Book Review: The Wife Between Us

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
Also by this author: An Anonymous Girl, You Are Not Alone
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 9th 2018
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

 

 

*

8

 

MY REVIEW:

Okay, so I have to admit I was a little nervous when I started seeing my fellow reviewers compare The Wife Between Us to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.  Even though I loved Gone Girl, not many of the novels that have been compared to it since its rise to popularity have lived up to the hype.  And boy have there been a lot of them.  I’m thrilled to say that not only does The Wife Between Us live up to the comparison, but I enjoyed The Wife Between Us even more than I enjoyed Gone Girl.  I think we’re looking at what is going to be one of the must-read books of 2018.  I also recently read that there is already a deal in place to make it into a film and I’m really excited about that.

 

 

I know this is the part of my review where I would typically describe the book without giving away spoilers.  In the case of The Wife Between Us, however, I can’t really do that.  To write any kind of description of even the basic plot points and characters would just spoil it. So all I’m going to say is just know based on those Gone Girl comparisons that you’re diving into an addictive psychological thriller filled with twists and turns and complex characters, and that there are also questions regarding narrator reliability.  Most importantly, as the synopsis indicates, assume nothing!

My favorite part of The Wife Between Us is that it really did keep me guessing from beginning to end.  I read the synopsis, which told me to ‘assume nothing’ because everything I assumed would be wrong. And then I proceeded to jump right in and start making assumptions anyway.  The book just lends itself to that and no matter how hard I tried to keep an open mind, I continued to make snap judgments about characters and situations, and yes, as the synopsis warned, I was dead wrong every time.  And that may sound like it should have been a frustrating reading experience, but I LOVED every page of it.  Nothing about the story was predictable and that was just fabulous and refreshing.

There is one plot twist about halfway through that was such a shock to me that it made my head spin.  I actually had to backtrack a few pages to make sure I had read what I thought I had read.  It was truly mind blowing!

The characters in The Wife Between Us are also so well drawn.  They’re complex, flawed, and utterly human, and unlike in many of the Gone Girl-style books, they are actually quite sympathetic in spite of the unreliable narrator issue.  I won’t go so far as to say that I liked any of them, but I did feel tremendous sympathy for what at least one of them was going through.

The book also weeds into some dark territory as we navigate the various plot twists — mental illness, addiction, abuse, jealousy, the struggle to let go and move on after a failed relationship, etc.  All of this dark subject matter weaves together seamlessly into an enthralling tale that you won’t be able to walk away from until you know the whole truth behind ‘the wife between us.’

The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was that the pacing felt a little inconsistent before that huge plot twist vs. after it.  There wasn’t a huge difference but just enough that it was noticeable in terms of how quickly I moved through each half of the book.

I also can’t say that I was 100% satisfied with the book’s resolution either. I liked it for the most part, but I’ll be curious to see if that is tweaked at all when it is made into a film.

 

The Wife Between Us is a mesmerizing thrill ride that will keep you guessing from beginning to end.  I would definitely say to go into it knowing as little as possible for the most suspenseful reading experience possible.  As the synopsis says, ‘Assume Nothing.’

 

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and of course, authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen for allowing me to read and review this book on my blog in exchange for an honest review.  This in no way impacts my review.

 

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

A novel of suspense that explores the complexities of marriage and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement.
You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.
You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.
You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.
Assume nothing.

Discover the next blockbuster novel of suspense, and get ready for the read of your life.