Great story with enough twists in the tale. A very interesting perspective of life in the early 20th century.

It took me a while to get into the book, but once I got through the introduction I was hooked. Willig does a wonderful job weaving together the two storylines and maintaining the mystery and making (almost) every character sympathetic (or at least understandable). Usually, when a book has two different storylines I like one better than the other, but not here. The mystery kept me on my toes, and remained true to the era and the story. I also love the amount of detail Willig puts in her novels, from the copious amount of research to the inclusion of other pieces of literature (in this case Shakespeare).

THE ENGLISH WIFE was an amazing story. It begins at a party. Annabelle and Bay Van Duyvil are debuting their new home, designed to duplicate the home where Annabelle grew up in England, for the upper class society of New York. Things immediately go wrong when Janie Van Duyvil discovers the body of her brother who was stabbed with the knife that was part of his costume. His wife is missing and presumed dead. Janie needs to know what happened to the brother that she admired but didn't know very well.

The story has flashbacks to five years earlier when Annabelle and Bay met in London and fell in love which gives us information about the two of them that Janie doesn't have.

Janie has always existed under the thumb of her overbearing and autocratic mother. Nothing she does seems to satisfy her. Janie also shares the house with her cousin Anne who is back home because her husband is threatening to divorce her. Anne is the opposite of Janie. She is flamboyant and willing to defy her Aunt. Nonetheless, she is under her aunt's thumb as much as Janie is. Anne and Bay were closer in age growing up and they always seemed to form a team that left Janie out.

Because she feels that all of them - herself, her mother, her cousin - are being kept out of the investigation, she goes to a newspaper reporter who she had met when he visited her family kitchen saying he was visiting a cousin for some help. She asks James Burke to help her find out the truth about what happened to Bay and Annabelle. As they investigate, they fall in love but their vastly different social classes is only one of the impediments to a relationship.

This story brimmed over with the social mores of the most upper of upper classes in 1899 New York. It also brimmed over with family secrets, affairs, hidden identities, and murder. It was such an engaging story that I couldn't put it down and read late into the night and when I should have been doing other things. Fans of historical mysteries won't want to miss this wonderful story.

Bayard Van Duyvil and his wife Annabelle seemed to be living such a charmed life when one night Bay is found dead with a knife in his chest and Annabelle is nowhere to be found. With Annabelle thought to be drowned and a murderer to be found the press is all over the story of how this privileged couple ended up the way that they did on that fateful night.

Bay’s sister Janie is convinced that someone out there killed her brother and did harm to his wife and is determined to find out what happened. Janie forms an alliance with a reporter to uncover the truth of that night. With rumors flying all around of affairs and murder everything Janie thinks she knew starts to unravel.

The English Wife by Lauren Willig is a historical fiction novel with a bit of a mystery and a touch of romance within the pages. The story is told by alternating looks into the past to build the charactrers and their story that led to that night along with keeping up with the events in their current time of 1899.

For me this was one that I really wanted to love but unfortunately found myself struggling to connect and enjoy leaving me rating this at 2.5 stars. The biggest problem in my mind was simply the pacing was so incredibly slow with a lot of randomness added in that didn’t feel necessary in my opinion. Also it was a bit tough to connect to characters when struggling to remember who was who with a lot of them similarly named. This one just ended up not my cup of tea unfortunately but others just may enjoy the slow burn mystery.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

2.5 but rounding up because the writing was decent. In fact, towards the end of the book I found several paragraphs and descriptions that resonated--wish there had been more!

This is what I thought I would read:
"At it's heart, this is a gripping and scandalous novel set in the Gilded Age, full of family secrets, affairs, and murder." Late 19th century. Old New York/gilded age, England, the Hudson Valley--meant for me! BUT NOT.

I found it very contrived and convoluted--and often uninteresting; might have put it down at any time. The last 40-50 pages or so, however, ramped it up quite a bit--in fact [to me] to a whirlwind conclusion [that I guessed at many pages earlier, as well as a couple of other plot trajectories]. A huge disappointment. And far too long.

I am clearly in the minority of opinions, however. I guess this read was just not for me.

A story full of romance, love, and murder! A fantastic blend of mystery and suspense that the twist was totally surprising and the ending, not at all what I wanted but it was perfect! I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

An intriguing historical novel from the outset. London and New York society at this time has been bought to life with a well researched descriptive novel. Nothing is as it seems and due to the tight lipped approach to appearances by the extremely rich section of New York the truth has to be teased out.

