The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

I am coming to you with a review of one of my favourite thriller/suspense novels I have read in quite a while!

This novel was a thrill from beginning to end, but I’ll be talking about all of that and more in my review.

Just so you’re aware, this review will contain no spoilers whatsoever.

Enjoy!

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Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pages: 290 Pages
Published: January 5th, 2021
Bingefactor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format Read: Audiobook

Let me start this review off by saying that I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about why.

I picked this book up on a whim. I saw Raincoast Books (one of my favourite book distributers) talking about this novel and decided to give it a go. I found it at my library and picked up the audiobook and immediately I was hooked.

This novel’s concept is what really had me hooked. The mystery surrounding the missing women and what happened to them coupled with our main character having secrets of her own was incredible. I was constantly doubting what I knew and if I was truly aware of what was happening.

The characters in this novel were also written so well. So well, that I still cant decide if I liked them or hated them.

There is so much going on at all times in this novel but at the same time it is so easy to follow and stay on track. I never felt myself become overwhelmed with the information or as if I didn’t know what was going on.

The setting of the rich neighbourhood in the south was perfect. It added the calming comfort the south brings to mind to the darkness of the story unfolding and I felt that it was the perfect contrast.

This book was utterly addicting and definitely bingeable. I was constantly attempting to extend my drive to and from work so I could hear what would happen next. This was both a pro and a con. The con being my arriving in to work with minutes to spare (sorry not sorry).

I really hope I’ve convinced you all to pick this book up because I do think that everyone will enjoy this one. It is an easy and quick read whilst also being written impeccably (in my opinion). Also, if you have the option, be sure to pick up the audiobook, I really enjoyed the narrator.