I was very impressed with The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. I could see a book club getting into a great discussion over it with all the ideas about ethics, cloning, feminism, and more. Or it can just be read for enjoyment as a fast paced thriller, and I really hope they turn The Echo Wife into a movie!

I can’t go into details because spoilers would start right away. It is one crazy thing after another, and Evelyn handles most of it pretty well. I would be a basket case if it happened to me… but I’m not a scientist with an analytical mind. Even with all the far out scenarios it never felt like a soap opera to me, and the science that is intertwined throughout the book is explained so well that I don’t think anyone would have problems understanding it.

So you may be wondering why I didn’t give this excellent book five stars… and there are two reasons, both of which happened more towards the end of the book.

The first is I found myself skimming because Evelyn kept going off on tangents about her feelings. This fit with the book, but I didn’t have empathy for her since she is such a cold, but excellently written character. I wanted to find out what was going to happen next and her emotions were dragging the story down. But other readers may really enjoy it.

The second, was a couple of scenarios that happened, and Gailey just had the character say, “I didn’t think of this, even though I should have.” To me it felt like a bit of a cop-out and that Gailey just didn’t have a strong way to fix it so just wanted to let it slide by. The rest of the story was so well written that this really stood out to me.

Those two little quirks shouldn’t stop you from reading The Echo Wife though, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

3.5 stars rounded up.
To compare this compact little novel to Westworld depends on what you're watching Westworld for- if it's for the time-bending mysteries, this is nothing like the show; if it's for the deeply complicated questions about personhood and the moral responsibilities of the people creating something akin to human life- then this is a book you'll enjoy.
There is an element of the thrill to this story, mostly when a horrifying bomb is dropped about 3/4 of the way, but mostly, it's a morally complicated look at creation and life. Are actual humans any different in the way they're conditioned to behave than the people we might create and shape in a laboratory? This story is less about the science of the clones, and more about human cruelty- almost as if Never Let Me Go was told from the point of view of the scientists rather than the students.
Intriguing, but dark.

Very well written story full of mystery and intrigue. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but I don't think that was the point. The point was to present a mystery in a new way and it totally fulfilled that promise.

I've never read anything by this author, so I wasn't quite sure to expect, but the summary intrigued me.

I enjoy mysteries, and this one was well thought out. There was a bit of a science fiction angle, and some twists I wasn't expecting. The pace was a bit slower than many of the thrillers or mysteries I've read in the past. The sci-fi component is not my typical read. I decided to try this to step outside my usual reads. There wasn't as much action as I would've liked, as a lot of time the reader is in Evelyn's head. I do wish there had been more explanation of the science, but it is what it is. Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Stepford Wives (the book), is one of my favourite short stories and The Echo Wife is its modern companion. This book does so much that I don't like (minimal characterization, outlandish situations, the most irrational murders), but it worked in this story and I loved all of it. I read this book without reading the summary, and it is the way I would recommend reading it, so I don't want to rehash the story.
This domestic/SFF thriller reignited my interest in domestic thrillers as a whole, and I did not anticipate the ending at all.
Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review.

Full disclosure: I don’t love thrillers. They generally hinge far too much on the pain, trauma, and violent death of women at the hands of men for the sake of entertainment. However, I love Sarah Gailey’s writing, so when I heard they were writing a science fiction novel with thriller meets Black Mirror energy, I had to take a chance… and I’m glad I did.

The Echo Wife read vastly different than Gailey’s other speculative work but delivers the same quality I’ve come to expect from them. It was a lightning fast read with strong and incredibly flawed protagonists. The plot brought up interesting, important questions about ethics and technology while providing the twists and turns one expects from a thriller. When you add in the subversion of common thriller tropes and thought-provoking examinations of identity and intergenerational trauma, this was a super solid read I’d highly recommend.

The Echo Wife is a science-fiction thriller/mystery, about a scientist and her clone, who her husband created to be a “better” version of his wife. Specifically, a more accommodating and submissive version. Evelyn Caldwell, the main character, is absolutely brilliant and has learned from her years in the scientific field that as a woman, she has to make sure she appears strong as possible since men will try to tear her down. She seems quite emotionless throughout the book, which did make it difficult for me to connect with her as a character, but her personality and her rigidness were perfect for the story. Martine, the clone, was very sweet and I loved seeing how she began to defy her “programming” to become her own person. The thriller/horror aspect became very apparent at the end of the book, which was incredibly shocking. The conclusion was a bit strange but I also thought it fit very well with the tone of the book thus far. 3.5/5 stars

This was great! I am a huge fan of Sarah Gailey and their writing, and this was no exception. Difficult women, irreparable mistakes and incredible science all come together in this gripping tale questioning the difference between ourselves and clones. I can’t wait to recommend this to many!

