An intricately woven narrative delving into the complexities of marriage and betrayal. With a compelling plot and captivating characters, this novel will enthrall you, keeping you eagerly flipping through the pages, and leaving you in suspense until the final moments.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book.

I was finally able to sink my teeth into this one, and it did not disappoint! I really loved the slow build up between the two main characters. By the time we got to the big twist, my jaw was on the floor! Highly recommend for anyone wanting a quick read that will keep you on your toes!

This contemporary domestic thriller is set in New York City. Richard is handsome, loving, thoughtful, and very wealthy -- the perfect man. He has a former wife, or two, and a future wife. With lots of twists and turns the reader learns that nothing is what it seems, and no one is who they appear to be. The writing in this book is average, but the plot is propelled forward as the pages turn quickly. I really enjoyed this book overall. It was a challenge to keep track of where in time the narrative was leading me. A reread would give me a better analysis of the book because I found out more than once that my assumptions of who the characters were and who was speaking -- Vanessa/Nellie/former wife/future wife -- where upended and left me a little confused. The twists were clever, and I really enjoyed this book.

This book was so hyped up I couldn't wait to star.! I was not disappointed! This book had it all and more. I was completely hooked from start to finish. I will be on the lookout for more books from this author.

Great book, love this author and how they can keep my attention to the end! The plot is well developed, characters are believable and they obviously paid attention to detail to make the story worth your time to read.

Everyone said to assume nothing. They are right. You will think you know what’s going on, but things are not always as they seem. This is a great book. Thanks Netgalley

I absolutely loved, LOVED this book. The authors really kept me guessing all the way till the end and I always appreciate a good twist. I've read every other book they've co-written because of this one. The Wife Between Us remains my favorite.

I never saw that twist coming! I thought I had it all figured out, and then it came and blew me away!

While the twists weren't maybe a much as a surprise as initially billed to be I did get caught up in Vanessa's story. I just wish it had been a bit less predictable, I'm really over reading about abusive husbands in general.

This is a wonderful, twisty novel about assumptions. Assumptions we all make, the ones we make when we read a book. Throw all your assumptions out the window and read on!

Fantastic and clever! Make no assumptions and plan on going back for a re-read of all the small details you missed the first time. Hendricks and Pekkanen are one of my favorite writing teams - just brilliant.

Loved the plot twist. Love the unreliable narrator. My favorite Hendricks/Pekkanen book by far. I appreciate the short synopsis that gave next to nothing away.

Are you in need of a twist? An unreliable narrator? A book you can devour in hours? If so, this is the book for you!
This psychological thriller will have you turning the pages and making all the wrong assumptions.

Vanessa is a divorced woman who is using alcohol in an attempt to heal herself. She's barely keeping it together and on the edge of being sacked from her job.

Everyday is a struggle and when she finds out her ex-husband is getting married to the younger women he dumped her for she makes it her mission to make sure the marriage doesn't happen.

I loved this book! The twists and turns had me guessing at what was going on until the last page. I can not wait to pick up their next novel and jump in.

This was not my favorite by these authors. I didn't finish and didn't want to leave a review, which I should have done anyway, I apologize. I have read other books by these authors and enjoyed them.

This was one heck of a page-turner! I didn’t expect all the twists and turns. My heart was beating wildly at times. I sacrificed sleep because I couldn’t put it down! I love a good psychological thriller! Will definitely read more by these authors!

This was my first and favorite book by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanan book. It seems to be a little formulaic after more than one, but I couldn’t stop turning these pages and loved the experience of reading this one!

Cat Ellington’s Review of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Date read: January 2018

"A fool will lose tomorrow reaching back for yesterday."
—I'll Never Love This Way Again (1979)
Format: Sound Recording
Vocalist: Dionne Warwick
Songwriters: Kerr (Richard) and Jennings (Will)

A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION.

One might assume that having considerable monetary riches and vast material wealth would account for a life of blissful happiness and serene peace. And that's easy to understand because practically every aspect of society conditions us to believe such an illusion and to settle it in our minds as the gospel truth. But is verifiable happiness genuinely dependent upon how "obese" any person's piggy bank is? And does the gift of peace reserve itself exclusively for those whose residential environs, garages, walk-in closets, shoe storage shelves, handbag organizers, and watch cases (or cabinets) contain only the most opulent of fineries?

What constitutes authentic happiness? What constitutes true peace? Do vast riches? Does having great wealth?

Can anyone—regardless of the monetary or material things that he or she may possess—honestly obtain the dynamic duo of authentic happiness along with true peace if they have not spiritual edification? That's a good question, isn't it? No one can obtain true peace and happiness without spiritual edification - first and foremost - because we all have a common enemy troubling our minds in an effort to cause confusion.

If one were to ask the manic Vanessa Thompson, star of the immensely complex psychological thriller currently under review, any of those thought-provoking questions, her answer to that someone would undoubtedly be, 'Absolutely not!'

THE SETUP.