Unexpected is the best way that I can describe “The English Wife”. I was drawn into the story immediately; the depth of the characters and their connections kept me turning the pages. It was a page turner for sure!
The story begins at the end and then retraces what had occurred previously.

Bay Van Duyvil, the eligible, handsome, and wealthy New Yorker goes to London for work and when he sails home, his English wife accompanies him. His mother is aghast. She was shocked that her son brought home an English wife and an assertive one at that.
…

The most anticipated lavish and oh so decadent party is finally happening; all of the richest and most famous people in New York are attending. There has been so much speculation about Bay and his wife. Now everyone will get to see them together in person.

The evening is cut short when a heinous murder is discovered. It shakes up the entire city and everyone is gossiping and surmising what happened.

I enjoyed the mystery and the efforts of the two characters who were determined to find out the truth.

I received an advance review copy of this book from Great Thoughts Ninjas. All opinions are my own.

The author weaved a tale of intrigue, mystery, and suspense through the backdrops of New York and Europe. The plot had kept me hooked until the very last page. This book was certainly a who dun it for the ages. I felt as if I was transported into a movie and I was reluctant for it to end. There were twists and turns galore. And just when I thought I had one suspect pegged another appears. And the true villain revealed at the end took me by total surprise.I was taken on a fanciful ride and enjoyed every moment of it, I highly recommend this book, I wish I could have given it more than 5 stars.

The English Wife is set during a time when your wealth and stature is everything. When the son of a prominent family returns from a trip with a wife that nobody knows and comes from nothing, it kinda raises a few eyebrows. Rumors of affairs start about Annabelle, and then Bayard is found dead and she goes missing and their children are left parentless. But why, is the biggest question and where is Annabelle?

The cast of characters was wonderful and there quite a few too, and they were complex but fleshed out. The main ones, Annabelle and Bayard each had their own flaws and secrets. But with each other, they could share them with the other. Bayard was the one I questioned at first, even though he knew Annabelle’s secret, he still married her and took her home. So many times I kept trying to figure out why too. Annabelle was a mystery all which ways around, but the more I read, the more I understood her and really did enjoy her character. Such a strong girl for a young woman. Now of course there is Bayard’s mother, who is a piece of work. But, she is his mother, and is overprotective of her boy, so I tried to give her a little slack. Janie, his sister, was quite, reserved, does everything her mother tells her and stays pretty much in the shadow. That is until, the death of her brother’s death and the horrible things that were being said about him. This is one determined young woman, and she is set on finding out the truth of what really happened that awful night.

The reporter that is on the case was quite the pain in the ass at first and I did really want to slap him a few times, but he was a reporter and they try and get the story however they can. Janie and his interactions together was tension filled and it so obvious what was going on, just not to them. I found it all kinda sweet and the romance did take a back seat to the murder mystery. None the less, I enjoyed every little bit I could get of them.

The story is given in two time lines. The past is about Annabelle and Bayard’s meeting and how they end up marrying and moving back to his home with family. Then, there is the present, that is filled with scandalous rumors about them, and his death and her disappearance and being presumed to be dead. Over the course of the story the two time times converge and the pieces to start to fall into place, revealing secrets and leading up to the big twist at the end that was just amazing!

This book has so many things going for it, it was hard to put down. The setting was vividly described and it felt you were right there with them. But the family secrets, and the murder to the slow burning and unexpected romance, kept me turning the pages. This was a fantastic historical murder mystery, and I would certainly recommend it for fans of historical fiction.

Loved This! I love a historical mystery and this one really fit the bill. There was a bit of a twist in the end that surprised me, which is always the sign of a good book.

Georgie is struggling to survive on the stage of London when New York Socialite Bay Van Duyvil enters her life. They band together and forge an alliance and a marriage. Together they take on his Mother and New York society. But when tragedy strikes at their house warming party the truth of their life together may be revealed. A story of family and truth and unlikely alliances.

Lauren Willig has created a lovely mystery/historical fiction with snappy dialogue and enough layers to keep readers guessing to the very end.