The Echo Wife is a sci-fi domestic thriller that will chill you to the bone in a similar way to Westworld or The Stepford Wives. Imagine a world where your spouse is unhappy with you for prioritizing your career so they clone you and begin having an affair with your clone. But don’t worry..the clone will soon call you for help covering up his murder. This story was unique and fun. It’s fast-paced with solid characters and an excellent concept executed well. If you typically enjoy domestic thrillers and science fiction, why not mix the two? Highly recommended!

Wow...this book was great, but quite intense and heavier than I think I expected it to be, though I probably should have anticipated that. It's a sci-fi thriller with some elements that edge closer to horror and an ending that I found to be quite chilling. While I don't want to spoil things in the main part of the review, I would encourage you to check the list of content warnings at the end if you think you might need them!

The Echo Wife is in many ways a book about cycles of pain and abuse in families, but also about gendered expectations, toxic masculinity, broken people, and questions of personhood. Evelyn has won awards for breakthroughs in the science of cloning. But her personal life has fallen to pieces because her husband has been having an affair. An affair with a clone of his wife, but one programmed to be docile and domestic and nice- all the things Evelyn herself will never be.

It's a wild premise and I don't want to say too much more about the plot, but this is a slow burn, psychological thriller, all told from Evelyn's perspective as things get more and more creepy and convoluted. It's deeply character driven and doesn't have wild twists so much as it has the progressive revelation of who these characters really are and why. Wow would this make an incredible film. It's one that I think is really going to stick with me. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings include: domestic violence, murder, physical harm to clones as part of the creation process, questionably ethical pregnancy, infidelity, depictions of blood, corpses and violence, misogyny, control of clone behavior through programming.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy. I'm a sucker for a catchy sci-fi concept. The title and cover initially caught my attention and then the synopsis really intrigued me. Evelyn is a brilliant scientist whose work has won numerous awards, but her husband cheated on her. But he didn't cheat with just any other woman... he made a CLONE of Evelyn and then had a whole second house. The marriage eroded because he wanted a family while she wanted to prioritise her career. Evelyn struggles with her memory of her abusive father and makes some links between that relationship and how he ex treated her poorly.

First, this book is an easy read. The prose flow and it's a straight-forward plot with some flashbacks. I found myself flying through it on my kindle. Most chapters were 7-10 minutes in length.

The pacing is decent, but the middle drags. The first 25% of this book just flew by and I was so engrossed with it. Then when it hit the 35% mark it lagged a lot. There was an exorbitant amount of science stuff that wasn't very interesting to me. The progression of the plot stalled while we learned a lot about cloning. Sure, it was important to the narrative, but I would have rather the author skipped three months and resumed the storyline. At the 80% mark it picked back up and I was enjoying it again, but that's a long time to slog through a book waiting for it to be good again.

Part of the issue I had with this book is that I wasn't rooting for any of the characters. Evelyn is self-aware and repeats she is selfish and a "hornet" (something her ex called her). Martine is Evelyn's clone who was programmed to be docile and compliant--she's less of a person and more of wish-fulfillment personified. Seyed is Evelyn's lab assistant. He has a short but vital role, but he wasn't fleshed out that much. I liked him well enough but he barely has much page time. Nathan (I think that her ex's name... it escapes me now) wants what he wants and doesn't care who he hurts in the process. While Evelyn does grow as a character, I wasn't very invested in her. Truth be told, I wonder if it would've been more interesting narrated from the POV of Martine.

The ending was fine. It was satisfying, but nothing really special.

Overall, the book was a fun, quick read. Would I recommend it? It depends. I think my problem was that I was so excited to read it that the actual book didn't come close to what I anticipated it would be like reading it.

This was really good.

As a whole, I’m not really big on clone books but this one is unusual and it works.

I mean…we do get the ethical questions about what makes someone human, but you get some extremely dark ethical questions as well – things that really turn this into a suspenseful thriller.

Fair warning: most of our characters are very broken people – but that’s part of the fun.

I seriously enjoyed this one. It was full of devious surprises!

*ARC provided via Net Galley

The concept of this book is really unique and is what intrigued me upon first seeing it and I was not let down by this thrill of a ride.

This story is told from the perspective of a successful scientist, Evelyn, and begins when Evelyn's ex-husband's fiancé (Martine) asks to meet for lunch to share her pregnancy news. That same day, Evelyn receives a call from Martine to help her take care of the ex-husband/fiance's dead body.

That is the least weird part of this book.

There were plenty of twists and turns, and I could not stop turning the pages to find out the next step in this crazy plan. I have had some trouble with getting to know Gailey's characters in previous novels, but thought the characters in this story were well-crafted and I wanted to see them learn and more beyond their current predicament. Overall, a fast-paced story with a satisfying conclusion.

I know I will probably get some hate for this one, but it just did not keep me interested and I couldn't wait to be done with it. There was way too much scientific detail explained to the point that it was over my head. If it had been more thrilling I would have loved it I think.

