I'm sure this book will appeal to a certain kind of reader, but I am not that kind of reader. I don't get drawn in by grand houses and costumes and tragic backstories - I want good writing, strong, credible characters and a solid plot rather than vague hints at things that happened years earlier. Unfortunately in this book, I felt that the central plot was slow and sometimes tedious and while there were a number of interesting sidelines, many of these simply fell into the tale and out again without any development. The last few chapters were reminiscent of a daytime soap-opera, with a dramatic confession in the drawing-room (in the style of Agatha Christie) and the deus ex machina of the fire. Many of the threads of the story were simply left to hang - so much so that I suspect that the author had ideas of writing a sequel. We never find out what happens to some of the characters: Did Georgie survive? What happened to David? Did the extremely unpleasant Giles simply go back to his life with nobody any the wiser regarding his past behaviour? The only thread which is actually drawn together at the end is the predictable-from-the-start romance between Janie and Burke.

Sometimes the problems with a story can be tempered by great writing, but there is nothing here to rescue the tale. The writing is clearly intended to reflect the era in which the story is set, but it comes across as pretentious and contrived. There is far too much exposition, and I became irritated by the conceits used, such as frequently referring to Mrs Van Duyvil as "Janie's mother".

I did finish this - but in all honestly, the only reason I did so was that it was an ARC. I try very hard not to abandon a book that I received as an ARC; as I see it, I have made a deal with the publisher to provide a rating and a review, and doing that without finishing the book seems somehow unfair. Under normal circumstances, I would have abandoned this by the 20% mark.

Janie an heiress, and Burke a newspaper reporter are thrown together in a plot of murder, dark secrets, and secret identities.
Janie and Burke are an unlikely pair. Normally they would not associate with each other. However, to solve the murders of her brother and sister in law they have decided to collaborate. What they discover will turn the blue bloods and the common folk upside down.
Very entertaining. 5 Stars

The English Wife is a historical gothic novel in the style of Victoria Holt and it grabbed my interest right from the start. The Gilded Age of Newport and New York was vividly drawn against family secrets and class distinctions. The plot moves quickly and left me guessing right up to the end. I received an ARC through netgalley and had not read anything by Lauren Willig before but after thoroughly enjoying this book, it will not be my last.

Engrossing murder mystery set in 1899, with another timeline five years in the past. The victim’s sister, Janie, surreptitiously works with a reporter to discover the truth. The two timelines eventually converge and reveal who killed Bayard Van Duyvil, the eldest son of an “old money” New York Hudson River family. The earlier timeline follows how Bayard met his wife and continues to the murder scene. The other follows the effort to find out what happened after the murder. All the characters have secrets, and the family’s honor must be protected.

The writing was elegant and fitting for the era. I thought the first two-thirds of the book were very well-planned. The two timelines provided a bread crumb trail to additional clues, and it was difficult to guess the outcome ahead of time. Unfortunately, toward the end, it devolved into a soap opera, and I found the ending improbable and unsatisfying. It also left a fair amount of the storyline up in the air.

The writing style counts for a lot in my enjoyment of a novel, so even though I didn’t care for parts of this book I would read this author again. Recommended to fans of mysteries with a romantic element and Victorian-era historical fiction.

*Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a free copy to review*

Forgetting the plot was the best way to read this. All you need to know is it's a murder mystery set during the turn of the century.
The Story~I don't get surprised easily in ordinary non-mystery books. And when I read a mystery I am almost guaranteed to never guess the perpetrator correctly. This was no exception. The whole story wouldn't have happened if not for this relatively small thing, thus making it all the more fascinating how one thing shapes so many lives. I thought it a well-executed (ah, the pun) story with plenty to intrigue me. And it handles the jumps in time without me ever liking one side more.
The Characters~If I were in Janie's situation I would've been the same. That's pretty good since I hardly ever relate to characters. As for everybody else, wow, they were distinguishable from one another. They all had certain quirks and flaws and a different voice. Well done. *insert applause here*
The Writing and Dialogue~What initially drew me in was the clean and precise writing style. Sure, it's an ARC and I found several mistakes throughout, but that aside this stands out as a carefully sculpted story with not a lot of filler. There were several good lines of dialogue and metaphors/similes. I especially liked the one about Janie being a plague:) I also appreciated how the dialogue never sounded 21st century.
The Ending~As with any mystery, it's made or broken by the resolution. Do you believe the motives and do the people support the motives? For the most part I'd say yes. But the denouement was a little too much like Poirot in that the main characters are in the room and the guilty party admits what they've done and why, followed by the chase/action sequence. The reason for this "chase" came across as a mite too convenient and "yeah right." One character leaves in a throwaway sentence and Janie doesn't address the elephant in the room. I could've used an extra chapter to tie things a little neater.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and can definitely see myself reading it again.

