kind. He followed his heart and believed in what he was doing, whether it be moving my apartment or working to get his business up and running. As much as I wanted to be angry with him, I couldn’t. I knew what he did was coming from a good place.”

Yes, he indeed appeared to be a good man. At that time. And the two of them initially seemed to be a good fit, as Gallagher beautifully describes here:

“Where Ben wanted to be number one, I was content to be a number two. It was another way in which I believed we complemented each other. When I thought about my longer-term relationship with Ben, it was clear that he would be the emotional leader and I was his measured and logical counterpart. After all, there were many famous, complementary duos like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mulder and Scully, and even Captain James T. Kirk and Spock. Was I just daydreaming or trying to convince myself of something?”

Readers of Collateral Wife already know the answer: the book’s preface depicts the author in a Chicago subway ready to jump in front of a train out of despair over Ben, a con man who stole from her so consistently and dramatically during their marriage that he eventually had a mob hit out on her and their two children.
What makes the story so absorbing from the preface on (aside from the obvious fact of Gallagher’s exceptional writing), is that the reader is compelled to know how Ben was able to dupe an intelligent woman like Gallagher. Because she wanted so badly to believe he was on her side, and because she remembers precisely what was going through her head at every step, Gallagher’s memoir is both difficult to read but far more difficult to put down; her writing drew me completely into the story until I absolutely had to finish it.

Collateral Wife is a beautifully written cautionary tale of betrayal and ultimate survival that will perhaps have readers biting their nails or shouting words of warning to Gallagher while they cheer her on until the very end.
……………………………………………

In my 30-year career as an FBI agent, Anne Gallagher is the only person I’ve known to transition from a subject of an investigation to a victim, then to a crucial witness, finding herself at the center of certainly the most interesting case I’ve ever handled. As you will read in this fascinating true crime story, Anne was put through the ultimate test—financially, legally, and emotionally—but she survived it all with her spirit intact.

Paul Palumbo, former FBI agent
………………………………..

We prefer to believe that people who intend us harm are clearly visible, but Collateral Wife proves that monsters can be closer than they appear. Anne Gallagher’s compelling story is hard to put down, while it’s also painful to experience the waves of betrayal that flow her way from the man she’d married. She bravely tells this shocking story of financial infidelity at her expense so that others may save themselves from similar traps.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland, award-winning author of The Serial Killer’s Apprentice
………………………………..

Gallagher bravely and clearly lays out the diabolical blueprint of betrayal she endured for decades in Collateral Wife. Interwoven in the methodical and mesmerizing recanting of her painful path to justice are lessons of love and compassion, mixed in with an unexpected touch of the metaphysical. Collateral Wife is a page-turning true story that thrills, delights, and redeems.

Brian Kallies, Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker
………………………………..
Anne Stark Gallagher has written a propulsive, deeply human memoir that reads like a thriller but hits like the truth. By turns heartbreaking and infuriating, Collateral Wife is impossible to put down — and impossible to forget. Every woman should read this book. No. Must.

Abby Ellin, author of Duped: Double Lives, False Identities, and The Con Man I Almost Married
………………………………..

A Kafkaesque horror story that in the capable hands of Anne Gallagher turns out to be her version of reality because she lived it. For the reader, it’s a primer on the wisdom of staying vigilant for red flags in relationships.

Steven R. Strahler, award-winning Chicago journalist
………………………………..

Collateral Wife has all the makings of a Hollywood thriller: an unsuspecting wife discovers that her charming husband is a con man, that she is the target of a mafia hit, and that the FBI are closing in.

Beneath these extraordinary twists is a deeply human and emotionally complex true story of impossible choices and remarkable resilience. Readers will turn every gripping page, aghast at how any spouse could create such a dangerous marriage and so horribly betray another.

Mary Heaney, founder and executive editor, The Global Legal Post
………………………………..

As a big fan of legal thrillers, Collateral Wife is right up there with the best fictional tales I’ve read of late. Except this one is a true story, and along with being a compelling page-turner, it is an inspiring account of courage, resilience, and ultimately justice.

Bob Glaves, executive director, The Chicago Bar Foundation
………………………………..

Collateral Wife is a true crime psychological thriller about trust, deception, and the devastating cost of marital secrets. As the red flags pile up and the menace grows, you’ll be sucked in and will read late into the night to finish this utterly fascinating and compelling debut.

Jamie Freveletti, award-winning and internationally bestselling author of the Emma Caldridge thriller series
………………………………..

Collateral Wife pulls you in from page one and explores how a woman could become involved with a con man—even as the red flags appear. Strong writing and storytelling drive this compelling narrative, which begins with a chance meeting at a wedding and ends with a mob hit. A real page-turner.

Anne E. Beall, award-winning author of The Compassionate Writer and the founder of Chicago Story Press Literary Journal
………………………………

A gripping true story of betrayal and survival, Collateral Wife reveals how Anne Stark Gallagher discovered her narcissistic husband of over a decade had systematically defrauded her by constructing an elaborate web of lies. With raw honesty and unflinching courage, Gallagher navigates the devastating realization that the man she married was a master manipulator. This powerful memoir is a testament to one woman’s journey from dark despair to reclaiming her life. For fans of Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden.

Lynda Drews, author of Disposable Wives, The Maid and the Socialite and Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle
…………………………….
As a financial professional who has spent a career building and protecting wealth for clients, Collateral Wife brings every person’s worst nightmare to the fore. Anne Gallagher tells the story with precision; she was clearly targeted, expertly groomed and then thoroughly defrauded. This is a story that happens more often than people think. Its telling is both cautionary and courageous.

Jer O’Mahoney, partner and head of The Family Office, Killik & Co.
…………………………….

Collateral Wife is Anne Gallagher’s way of saving others from the hell she went through.

When she walked into my office and when we met, she was unaware of the unraveling of her life that was about to expose the fraudster she had been married to for 15 years, who viewed her as nothing more than a mark. We began a journey that day that took her from being a very successful professional to becoming a defendant in a civil case predicated upon frauds that her con man husband had perpetuated. Unbeknownst to her, she was a subject in a criminal investigation as a result of series of frauds upon investors that her husband and another perpetrated while pledging her assets to assist in effectuating the fraud upon investors and a bank.

Our journey down this path exposed her marriage as just another fraud perpetuated by her husband. Anne asked me my impression of her husband after meeting him in court. I told her that I had met lots of guys like him, but I was normally speaking to them through jail bars.

Readers will enjoy the true story of this strong, intelligent woman who survived her nightmare and now wants to save others from what she went through.

Craig D. Tobin, founder and partner, Tobin & Muñoz law firm