The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a story that will keep you guessing I have no doubt about that. The copy I read is an uncorrected proof and when I got to the end of Part 1 something big happened that left me wondering if something had gone amiss in editing and the story had gotten confused, now that I have finished I am confident that it was no error; it was a tool of story-telling to keep readers on their toes. It also means that a spoiler-less review is going to be very difficult to come by.
I love reading suspense novels but I find it very difficult to review them because deciding what information can be shared that won’t spoil anything is much easier said than done.
The blurb talks about the book you think you are reading and the assumptions you make as you travel deeper into the story. The stories spoken of in the blurb are the stories you are reading but there is so much more to it than that; so much more than the assumptions you make about the characters.
The Wife Between Us is the story of a woman in love and looking forward to marrying her Prince Charming, a wealthy and charismatic man who doesn’t like to talk about his past. It is also the story of a woman obsessed with the fiancé of her ex-husband, her replacement. We see the unhealthy behaviour, the stalking, the drinking and the escalation of behaviour.
This story is the collaborative effort of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, and a collaborative novel is always intriguing to me as I try to work out how it came together out of two great minds. Any collaborative novel creates great intrigue but when you make it a suspense I am even more invested, I would love to understand the process as two authors need to understand the characters. I found this story to be put together extremely well considering the subject matter and the need to build scepticism in the reliability of the narrator.
I am on holidays and found this to be excellent holiday reading, not so excellent holiday reviewing though. I finished it almost a week ago and am now having even more trouble trying to review than I did then, and I am on holiday with limited computer access and even more limited quiet time so rather than try to write a long and involved review of a suspense novel I think I will keep it short and sweet so I can keep reading.
The Wife Between Us is a look at the cycles of relationships, the lies we sometimes need to tell ourselves and the lengths we will sometimes go to. The story-telling was tight, the characters were actually really well fleshed and drawn considering the fuzziness that was required to draw out the suspense.
If you love a good suspense and like a story that will make you think then I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan 10 of our Beauty and Lace club members will be reading and reviewing The Wife Between Us so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Many thanks to Beauty and Lace and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review The Wife Between Us.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, devouring it within 48 hours of receiving it. The characters are beautifully developed throughout the story, and even when you think you have got things worked out, something else comes along and surprises you.
I think the blurb on the back of the book actually sums it up perfectly, and to provide more would be to risk spoilers:
“When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
It’s about a jealous wife, obsessed with her replacement.
It’s about a younger woman set to marry the man she loves.
The first wife seems like a disaster; her replacement is the perfect woman.
You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.
You will be wrong.”
This book is a masterful collaboration between two authors, Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well written suspense tale.
I very rarely pick up a book nowadays that I want to finish immediately lol.
This book was thoroughly engaging from the beginning and I just wanted to continue reading more and more. The characters and story leave you wanting to know more from the start. It reminded me abit of The Girl on the Train. Different kind of twist.
It makes you think about relationships, what you tell and don’t tell at the start…. it reminded me about the anxieties you feel when wanting to make others happy and what you do at the start of relationships and how they transform over time and why…. very thought provoking at times.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace for sending this copy to me. I’ll be recommending it to my girlfriends!!!
Once again many thanks to Beauty and Lace and PanMacMillan for the opportunity to read and review another great book.
The Wife between us was very different and I think I got a bit lost in the middle as it did seem to jump a little from the past to the present but after I sorted myself out I was completely taken in with the storyline.
As one other reviewer said I thought I had I knew what was happening and who was at fault ……but I was wrong. And then wrong again.
A very different look at a marriage in crisis, and the outsiders involved, culminating in a very OH REALLY!!! ending. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.
Wow. What a book, all the twist, and turns. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next it didn’t.Wow again. Thank you for let us read this book it really makes you look at things differently, from all different points of view. Thanks again.
I’ll start by saying this book is a 5/5 from me.. now to review it…oh god how do I review without letting anything slip? I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it kept me on my toes. As it says on the cover ‘You will make many assumptions’ and of course I did… a few times over. I enjoyed the twists and after the first chapter I too like Michelle wrote above thought I’d missed something. I loved the so called jealous wife, new hot gf and the colourful aunt. Now sorry for the dodgy review but I really am finding it hard to write this one. Just read it I’m certain most people will love it.
Thanks for the fab read Beauty & Lace + Pan MacMillan
Not until I finished the book did I realise how amazing the plot was . So many twists and turns but the last twist brings the whole story together beautifully. Vanessa,s story touches some long ago wounded areas of my own soul and I was inspired by her ingenuity and inner strength. The authors gave perspective to the behaviour of main characters by exploring their past traumas and experiences but added to the suspense by spreading these details throughout the book. Basically I loved the book and devoured it within 24 hours.
Only a quick review, otherwise…spoilers!!
It’s blurb didn’t lie. “When reading the book, you will make many assumptions, you will be wrong.”
Like all suspense novels I read, I try to solve and guess as I read along. This one stumped me however as everything I thought was wrong. It somewhat slowed in pace in the middle, but an overall enjoyable read. Would recommend for those that are into suspense, but looking for something a bit different to Girl on the Train/ Woman in the Window (with their weak female protagonists).
The Wife Between Us is a complicated love triangle, a man, his jealous ex-wife who desperately wants to stop him from remarrying, and his beautiful new young fiancé
But what can we reliably believe who is telling the true story? Who is watching who and how will it all end?
Riveting from the start till the very end.
A wonderful Saturday read, that i would recommend
Wow what a surprisingly good book. I thought it would just be about an ex-wife plotting to upset the upcoming marriage of her ex husband, but it was so much more!!! There are so many twists and turns in this book that you struggle to keep up (but do!). All is not what it seems in this book and it kept me turning the pages. A great example of a domestic noir novel, I shall definitely be following these authors with interest.
Wow!!!Thoroughly enjoyed the many twists and turns of this fast paced story. I read it in 36 hours. I enjoyed the two person narrative in the first half and the corresponding twist.