Imagine, if you will, being courted and swept off the soles of your feet by the Prince Charming of your wildest and most erotic fantasies. He's tall, athletic, breathtakingly handsome, upstanding, and outrageously rich and wealthy. He also treats you royally, and to you, that is an added plus. Nothing is too good for you, his future princess. Not the five-star restaurants, or the wines imported from the most renowned wine regions in the world, or the coveted ready-to-wear from only the top-tiered designers, or the exotic, first-class vacations, or even the top-rated luxury vehicles according to the Kelly Blue Book. He has it all. And he spoils you with it all. The crystal glass slipper that he holds fits your foot perfectly. And he has chosen to take you, and only you, to wife. Of course, you're elated. What woman wouldn't be? So you gladly—no, frantically—accept prince charming's marriage proposal, internally bidding farewell to all of life's financial woes and slave freight basket struggles. The two of you are a match made in Earthly heaven.

Not only do you wear the glass slipper that he has so delicately slipped onto your foot but also the exquisite diamond ring (Tiffany and Co., eat your heart out!) that he has slipped onto your eagerly awaiting finger. He treats all of your closest friends and family members well, providing everything for them, including all-expense-paid (first-class) trips. Your Prince Charming is the perfect gentleman. That is, until he makes you his own, legally bound by the sanctity of marriage. You soon come to realize, with time, that you've married into a nightmare. You soon come to realize that you've married "Martin Burney."

In this mind-boggling thriller, reminiscent of Sleeping with the Enemy, we meet a woman who is swept clean off the soles of her feet by a too-good-to-be-true delusion.

THE EVALUATION.

A novel presented by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, the dark and quietly chaotic The Wife Between Us tells the troubling story of Vanessa Thompson and those in her life, including her new husband, Richard Thompson, his sister Maureen, a woman named Nellie, a woman named Emma, and Charlotte, Vanessa's aunt and only surviving relative. The tale haunts, interweaving their lives between the gloomy locales of New York City and Florida.

Vanessa Thompson apprises her heavily neurotic witness as a woman who desperately struggles to cling to a disturbing past long dissolved into a forgotten eternity. Married for several years to Richard, a wealthy New York hedge fund executive, Vanessa's hellish account of their so-called happy marriage sheds light on the façade that it had been. And she details the constant pain and suffering imposed upon her by the passive/aggressive "Prince Richard" whenever she fell prey to his devious wrath.
Plagued by a mass of bloodthirsty demons vying to obtain complete control over her already tormented mind, the crestfallen Vanessa becomes a hunted and haunted soul: her dreadful past haunts her, her inability to conceive a child haunts her, the memory of her late mother—demented as she had been—haunts her, her father's sudden death haunts her, and memories of her ghastly marriage to Richard haunt her. As her appalling witness continues, Vanessa delineates how she had been a woman beaten into submission by the man she thought she loved. A man whom she, too, thought loved her - before he discarded her compliant sentiments for the surrendering vulva of her doppelgänger, Nellie.

In the wake of their unsweetened divorce, this narrative's "Prince Charming," who is Richard Thompson, has taken his glass slipper to the next village to search for Vanessa's replacement. And he finds both that woman and her dainty foot in a young, fair-haired, curvy, and vibrant Nellie, a twenty-eight-year-old educator who adoringly refers to her three-year-old students at the Learning Ladder preschool of Manhattan as her "Cubs." The spitting image of Vanessa, Nellie is enthusiastic about marrying the rich and powerful Richard. And she's in the happy process of making her wedding day arrangements when her embittered predecessor intercedes.

Unable to move on after her bitter divorce from Richard, Vanessa is in a tailspin. Her job at Saks is on the line, and she's even depriving her body of the proper nourishment and rest it so eagerly craves. Indeed, Vanessa is a woman hanging by a string.

THE INSANITY BEGINS TO BUILD.

Vanessa can't eat or sleep. She also can't allow Richard to marry another woman. Nellie. She must get rid of Nellie. She must do so. She must see her up close and personal. She must stalk her. She must mimic her. She must stop the "royal wedding" from ever taking place.

While reduced to living with her Aunt Charlotte—a self-employed artist with health woes to spare—in a grizzled New York apartment near Eighty-sixth Street and Central Park West, Vanessa sinks deeper into her pitch-black well of demonic warfare: depression, self-hatred, self-pity, drunkenness, fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, envy, jealousy, paranoia, and denial are all wreaking havoc on her mind in a concentrated endeavor to destroy her - both body and soul.

Yes, the regretful Vanessa is a soul haunted by the madness of her culpable conscience. And this same culpable conscience despairingly tells her that she cannot allow the beautiful, young, curvy, fair-haired, and devoutly attentive Emma to marry Richard.

She must preoccupy her conflicted mind with enemy-centered thoughts about Emma. It is imperative. Emma must become her new stalkee. It is imperative. She must confront Emma. It is imperative. She must prevent Emma from marrying Richard. It is imperative.

