This story is so twisted and dark, by the end I was strongly reminded of setting down <i>Gone Girl</i> and thinking about how all these characters kind of deserve one another, and foreseeing the inevitable implosion of the fragile status quo. I also got Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstein</i> vibes because of the egocentric creators who don't recognize the humanity of their own creations (even when those creations are somehow more human than the doctors).

Just like with <i>Magic for Liars</i>, I can't deny Gailey's artistry while grappling with the intense discomfort their characters' moral darkness inspires. This is more a thriller with science fiction themes than a straightforward sci-fi story.

Received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. Great writing and kept me hooked til the end. I sometimes have a hard time getting into books but no issues with this one!

Just after receiving a prestigious prize for her work on cloning, Evelyn learns that her ex-husband, Nathan's, new wife, Martine, is pregnant. While this would be upsetting for many, Evelyn's particularly angry because Martine shouldn't be able to get pregnant, as she's a clone. One that Evelyn's ex made and based on Evelyn (but without the "disagreeable" parts, of course). But when Martine accidentally kills Nathan during an argument, Evelyn grudgingly gets involved in helping Martine cover up the murder, risking her career in the process.

Clone novels always introduce an element of ethical debate, and The Echo Wife is no different. What makes this one stand out, however, is the multiple layers of ethics up for debate. Are clones people or tools? Can a woman who was programmed to want a child and be subservient to her husband really make an autonomous decision to have the child? Can a clone be blamed for the crimes of its source human? Gailey is an angry person, and in this book, their anger crystallizes into a wonderfully told, taut drama solidly based in science fiction. This will make a wonderful book group title.

Sarah Gailey is a treasure and the future of fiction. This book was very different than their previous books, but what was the same was the compelling and believable characters. I enjoyed working through the mental gymnastics of what it would mean to incorporate clones into our lives.

Evelyn Caldwell is a world-class researcher with questionable ethics. And her very own clone happens to be having an affair with her husband.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The premise drew me in immediately, but I didn't leave feeling totally satisfied. First, the whole theme of genetics and cloning had so much potential, but I felt that the author barely scratched the surface. I know it's sci-fi, but I think if Gailey dug deeper into the real-world research and ethics, and folded that into the storytelling, it would've felt more believable, more chilling, and more dynamic. Second, I had trouble connecting with the main character, Evelyn, and that makes any book a tough sell. I found her cold, entitled, and a bit simplistic given that she's a brilliant scientist (I love a good antihero, but the point of the antihero is that you're still rooting for them despite their flaws).

Overall this was a satisfying read full of plot twists and surprises, but there were a couple things that held it back from being great.

I loved River of Teeth and expected to adore this just as much - unfortunately I think it was a case of wrong book at the wrong time for me. I will revisit the finished copy I bought for the library some time in the future.

Evelyn is a renowned, award-winning scientist famous for her human cloning work. When we begin the story, she’s just won a prestigious award, and her husband has recently left her for a woman he secretly cloned of her, using her own research.

Martine, the cloned woman, reaches out to Evelyn to try to establish a relationship and to share some news. It would seem that Nathan has programmed her to be more to his tastes than the original Evelyn, and she is in for quite a surprise with how she and Martine will soon become entwined in each others’ lives.

I typically don't seek out sci-fi, but this was a good read, and I thought the premise was unique and strong— though there is one plot hole that is still bothering me about Martine's backyard. Anyway, while the characters certainly weren’t conventionally likable, it was enjoyable to watch the development and strength grow in both Evelyn and Martine through the novel. While I read it quickly and it captured my attention, I felt the story was a bit cold in tone and could have drawn the reader in further.

I got an ARC of this book.

So I am a huge Gailey fan. I have read most of what they have gotten published. I have laughed so hard I have cried over their snail issues and had strong feelings about noodles with them. I knew that I needed to read this book, didn’t even read a single word of the description. When the clone was revealed I was floored, but honestly that is in the description so I am probably alone in that feeling.

The book itself reads very quickly, like a lot of Gailey’s works. The big difference is this did not feel like a Gailey book. There are some authors that you read them and there is just this incredibly distinct style where if you are given a paragraph or two you can tell exactly which author wrote it. Gailey has been that sort of author for me, but then this book appeared. This is very different than their other books to the point it felt like a totally new author. I also loved this author, but it was wild to see just how different this was from anything else Gailey has written.

This was a wild ride, but also felt incredibly controlled. I loved the MC, not because she was a good person, but because she was so consistently her. She felt complex and difficult. She sounded both terrible and awesome. I loved that there really wasn’t a character that was super flat, except maybe Nathan. Even Martine, the clone, was complex. Some of Martine’s complexity was clone stuff, but some of it was the way that Evelyn saw her or didn’t see her.

