I really enjoyed The Other Wife by Claire McGowan. It's a taut, well written, well paced psychological thriller. In Part One of the novel, we meet three women: Nora, Suzi, and Elle. Each chapter alternates between the three points of view. Nora is a 42-year old widow moving into a rather run-down cottage in the middle of nowhere (outside London). She's an unhappy, mysterious character who's motives with the move won't come clear for many chapters. Next is Suzi, a pretty young, pregnant wife a good bit younger than Nora and her only neighbor for miles and miles. Suzi is married to an insanely controlling man (Nick) and is desperately unhappy about both her marriage and their move to the country where she has no job, no friends, and is trapped in her home playing wifey. Suzi is also in love with another man, someone who is married and may be the father of her unborn child, but the man has suddenly ghosted her. Finally, we meet Elle. Elle used to be a concert pianist but is now a full-time wife, married to a doctor. She seems to be a bit neurotic and as we meet her, she's going crazy waiting for her husband to come home, frantic that he's late. Nora and Suzi meet early on, but as a reader, you're not sure how Elle is going to fit into the story. And so it begins.

This is the second of McGowan's books that I have read, and I will be a faithful follower from here on. She is a skilled storyteller, and I thoroughly enjoyed both novels. The Other Wife is a complex, dark tale of deceit and vengeance, and I loved the way McGowan brought everything together in the final chapters. A very satisfying ending.

My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer/Amazon for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting novel but one that could have, imo, greatly benefit from being shorter.
The way the chapters are, one in each of the character's POV, the story goes slowly unfolding, but it gets to a point when it is a bit too slowly.
It's more a character study than a thriller; you start to understand what is happening as you start to get into their minds and understand their motivations.
No one is really likeable here but the author does a good job of making the reader care for them, nonetheless.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A brilliant book following the lives of pregnant Suzi, Elle and Nora. Lots of twists and turns that start with Nora moving to the countryside that sets off a chain of events. Each chapter written from the perspective of Suzi, Elle or Nora, this book is very easy to read and switches between the characters effortlessly to keep the story moving. Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

Suzi has moved to the countryside with her husband Nick in order to repair their marriage. She is pregnant and the moved to an isolated farmhouse might be what they need to make things right between them. They even get a dog. From Nick's perspective Suzi has alot to make up for.

Suzi and Nick have a new neighbour Nora who, due to proximity, they are bound to be courteous to. There are no other close neighbours. It's clear from the outset Nora is not what she seems, though it takes some time for her agenda to be disclosed. Suzi is looking for a confidante. She feels alone, and we soon see Nick's continual gaslighting and methods of coercive control, his rationale being that Suzi has cheated on him (twice).

The Other Wife is told from multiple, and at times, confusing amounts of people's points of view across different time periods. For me, it tended to deflect from the story for me, rather than add to it. There seemed to be so many players and so many moving parts, making some of the plot twists fall short. The story did not evolve for me, it felt forced and somewhat chaotic.

I have had the pleasure of reading alot of thrillers lately and it's possible my view of this book was influenced by my high opinions of those. I could not rate this highly in comparison unfortunately. I also did not draw Suzi close, although she was very much the victim in this book and I applaud Clare McGowan for addressing the issue of coercive control in this book.

Thank you to Clare McGowan, Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.. This is published 24 October 2019.

The Other Wife by Claire McGowan
Thanks @netgalley @evawoodsakaclairemcgowan and @amazonpublishing for my arc
Publication date 24th October
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‘She’s a total stranger. But she knows who you are’.
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Suzi did a bad thing. She’s paying for it now. She feels trapped in her cottage, in the middle of nowhere with only her jealous and controlling husband for company. Then Nora moves in next door and Suzi is delighted to have a new friend. But there’s more to Nora than meets the eye. Does she know what Suzi did?
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This is definitely up there with one of the best books I’ve read this year. A dark tale of deceit and vengeance, well written characters that although had some horrible traits, were likeable in their own ways and I felt really invested in what happened to them. An absolute nail biter of a story, kept me on edge the whole way. Highly recommended xx

I found this to be a very slow story and almost gave up on it. I did finish it but thought it was quite far fetched. An OK read but not one that I would enthusiastically recommend

This was an okay domestic thriller. The story just felt kind of flat and boring. At times I thought it would pick up in pace but I was just bored with the storyline. Took me a while to finish. Had promise but really just wasn’t there for me. Would not recommend. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

It REALLY took me a while to get into this book, I almost gave up on it. I just kept being like WHAT IS GOING ON. The introduction of new characters, the characters each referring to their ‘you’ it all felt very confusing. I’m glad I persevered because I did end up enjoying it. I read from 50% to the end in one sitting. (Stayed up till 2am too) I found I guessed A LOT of what was going to happen, however the ending seemed nicer than I originally thought. All rather far fetched, but also very familiar at the same time. I’ve had my go at toxic controlling relationships in my time!