I have read a book by this author and I was in LOVE! I don’t read too much sci-fi or fantasy books since they are not books I gravitate to, but Sarah does not disappoint yet again. This book was so different, I even told my husband about it, lol.

Evelyn is a well respected biologist, who creates clones, or many forms, but only for temporary use. She is a no nonsense type of woman, she plays no GAMES, she’s very ambitious, married to a man named Nathan, she has this amazing budding career, but one thing is missing, Nathan wants kids, and she does not. This relationship crashed and burned right before our eyes.

Nathans betrayal and the people who played a part in this betrayal shocked the living crap out of me. It’s like his secrets kept coming out more and more, the more Evelyn thought about it and saw where she went wrong the more she discovers. Martina comes into the picture, and this is the woman who her husband left her for, but this is the thing, she is Evelyns clone.

This book gave me major Stepford Wives vibes, the reasons why Nathan did what he did, and why!!! Totally selfish on his part which the movie and book The Stepford Wives was all based on if you read or saw the movie, , his murder which was crazy, and what Martine and Evelyn discovered after, they did what they did, it was so much, my own husband was shocked on how this book was not 800 plages long, lol.

We also find out secrets about Evelyn, and her upbringing, which was so sad. The ending fell short for me, I wish we got more, other than that, I would recommend this book for sure. Thanks Netgalley, and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is a great blend of domestic drama and sci-fi (of which I'm not normally a fan). I loved how the characters adapted to new situations, especially when biology was against them.

My only issue was with the ending. There were several little details that were never explored or explained. It seemed like the rest of the book took so long, yet the dust was all swept up in a tidy little pile in the final chapters.

Evelyn Caldwell's cloning research has earned her success and fame within her field, enough to comfort her when she discovers her husband, Nathan, and the woman he leaves Evelyn for. Martine isn't just the other woman- she's Evelyn's clone, and she's pregnant. A violent confrontation becomes murder, forcing Evelyn and Martine into a close relationship built on shared secrets. Already one of my favorite books of 2021, The Echo Wife is suspenseful and tense, filled with betrayals great and small. Recommended for fans of Ira Levin's stories and anyone else who likes stories that linger after you've finished, drawing you to return again and again.

It is no secret that I have adored Sarah Gailey’s writing ever since I picked up a copy of Magic for Liars at Bookcon in New York in 2019. Since then, all of their novels and novellas have been very highly rated reads for me and The Echo Wife is no exception.

Out in February 2021, this is the story of Evelyn Caldwell, a scientist working on cloning technology and her clone Martine, whom her husband is having an affair with. Inconveniently, said husband has had an unfortunate run in with a knife… But never fear, Evelyn invented cloning, after all! Together, the women come up with a plan to ensure no one has to know about this unfortunate incident. In the process, they discover more about themselves, their lives and their shared husband than they bargained for.

Taking a simple concept, Gailey manages to masterfully turn it into an emotionally charged story full of considerations about one’s role in life and the meaning of life more generally. The Echo Wife took me apart and broke my heart several times over and I devoured it like the masochist I am. I couldn’t put the story down.

Evelyn and Martine, clones, are utterly different people, but both fully fleshed out with their wants and desires, flaws and all. Together, they grew and challenged each other to reconsider their firmly held beliefs about life. While marriage theoretically stands at the centre of The Echo Wife, it is empathically not a love story. It is far closer to the autopsy of a marriage long dead, trying to establish the time and cause of death. The relationship between Evelyn and Martine becomes the crucial turning point of The Echo Wife, the axis on which the book revolves. From meeting as estranged rivals to partners in crime to something like a strange sisterhood, the two women’s lives become irreversibly intertwined. Moral questions abound, as do philosophical considerations.

Nevertheless, The Echo Wife isn’t a slow-burning literary novel. At a relatively short 250 pages, Gailey’s newest packs a punch. Tension is kept high throughout and revelations hit hard. It is not the most speculative of Science Fiction works, and the speculative elements are more window dressing than anything else – the central themes of The Echo Wife are what it means to be human, and why one chooses to live the way one does. It is a brilliant book and I highly recommend it – one of the easiest five-star ratings I’ve given all year. But beware, The Echo Wife is a book that emotionally destroys you.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into The Echo Wife, and even after having finished it, I’m not quite sure what to think. All I know is it was utterly impossible to put down and it does some amazing examinations of ethics of cloning and what makes a person, a person.

I feel like there is no way to really review this book without giving it away, and this feels like a book best gone into with few expectations. The relationship that develops between Evelyn and Martine after the death of Nathan is so complex. And Evelyn as a narrator is such a messy character. There really is no way to describe her as good, but she is good at what she does and driven to succeed at her goals.

The Echo Wife is a truly fascinating story that really makes you think about what goes into the process of cloning and the “what if” of clones of people as a way to have body doubles, and the ethics of that kind of course of action. I feel like this is a book I will think about for a while, and definitely recommend to folks who like twisty, thinky sci-fi thriller type stories.