Every time I though the big drama had been had, there was another little hiccup. Some of the hiccups were moral, some were murder. I was afraid that the ending would reveal that Evelyn really was the clone the whole time, but thankfully Gailey managed to avoid that trap that so many thriller books have that are really obnoxious. The ending hurt my heart and soul in this really wonderful way. I was very impressed every step of the way with this book, but the ending alone was five stars.

I really recommend this book. It is complex and seemingly gentle book that really is a lot at once.

The premise alone for The Echo Wife was enough for me to instantly become interested in Sarah Gailey's work, and after reading it, that desire has only grown. The twists, while sometimes foreseeable, were still engaging and so well written that I remained on the edge of my seat and devoured this book in one sitting.

Evelyn is an intelligent and driven scientist. Martine is a clone of Evelyn, made from Evelyn’s research. Evelyn didn’t clone herself though. Nathan, Evelyn’s husband, cloned her in secret to make a more docile version of Evelyn. Nathan is having an affair with Martine, until he ends up dead. Now, Evelyn and Martine have a complicated mess to clean up.

A character driven novel that combines drama, mystery, and science fiction. The existence of Martine is troubling for Evelyn, in both her personal and professional lives. This novel tackles some ethical questions that could make for interesting discussions.

Enjoyable book, but it didn’t fully draw me in. I don’t mind the unlikable characters, but there were plots holes that took away from the story for me. Recommended for fans The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine you find out your husband is cheating on you... with your clone 😳

You'd be confused. And mad. And confused about why you're mad! Because ok, but is that really cheating? Isn't he still TECHNICALLY "with me" - y'all, it would all just be so infuriating!

Welcome to this book 😂

Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

Really not the genre that I normally read but I couldn’t stop reading this book. The concept was so original and I was gasping at how crazing the concept is but how it could totally happen.

The science part threw me a little bit and I admit when they were in the lab that’s when I skimmed because I was waiting for something to happen and I didn’t want to lose focus.

Excellent, ambiguous thriller, with some unexpected psychological horror. Full review at the Ancillary Review of Books.

The basic premise of The Echo Wife is quite good. Evelyn Caldwell is an award winning scientist, her work with cloning is second to none. Unfortunately, her awards comes with a cost – namely, her marriage to Nathan. When Evelyn suspects Nathan of being unfaithful, she hires a private investigator to discover the truth. The truth is something Evelyn never would have expected; Nathan is indeed having an affair and the other woman is an exact duplicate of Evelyn herself.

For such a promising premise and such an intriguing cover, sadly The Echo Wife does not deliver. On more than one occasion I contemplated actually not finishing this book and writing a short review saying just that. However, because I was curious as to how it would end I continued to read and did finish the book.

For me, the majority of the problems I saw with The Echo Wife come from the main character herself. The story is told from Evelyn’s point of view with all her internal thoughts and feelings. And she is a mess. She is almost always upset by something, either from something someone did (as when Martine tidied up Evelyn’s townhouse) or from something someone did not do (such as her co-workers not noticing she was upset despite her keeping her feelings to herself). Evelyn comes across as self-righteous and overly emotional and that became tiring after a while.

Overall, while I did enjoy reading The Echo Wife it was also a struggle. Would I recommend it to my readers? Yes, provided they take my advice and take everything in the book with a healthy grain of salt.

What a unique book! Evelyn Caldwell is an award winning scientist that specializes in cloning. She can actually clone an adult human, that will look, act and even believe they are the person they are cloned from. Mainly these clones are used for politicians who are in danger of being killed, so they would send the clone in. Evelyn's obsessive work has made her marriage suffer and her husband, who is also a scientist has used her work to clone Evelyn and have himself a new wife, Martine. Nathan ends up dead and both Evelyn and Martine, have to clean up the mess and fix things while in the process discover things about themselves.
Evelyn could be harsh and mean at times but you xome to learn why that is in time. I had a hard time connecting with her. But there were a few time I did feel bad for her.
Martine on the other hand made me feel so much empathy for her situation. She was programmed to be the perfect wife that Nathan wanted but there is more to life than that. I loved watching her grow into more of who she wanted to become.

Evelyn is a brilliant scientist involved in cutting edge research. Her focus is on cloning and she has been quite successful. Evelyn is a workaholic and dedicated, but her personal life is another story. Her husband, Nathan, also a scientist, has grown tired of sharing his wife with her job and has left her for another woman. That’s when Evelyn discovers that her husband, using Evelyn’s research, has made a clone of his wife. Martine is everything that Evelyn isn’t. She’s gentler and much nicer, and she is the wife that Nathan had always hoped for. But, when Martine does something that he hasn’t anticipated, he attacks her. In the struggle Marine kills Nathan and then frantically calls Evelyn. The rest of the story is concerned with how the two women deal with Nathan’s death.