My thanks to #netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me to read the arc of The Other Wife by Claire McGowan. This is a very suspenseful domestic thriller. It has lies, Murder, deceit. For me, this book started out slowly but gained speed the further I read. All in all I thought it was a good book and I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC.
Suzy, pregnant and scared, has moved to the country with her husband Nick. She's heartbroken because the man she was having an affair with has suddenly disappeared after she told him she's expecting a baby. Nick is very controlling and she's lonely, depending on him for everything because their cottage is far from anywhere. When she finds out her lover has died, she is inconsolable and her husband becomes even more impossible to live with. In the meanwhile a woman has moved into the cottage next to them and Suzy hopes that she'll have a friend to confide in. Little does she realize her life will become even more nightmarish; this woman wants vengeance!
The story is told from the viewpoint of both women and as the stories continue I found it more and more difficult to put the book down. It's a nailbiter!
None of the characters are likeable, (except for Poppet, the poor dog), but that didn't matter because the story was so good. The ending is terrific and quite satisfying. Recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Other Wife.

The Other Wife is a stereotypical domestic thriller filled with adultering, secrets, family drama and unreliable narrators.

Nora, recently widowed, has moved into a cottage near an expectant mother-to-be, Suzie.

Suzie is under siege. She is carrying the baby of an old lover, and trapped in an isolated house with a manipulative husband, Nick, who monitors and watches her every move.

Nora has secrets. Suzie has secrets. And Nick is your typical douche bag.

There is decent character development but its difficult to like anyone, especially Suzie, who sounds and acts like a wishy- washy twit.

I'm still not sure why she married Nick, even though she mentions how they met and their wedding.

Nora is a dark horse. At first, she sounded like your typical scorned woman, out for revenge.

But, something changes when she probes into the death of her husband. As her investigation reveals many twists and turns (most which I guessed), her target for revenge shifts and her demeanor toward Suzie is irrevocably altered.

What began as a domestic thriller ends as a revenge tale, and I love revenge stories.

Fabulous premise for a domestic thriller teeming with all those glorious tropes of greed, infidelity, ghosting, gaslighting, imprisonment, revenge, and a nod to the classic 'dead bunny'! It was an excellent story but my enjoyment was tempered at times. The story was constructed in such a way that the foreshadowing was elongated to the point that the denouement for each part fizzled rather than a 'Oh crap! I dropped my Kindle!' moment. The Suzi/Nora/Elle storyline folded neatly together rather quickly. Although still a worthy read, with a pared-down narrative, this novel would have been an exceptional heart-stopper! 3.5-4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher , and Claire McGowan for an ARC of 'The Other Wife' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Suzi and Nora are new neighbors and Suzi is so glad to finally have someone close by to talk to. She’s pregnant and her husband is a jealous control freak. Of course, Suzi isn’t perfect either, she’s done some things she’s not proud of, and now that she has a new friend, she’s tempted to confide in her. And that could be a deadly mistake. Then there’s Elle, living a perfect life, at least on the surface. The truth is that her husband has cheated on her, but she’s worked hard to have the perfect life and doesn’t plan on giving it up, no matter what she has to do, no matter who she has to hurt.

I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this one because this kind of domestic thriller is exactly my thing. But the writing and the pacing could not suck me in, entertain me, or distract me. And that is exactly what I’m looking for in a domestic thriller. Barely enjoyable

A Brilliant Winner! One of the best books I have read this year!

Along with the main characters - Elle, Nora and Suzi is a plot designed to dazzle!

Nick, Suzi's controlling husband, has her basically imprisoned (and pregnant) in their home in the country. A neighbor, Nora, moves in and befriends Suzi. This is when the action really begins!

We see three personalities and their drive to get what they want - not to mention what they've already had!

HIGHLY recommend! Well developed characters, lots of plot action, suspense, and plenty of drama.

Many Thanks to Amazon Publishers, UK and NetGalley for a superb read!

The Other Wife is incredible! Following Suzi, Nora and Elle with each chapter starting from their points of view it can be a little difficult to begin but once I’d learnt a little about each character and their stories I was hooked! There’s a few twists but the one at 75% through absolutely blew my mind! Wow, what a plot!
You have to pick this up, the suspense is ever building and it’s one hell of a great story,
5/5