The Wife Upstairs is told by the perspectives of Jane, Bea and Eddie. Freshly moved to Birmingham, Alabama, when you first meet Jane she is a broke dog walker, walking the dogs of the über rich clientele of a neighborhood named Thornfield Estates. Within the first few pages, you are told Jane is sneaky. I wanted to know what she was plotting, and why she was lying to everyone she worked for. When she meets freshly widowed Eddie, she is instantly intrigued by him, and he honestly was by her as well. Jane sees the opportunity in Eddie — he’s handsome, and very rich. But can she measure up to his presumed dead wife, Bea?

I love a rag to riches story, but what I love more is a messy, I’m plotting to take your riches story. Jane was secretive, insecure and an opportunist. She couldn’t stand most of her pretentious rich clients, and honestly, I don’t blame her. Jane’s inner dialogue was amusing, and I felt like you got a better sense of some of the housewives told by her observing them. Eddie to me, seemed too good to be true. Something about him was very calculating, and I didn’t particularly care for him. All of the characters had something to hide, but I was most surprised with Bea’s perspective.

The wives who lived in the community were very snooty, and I was right along with Jane with her assessment of some of them. I actually was rooting for Jane to steal from some of them for her mistreatment lol. They just weren’t likeable at all. This was an easy read for me. The chapters were short, and kept me immersed in the story. I felt like I was a neighbor watching all the drama unfold. I loved the Southern charm, sass, petty women and gossip. I love getting a peak into the lives of insanely rich people, and this book gave me Desperate Housewives vibes. This was a domestic thriller at its core with twists, turns and suspense. I was throughly entertained by the crazy journey this one took me on.

Just finished this up. It’s a basic thriller where you can trust no one. Nothing too shocking or hard hitting. But it was entertaining enough.

Another Rachel Hawkins book. I've enjoyed them all. This one with a nice domestic drama twist thriller. Good stuff.

The Wife Upstairs was a quick mystery thriller. Jane was always running from her past and thought she had finally found someone who loved her and could provide for her. Eddie was hiding secrets Jane needed to know. Was it all a game? Or was the love real?

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a sharp, modern take on Jane Eyre, blending Southern gothic vibes with a fast-paced domestic thriller. Set in an upscale Alabama neighborhood, the story follows Jane, a broke dog-walker with a mysterious past, who becomes entangled with the wealthy—and equally secretive—widower, Eddie Rochester. But behind the perfect façade lies a web of lies, secrets, and a missing wife who may not be gone for good.

Hawkins delivers razor-sharp writing, layered characters, and a plot packed with juicy twists that keep you guessing until the final page. Jane is a perfectly flawed anti-heroine, and the tension between wealth, deception, and survival makes this a true page-turner.

5 stars — a dark, witty, and compulsively readable thriller. Perfect for fans of domestic suspense with strong female leads and clever literary nods.

Has me thinking maybe I should actually read Jane eyre. The guy is insufferable but I didn’t love Jane either tbh.

Quick and easy thriller, kept me entertained throughout the entire novel.
Rachel Hawkins always deliver and this was a great modern retelling of the Jane Eyre classic.

With echoes of "Jane Eyre", the title of this novel enticed me to read it. And indeed, this is 'Fan Fiction' with character names and parts of the plot loosely based upon my favourite classic novel.

However... this is touted as a 'modern' rendition. By modern, they have taken the action to an affluent suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Then, peopled the novel with 'yummy mummy's' and entitled, wealthy couples. Also, I have to add, that though over the past few years I have become quite impervious to the F-bomb, I thought this novel carried it too far by adding the word into the vernacular such that most pages contained the word at least once...

'Jane' is an orphan that grew up in various foster homes. Now an adult, she seeks to better herself - she is a 'wanna be'. She travels over thirty minutes every day in her old clapper of a car, to walk the dogs of the prestigious suburban enclave of Thornfield Estates. It is via her dog-walking gig that she meets Eddie Rochester, a recent widower, whose wife Bea drowned in a boating accident, along with her best friend, Blanche - who also lived in Thornfield Estates.