Recommended for readers who want to lose themselves in a mystery with some romance along the way, The English Wife may just fit the bill.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This story is about Janie Van Duyvil, it starts on the twelfth night in1899, at a Shakespeare themed ball where Janie and her cousin Anne find Janie’s brother Bay, dying from a stab wound along with his wife Annabelle who is  missing, presumably fallen into the river below. They were considered high class  society, so naturally the couple’s murder lands on the front page. The press rolls in and speculates on the deaths. Did Annabelle kill her husband, then flee? Was it a love triangle, as there were rumors that Annabelle was having an affair with the architect of their new house? Did Bay kill Annabelle and then himself? The story then starts to alternate between time lines: the 1899 which is the present, Janie searches to find the truth behind the murders, along with the past, when Bay and Annabelle first met and courted. Janie finds herself pairing up with James Burke, a newsman working for a paper with a bad rep who wants to write real news. Annabelle and Bay have secrets, lots of them. I dont want to spoil anyone so im going to bring my review to a closing. I really enjoyed this book, I love the time period, the mystery, to see what it was like living in a high class society and obviously the characters of Janie and Annabelle. I give this book a 5 star rating!

I received The English Wife from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I have read many books written by Lauren Willig and have enjoyed them all. This book was no different, and I would really give 4.5 stars.
The English Wife brings to life the Gilded Age at the turn of the century. Lauren Willig did a wonderful job with describing the attitudes that were prevalent in American Society during that period. Burke is a reporter searching for a story and Janie is the sister of the murdered Bay looking for the truth. Janie approaches Burke for help. Together and separately, they work to uncover what really happened the night of the party.
The book really kept you guessing as it progressed and surprised me with revalations. I believe the book dealt more with the who cast of characters; the good, the bad, the gray. Willig made the reader think about what everyone was hiding and how unfair life can be. The story takes place in two timelines: the past five years with Bey and Annabelle and the present search for truth.

This was a wonderful book but does require concentration, especially in the beginning with all the cast of characters. Because of that, I did have to set it aside for awhile until I was ready to follow all the characters and their connection with one another.
I look forward to what Lauren Willig writes next.

London and New York in the Gilded Age. A Murder. A suicide? An actress. A Knickerbocker descendant. What starts in London as an unlikely romance, tragically ends in New York under a cloud of rumors. Whodunnit? Was she having an affair with the architect? Did he kill her in a fit of rage? Did SHE kill HIM? Is she even dead?

So many questions arise when Bayard Van Duyvil is found stabbed by his own knife and his wife Annabelle missing. What is going on?? Flashing back to when they met, and forward to after the alleged murder, you are completely enraptured by the life of Bay and Annabelle, their truths, their secrets, and everything they fought to have. Janie, Bay’s sister, is the unexpected sleuth in this web of mystery and her only goal is the truth. With the help of a reporter found lurking in her kitchen, they work to find the truth.
Willig’s latest is a tantalizing tale in an age where reputation and name are everything. Slightly slower in the start, this story quickly picks up and you’ll find yourself closing the book at 2 a.m. after a full night of binge reading. The English Wife is a must read for 2018.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the Great Thoughts Ninja Review team for an advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A murder in an aristocratic household? Unheard of and especially during a ball with hundreds of guests in attendance.

Bay, Annabelle's husband and Janie's brother, could not have killed his wife and then killed himself. Janie was determined to find out who the real killer was.

We follow the family as the book goes back and forth in time making the connections for us about who was who and what the circumstances were.

And what marvelous connections and secrets this family has.

The biggest bomb shell came right after Bay and Annabelle were killed.

A family member of Annabelle arrived at the house to give his condolences, but also gave some unsettling information about Annabelle.

THE ENGLISH WIFE was very proper, and the characters were portrayed as very proper as was expected in the 1800's, but were some who they said they were?

THE ENGLISH WIFE was difficult to connect with at first, but then the book became difficult to put down.

The ending revelations will be "burning" in your thoughts and have you wanting to talk about the book with everyone.

If you enjoy the 1800's, drama of privileged families, mystery, and secrets, THE ENGLISH WIFE will be a late-into-the-night read. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher, NetGalley, and Great Thought's Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Gilded Age books aren't always ones that I rush out to read but I found this one intriguing. It was a geniunely delightful read.

I enjoyed this book, especially the many twists and turns where no one is what she/he seems. Set in the Gilded Age, it has all the earmarks of a historical thriller with an intricate plot. The characters are well-drawn and the author sustains the suspense until the end.