At the start of this riveting Gilded Age mystery, a man is dead. What happened? One thread of the story follows his sister Janie in her quest for answers; another details his courtship of his wife five years earlier. With a compelling combination of historical detail, strong characters, and intricate plot, The English Wife will grab you immediately and keep you guessing until the shocking end.

The story starts right in the middle of the action: On frigid Twelfth Night, 1899, in the middle of a Shakespeare themed ball, Janie Van Duyvil and her cousin Anne find Janie’s brother Bay dying of a stab wound and his wife, Annabelle, missing, presumably fallen into the river below the folly. As part of high society, the couple’s murder is front page material. The press descends in droves, speculating 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?

From there out, the story alternates time lines: the 1899 present, as Janie seeks to find the truth behind the murders, and 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. To tell here would ruin the book for readers; suffice it to say that neither is who they appear on the surface. But it’s not just their story. It is also the story of Janie. At the start, Janie is the person who melts away into the background. Her mother is a verbally abusive control freak, and Janie is her favorite target. She’s spent a life time learning to disappear. Her cousin Ann even stole her fiancé. Her growth and flowering through the story is wonderful to watch.

There is a lot of description of all the trappings of wealth; the clothing, the jewels, the house décor. And while it might seem a bit excessive, it really belongs there: the wealth, the society it embodies, is, if not a character, is certainly a force in the story that exerts itself mightily on the characters.

I enjoyed this book a lot, especially the characters of Janie and Annabelle. The identity of the killer actually took me by surprise. Five stars.

What a great book! I had heard of this author before but not read any of her books; now I will read them all!

Bayard Van Duyvil and Annabel Lacey meet in London in the 1800's when she is an actress and he is avoiding his past. Bay sort of rescues Annabel from an uncomfortable situation, and they develop a romantic relationship. Annabel is on her own and Bay marries Georgi and takes her home to his aristocratic snobby mother, his retiring sort of spinster sister Janie, and his troublesome cousin Anne, who lives with them. They seem to have it all: romance, money, beautiful twins, houses in the city and on the water...what more could they ask for? Then Bay ends up dead at a party and Annabel goes missing. The press goes wild: did Annabel kill Bay because of a romance with someone else? Did Bay kill Annabel and then stab himself? Who really is Annabel; is she who she says, or someone else? And who is this Burke guy, who is writing all these stories in the newspaper? Janie, Bay's sister, just wants two things in life: to be herself, and to find out the truth of what happens. She meets up with Burke and the unlikely duo begin working to find clues and solve the mystery, but it's very hard to sort truth from fiction.

Willig does an excellent job building suspense and throwing in twists and turns. There is an aristocrat who claims to be Annabel's cousin; but who is he really and what does he want from the Van Duyvil's? What role does Anne play in all this? I couldn't put the book down, I just had to know what the real story was! This is a great read, and I highly recommend it!

Great book for the combination of snow and rain alternating out my window right now. I enjoyed it, thank you!

Was not what I was expecting, a bit darker than her other stories. Think this is one I need to go back and reread, my preset thoughts on her writing style may have influenced how I felt.

Utterly engaging and heartbreaking at times. I love this time period and the story. It is a little confusing at the start with the different timelines and similar-sounding names (George, Georgie, Anne, Annabelle, etc.), but once I got a handle on that, I did not want to stop reading! Will definitely recommend to patrons and customers seeking historical fiction. I think historical romance fans may also enjoy it for the setting and the complications that love brings in this story, as long as they're aware that the emphasis is on the mystery.