The Echo Wife has such an interesting and unique storyline. It’s a light thriller with sci-fi as well. Although who knows just how much is imagination or a glimpse into the future. Many ethical and moral questions are raised and, for many readers, the decisions that are made might be disturbing. There is also a fair amount of scientific explanations and descriptions which, again, might not be appealing to everyone.

For the most part I enjoyed The Echo Wife, although I didn’t find any of the characters very appealing. The story is told from Evelyn’s point of view and I found her to be very unlikable. Although I can understand why the author chose to give Evelyn this personality, I think it diminished the story a great deal for me. She simply displayed too many unappealing qualities, which made her very unsettling.

Nevertheless, the book is well-written and clever, with a plot that is well-drawn. I fear it just wasn’t quite the book for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

3 STARS

Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.

And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.

Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up. Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

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THE ECHO WIFE is a story right out of Black Mirror. The kind of story that leaves you feeling unsettled and with more questions than answers...

As an avid fan of science fiction and juicy thrillers, the plot of THE ECHO WIFE sounded exactly like my cup of tea. Unfortunately it left me feeling a bit underwhelmed and I kept on waiting for a big reveal (which never really came to fruition.)

All in all, ECHO WIFE is a stark reminder that "just because we can, doesn't mean we should." Yes, there were definitely some nail biting parts - and some really great twists - but it felt more like an exploration of the human condition..and the moral dilemma of modern technology.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC!

Ouch. This one hurted.
Sarah Gailey never fails to look inside my soul and see the broken, jaggedy edges of my hurt and then reach inside and drag it out. I love it.

The Echo Wife is a look at the ethics and complications of cloning, layered with the cycle of abuse and with some good old-fashioned complex human relationships thrown in for good measure. The characters are people you WANT to root for, but they are just so messy that it's hard to want them to win some times (which is honestly just the greatest reading experience in my opinion). This would be a fantastic book club book because there are so many angles to come at the story and so many layers to discuss and I can see it being very divisive. Months later, I'm still thinking about this one. Sarah Gailey is still my favorite and I am eagerly anticipating anything that comes next from them!

The Echo Wife lives up to its eerie premise and is able to interrogate deep issues of identity, marriage and parenthood as a result.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with a free copy of Sarah Gailey’s novel, The Echo Wife, in exchange for an honest review.

Evelyn, a scientist who is a pioneer in the field of cloning, is married to her job. Her dedication and singular focus is so fierce, that she is blindsided when her husband, Nathan, asks for a divorce. Soon after they begin to live separate lives, Evelyn discovers that Nathan, a fellow, albeit somewhat lazy scientist, has been stealing Evelyn’s work for very personal reasons. Nathan has created, Martine, a clone of Evelyn.

Even more shocking, Martine is pregnant, giving Nathan the one thing that Evelyn denied him; a baby. Theoretically, Martine’s pregnancy should be impossible and morally, it is dubious, as Nathan programed Martine to both be compliant and to have strong desires for a baby. Should a clone have the same rights as humans, and if so, does this pregnancy violate Martine’s rights?

The existence of Martine threatens to damage Evelyn’s credibility and research funding. The threat level is dramatically increased when Martine calls Evelyn in desperation, asking for help that only Evelyn can provide. When Evelyn and Martine connect, they begin to unravel the depth of Nathan’s deceit and Evelyn begins to question what it means to be human.

I throughly enjoyed The Echo Wife. Admittedly, early on, I thought, “Oh, I know where this story is going,” but I couldn't have been more wrong. It’s surprising and fresh. Set in the near future, the plot has shades of West World, Black Mirror, The Stepford Wives, Frankenstein, and Ex Machina.

The story is sharp and fast-paced like a thriller, yet it is dotted with questions that make you consider what it means to be human or what is the morality of creating a life? Is a clone life the same as human life and do clones have agency? Should they have agency? When Evelyn is confronted with interacting with a clone in a real world setting, she has difficulty in seeing her life’s work as just science experiments. She is surprised by how Martine interacts with the world, sometimes against her programing.

Gailey’s characters are engaging, especially Evelyn, as The Echo Wife is told from her first-person perspective. Gailey does an excellent job at scene setting, in particular the laboratory scenes where she is describing the process of creating a clone. Several scenes in The Echo Wife are quite graphic and hard to stomach, but they are not gratuitous. They serve to build the greater story and play into the theme of humanity.

I was also surprised to discover that The Echo Wife is a kick-ass feminist story. Evelyn and Martine are strong women. Martine was created to be a sweet, “Stepford Wife” for Nathan, but that is certainly not where she views her destiny. Evelyn, as strong as she is in many ways, also admits a prior weakness for Nathan and a jealousy towards Martine. The arc of the story sees her handling these emotions and learning what it means to be both a better scientist and a better person.

I can’t praise The Echo Wife enough. Gailey is a “new to me” author and I look forward to reading her other books!