The insanity steadily builds.

IS HE PRINCE CHARMING? OR A TOAD?

Richard Thompson—who traded in the sagging bust line of his loyal wife in exchange for the youthful, perky bosom of another woman—may or may not be his own miserable and tumultuous soul. As the rattling skeletal remains of long-dead and buried secrets angrily threaten to emerge from the darkened confines of his expensively-attired proverbial closet, Richard Thompson is a man who is on edge. He appears stable, yes, but is he? With his only living relative being an older sister named Maureen—to whom Richard is "peculiarly" close, I might add—Richard Thompson is a problematic individual of an utmost borderline personality.

Having monetary means, Richard Thompson can easily fund the two homes he so arrogantly holds down: one a luxurious apartment in Manhattan; the other, a mansion—er, castle—of sorts in Westchester. The cultured one-percenter lives very well and nurtures an insatiable penchant for only the most grandiose afforded to those of his financial hierarchy: leisurely, high-class travels around the world, upper-crust cocktail parties flowing with Raveneau and shucked brine oysters on the half shell, Alvin Ailey galas, dates to the Philharmonic, extravagant ballets, sporting events, live shows on Broadway, and countless other sumptuous enjoyments of equal ranking.

To his many well-heeled friends and business associates, Richard Thompson has it all together on the surface. But that which lies beneath the knightly exterior—lurking in Richard Thompson's innermost soul—is an eternities-old and rabid spiritual predator, threatening to claw its way out. And he is not an immortal predator that intends to spare his host or any other equivalent for that matter. His purpose, for the most part, is to ingest his mortal prey whole.

Richard Thompson's inner predator so critically needs to carnage. It is imperative.

THE INSANITY INTENSIFIES.

As the insanity intensifies—courtesy of Mankind's enemy—plaguing thoughts of Vanessa's chilling past make time to disturb her defeated mind: Are you crazy? Of course, you are! You got it from your loony mother! Where's your best friend, Samantha? Hmm? You lost her, didn't you? Daniel! Maggie needed you! Where did you go? 'You can't leave me!' Maggie had whined. 'You can't leave me!'
Common to man are many wicked thoughts of fear: Will you survive? How will you make it? Where is your strength? You stupid, weak, mortal human! Do you believe that you can beat me?

Vanessa Thompson is damned if she doesn't at least try.

THE SUMMATION.

Full of obsession and terror, The Wife Between Us exposes the truth about the consequences of spiritual warfare going unrebuked. And Hendricks, along with Pekkanen, outdo themselves with its revelation. In essence, spiritual warfare is prevalent to all humankind. And not even one of us who is existent in this three-dimensional physical realm is immune to it. No, not even one of us.
Our spiritual enemy's meticulous and systematic method: destroy the human mind, destroy the human body. Once the human mind becomes corrupted, the rest of the body is sure to follow. And in the troubled lives of our top-billed cast, the two talented novelists—Hendricks and Pekkanen, respectively—capture this Hadean enrapture pristinely.

In all of my years as a reader of prose literature, The Wife Between Us is the very first co-authored effort that I've ever perused over that full extent of time. And I am inclined to admit that I was originally-biased towards the co-composition, what prejudging that such a collaboration (in any literary work of fiction) couldn't possibly produce the same result as a traditional novel written by a single author. But I was wrong. It turned out to be a wonderful reading experience.
While I thought the story was taking too long to arrive at its point, I had to keep in mind that the script maneuvered around two individual visions. Nevertheless, they managed to keep me intrigued with the turning of each page. And for that, they deserve kudos. I stand corrected.

Overall, is The Wife Between Us a psychological thriller that I would avidly recommend to those innumerable pundits of the admirable and fabled subgenre? It most definitely is.

Five psychosis-affected stars.


REVIEWER’S NOTE: It is my kind pleasure to thank St. Martin's Press, as well as NetGalley, for the advanced review copy (ARC) of The Wife Between Us in exchange for my honest review.

Analysis of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is courtesy of Reviews by Cat Ellington

Date of Review: Monday, January 08, 2018

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

This is the first title Hendricks and Pekkanen authored together but the second one I have read.

Nellie is going through a divorce. Her husband has left her for a younger version. It's the typical story. Except maybe it isn't. Nellie has taken to following her husband's new fiance and trying to warn her off of him.

I really can't say much more about the book than that without dipping my toes into spoilers. Hendricks and Pekkanen like to play with your mind. They clearly enjoy a good mindfuck. (Which is the same word I used when discussing their second title, which I read first.) But after reading two of their books I see that their storylines, and maybe even characters to a certain extent, follow a formula and two books of their formula is enough for me. I don't feel a need to read more from them, I don't want to read more from them because it will be the same basic psychological mind games, same kind of characters, just a different way to deliver it. I've read Pekkanen before, her solo authored books, and have really liked them so I think I'll bid farewell to the writing duo of Hendricks and Pekkanen and return to reading books authored by just Pekkanen.