I couldn't get into this one--the writing was so cliched.

An absolute romp of a gothic-flavoured mystery with a well-drawn Gilded Age setting and compelling characters. Much enjoyed.

I highly enjoyed this novel and the writing style of the author. She's very talented. What kept this book being a five-star for me is I wish we saw more of Annabelle's backstory first-hand. There are memories depicted of Georgie's past else, but I would've loved to have experienced more moments of the girls growing up along with seeing their schemes come to life, as I feel these moments greatly affected the current day Georgie. Overall, a book I'd definitely recommend.

This wonderful book started out with a murder/suicide and went full throttle from there! I loved all the twists and turns throughout the book and the characters were great! Janie was my favorite and she found out how strong she was as the book went on. I received an advanced review copy of this book from The Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

Characters leap off the page to entwine you in their scandals and secrets. Author brings The Gilded Age to life.

Lauren Willig is one of my favorite authors, and I always enjoy her books. This one is definitely darker than her other books! One of her strengths is writing very likable characters. Georgie was sympathetic right away, but Janie took a little time for me--she was such a doormat at first. I did end up really cheering for Janie and enjoying her character arc, and I sympathized with Georgie, but it maybe was not quite as simple as usual. I actually think, in another author's hands, no one would have been likable, so she did an excellent job making us pull for some complicated characters. There was a lot in this story that was just sad and felt heavy, which I wasn't entirely expecting. Life is unhappy for almost everyone for a majority of the book, so you do have to stick that out to get to the end. There were some twists and turns that kept me guessing and a few surprises, so the mystery was well-executed. The romance felt quick and not as developed as it could have been, but there were a lot of other things going on the story that it had to be balanced with. Overall, this wasn't my favorite of Willig's books, but not in a way that makes me concerned I won't like her future books. I think this just wasn't exactly the story I was expecting, but the writing was what I expected, so I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Not as good as the Pink Carnation series, but a pretty good read. It took a long time to get to the bottom of what happened and it was a little confusing, but it was a good travel read, as you could pick it back up rather quickly. The depiction of New York around the turn of the 20th century was well written. I enjoyed the "upstairs/downstairs" parts of the story.

Behind the scenes of a gilded party lays a dead host and missing hostess.
Annabelle and Bayard (Bay) Van Duyvil are a charming couple. Bayard known in the ranks of Knickerbocker families and Annabelle is from England from a Tudor family. For his wife, Baynard is building a replica of her home in England. A gothic mansion called Illyria. Supposedly rumors have been spreading that Annabelle is having an affair with the architect and not all is what it seems. The Duyvils host a Twelfth Night Ball, which is also the day of their demise. Headlines screech, Murder, and state that Baynard killed his wife (and vice versa). The only one who wants to push past the secrets and discover the truth of what happened is Janie Duyvil, Bay's sister. The English Wife takes on two parts of a story. You get the perspective of Janie and the mysterious Georgie (an important individual from Bay's past and present). To find out what really happened to brother and sister-in-law, Janie forms an alliance with a reporter (which is a big no from society) and she unearths truths that she couldn't have dreamed of.
Lauren Willig kudos to you because I read this book during my lunch break mind you in a somewhat talkative environment and I was drawn into the pages. An ice cold, gilded age, gothic environment was envisioned so easily by your descriptive words.

This book is very different from Willig’s Pink Carnation series. It’s a gothic mystery along the lines of Rebecca. The story alternates between Bay and his wife Georgie’s story from when they meet up until their murders and Bay’s sister Janie’s POV as she tries to piece together what really happened to Bay and Georgie. Janie works with a reporter to uncover the truth. Did Georgie murder her husband and disappear? Were both of them murdered by someone else? Georgie’s mysterious estranged cousin perhaps? Or Anne, Bay and Janie’s cousin and Bay’s best friend, or perhaps more?

The tension of the story pulled me through, and although I had my suspicions about what happened, I was by no means certain until the very end when the truth was revealed.