Their attraction is immediate and after some time, Jane ends up living in Eddie's McMansion feeling that all of her dreams have come true. However, this is a prime example of 'be careful what you wish for'. In Thornfield Estates everything is about appearances. Everyone is striving for the perfect look, in their homes, their lives, and their relationships. Nothing could be further from the truth as the affluent neighbourhood is riddled with dark secrets and vacuous personalities who are privileged and entitled.

Despite some dark themes of confinement, betrayal, manipulation, and toxic relationships, this domestic thriller was an easy read. I found that I did not care for any of the characters, not even Jane who was a self-serving (slightly kleptomaniac) young woman who held some dark secrets of her own.

Mainly told from the viewpoints of Jane and Bea, this novel did contain a few plot twists, though it completely lacked the gothic factor of the original and lacked any form of character development.

Somewhat entertaining, this novel just didn't resonate with me the way I thought it would.

2.5 stars rounded up

When I read a book is a "modern take on" a classic book (Jane Eyre in this case) I know going in that I'm either going to love it or hate it. Imagine my surprise when I found myself solidly in the middle.

Quite a few twists and turns, some I was even surprised by. There's a fairly likeable main character, a sexy widow that Jane just happens to "run into"...have I mentioned the wife died in a mysterious manner, and secrets galore.

The book was well written and quite suspenseful...but somehow I feel like I read it all before.

I received this book complimentary from
NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I read Jane Eyre years and years ago. This is similar but in a very unlikeable way. The main lead, Jane is just not likeable at all. There are no redeeming qualities that make up for the “petty” theft (I say petty but she stole expensive stuff!!) and constant lying. I just felt like Jane should own herself. Own that you live in a shitty area and whatever. Instead, she dupes Eddie who is also irredeemable. And the ending “twist” I just kinda felt Jane deserved as terrible as that is to say.

Whew! This was a wild romp! This modern day Southern gothic thriller is definitely a twist on Jane Eyre with a bit of Wuthering Heights and even Rebecca thrown in for good measure. I found this an engaging fast read that kept me turning pages to see what was next. Very entertaining! I've read several Rachel Hawkins books recently and have quite enjoyed them all. I'll be looking for more titles. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Late to the game on this one, but it did not disappoint. When Jane sets her sights on moving social classes, Eddie is the perfect target. Who cares that his wife and her best friend mysteriously disappeared less than a year ago? When Jane starts asking questions, she finds her life in danger. Is Eddie everything he says he is? Thoroughly enjoyable read with twists and turns at the end. Rachel Hawkins is still a favorite!

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

Jane moved to a new city to escape her past. She was raised in foster care, and didn’t have an easy life. Picking up spare jobs, she falls into dog walking in an expensive neighborhood. On one of her walks, she meets a man who is dealing with his own past, and they quickly connect. In their whirlwind relationship, she even moves in after a few weeks, which is followed by a proposal.

Her new fiancé seems perfect - however, he is still dealing with the grief of his wife who has been missing ever since a weekend away with her best friend. When the best friend’s body is found months later, things start to unravel.

I really enjoyed this book!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Finally getting to this backlist thriller! Jane Eyre is one of my favorite classics, so when I heard there was a retelling coming out, I just had to read it. I really enjoyed this read. It kept my interest throughout and I wanted to find out what happens in the end. All the characters were extremely unlikeable, and I didn't really care about them, but I still wanted to know what happened. The audiobook was so enjoyable with the different narrators. Definitely helped keep my interest.

*Thank you @stmartinspress and @librofm for the #gifted egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I think I would have liked it more if I hadn't guessed the plot twist, which I feel was more obvious because I'm so familiar with the story of Jane Eyre. The direction of the plot made sense (I guess) and it was relatively short, but I think I would have liked it better if the obvious solution would've been the truth. Overall, not the worst retelling I've read but nowhere near the best. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

3.5 rounding up to 4. I’ve read so many thrillers at this point that it was pretty easy to figure out what was really going on. Regardless, this book kept me entertained and reading until I finished it very quickly. Liked but didn’t love, would recommend to some but not all.

Enjoyable but rather unforgettable! I’d be interested in reading more by this author, as I enjoyed her writing & storytelling enough.

The Wife Upstairs is my first Rachel Hawkins book, but it won't be my last. The story immediately pulled me in and had me coming up with my own theories about each character. I really enjoyed each twist and turn of this one and eventually coming up to the big reveal.

I was provided an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.