This is a deliciously delightful, deceitful and deceptive book not to be missed! The blurb says this is Jane Eyre reimagined, but if you have no interest in a classic gothic romantic mystery - do not fear. This is a complex, layered psychological novel with a similar storyline and character names. Jane, a product of foster homes and a system that failed her is on the move and reinvents herself in a southern suburb as a coffee shop server and dog walker. There was recently a tragedy in town with the drowning deaths of two rich best friends. Blanche and Bea are presumed dead in a boating accident. Their husbands mourn them and now Jane walks both their dogs. Jane and Bea’s husband, Eddie Rochester begin flirting and we are wary of them both. I loved Jane and respected her choices knowing they were limited and she really does have feelings for Eddie. Eddie lived in the shadow of Bea, who was the success story of the south and ran a self made empire. Jane is a fresh of breath air to Eddie, both entering a relationship with baggage, secrets and motives. Oh, and are the women really missing and dead? This is a fun read with lots of unexpected twists and I loved every word until the epilogue which was flat. I’m giving this 5 stars and tearing out the epilogue pages.

Reader, Rachel Hawkins has done it again! Not only is this book a great retelling of a classic but it’s also thrilling and filled with that familiar hilarity that only Hawkins can write. The Wife Upstairs is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2020.

This book had me hooked from the first few pages and kept me reading until the end. That was the positive. However, I did feel like there were not enough twists and it was a little predictable. I still enjoyed Jane and Eddie and their story but overall, I felt this book was lacking a real hook!

I love a well-done twist on a classic. Add in some modern-day gothic elements, and I'm hooked.

The Wife Upstairs grabbed me from the first few pages, and it was the kind of book that was hard to put down, and I always looked forward to picking up again. Sometimes I find multiple perspectives to be distracting, but I though the author did a really good job of balancing the storylines and maintaining the pace.

The end was a little predictable and there weren't too many twists, but nevertheless, it was a great read.

The Wife Upstairs is a thriller with a modern day nod to Jane Eyre. Each character has a secret; a shady past that makes you want to keep reading to put all the pieces together.
Jane comes to Alabama in hopes of starting over. She ends up as a dog walker in a very upscale neighborhood, filled with southern charm, manicured lawns, and fashionable gossipy wives. It is there she meets Eddie, recently widowed, and they quickly fall for each other. Everything seems perfect, but things about Eddie and his dead wife just don't add up and Jane begins to realize she isn’t headed for her happily ever after, after all.
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I breezed through the book very quickly and was surprised (in a good way) with where the story went in a few spots. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs.
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A few things I didn’t like: Jane is not particularly likeable and the ending seemed a bit abrupt and was lacking in detail. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. It fell somewhere in the middle for me. Still a worthwhile read!

This book seemed like the type of book I typically Iike to read and it did not disappoint. I couldn't put it down!

The story is about Jane-the plain, poor, loner who finds a job in a wealthy neighborhood walking dogs. She longs to be a part of this life, and after meeting widower, Eddie, her dreams begin to come true. But Jane soon finds out that things are not as perfect as they seem when details about Bea (Eddie's wife) and Blanche (her best friend) surface about their deaths.

This book was entertaining and kept me reading late into the night to finish. Some parts were a little predictable, but it was still a great story. I would recommend!

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

This is the story of what happens to a series of characters who went from rags to riches. The main protagonist is Jane, a penniless young lady who grew up in foster homes. She is trying to scrape by in life by walking dogs of rich people while supplementing her income through petty theft. While walking dogs, she meets Eddie, a young (apparent) widower, whose wife Bea had died in a boating accident. Bea built a highly successful business and, from nothing, she and Eddie had become the nouveau riche.

Eddie and Jane quickly become a couple. But something is mysterious about the boating accident that took the lives of Bea and her best friend Blanche. Blanche's husband (Tripp) is suspected.

This is a fast-moving, suspenseful and well-written story. Highly entertaining and intriguing. If you are looking for a sense of realism, however, you will be disappointed.

Great pleasure reading, a nice escape from reality.

This book intrigued me from the moment I saw the cover, and I was thrilled to receive an eARC.

Jane and Eddie's whirlwind romance surprises even her, especially considering his first wife is presumed dead. But when new details come to light, she questions if she really knows everything about what happened the night she went missing. What she doesn't know is Eddie has a secret locked away in a hidden room--a secret could threaten her newfound dream life.

Full disclosure: I've never cared for Jane Eyre, but I love Wide Sargasso Sea. Because of this, I was expecting more post-colonial rhetoric. Yes, WSS explores power dynamics between genders, and I got some of that based on their physical descriptions and imbalance of wealth. But the bigger picture of Wide Sargasso Sea covers racism, assimilation, and the concept of the Other; and while Jane and Bea/Bertha frequently refer to feeling like an outsider in some capacity, the underlying tone is an observation about socioeconomic status rather than race. Books inspired by or based on literary classics can be difficult to pull off successfully because it's almost impossible for readers not to compare what they know with the contemporary take. And in this situation, I found myself doing just that (and I fully admit that this could be a personal preference) but I found it hard to reconcile the differences between the two.

That being said, I didn't not enjoy this book. The alternating voices were interesting and well structured. Jane's our main protagonist, but I especially loved Bea's voice and back story. I could've read an entire book based solely on her toxic dynamic with Blanche. The twists and subtle betrayals are scandalous and carry the intrigue.

At times, the characters felt a little flat. Rags to riches, wealthy, handsome, charming man with a secret, gossipy, rich wives in a gated community overly concerned with HOA landscaping. Some of it felt stereotypical, and I never really got a Gothic tone from the narrative--which, in part, was because the "mad woman in the attic" didn't seem all that mad to me. But that didn't detract from the ultimate mystery. Hawkins gave each character a solid blend of sketch and sophistication to keep the suspense moving.

Overall, The Wife Upstairs is a twisty suspense with layered characters, but I'm conflicted about my reading of it.

Thanks to St. Martin's and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

What a ride!! Absolutely loved this book and Rachel Hawkins writing style was perfection. I felt every character come to life and she really took me through the scenery and feelings of the characters.

It’s told in a few different point of views but mainly it’s told through Jane. She has her own secret past and becomes a dog walker for a fancy neighborhood with Stepford wives. She stumbles upon Eddie who recently lost his wife along with her best friend and the dark secrets begin. It’s a thrilling fast paced book I devoured quickly. Definitely a book I would recommend!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just finished The Wife Upstairs (after reading it in less than 2 days!) and absolutely loved it!! The book is told from the perspective of the missing/presumed dead wife and the new girlfriend. I love the character development and the way the author keeps you guessing. The ending was a complete shock and was so perfect. I will be telling everyone about this book!

Jawless, nailless, colorless: side effects of reading something jaw dropping, shocking, head spinning, extremely twisty and ultra smart!

Oh boy, this book is a product of an evil genius and it’s the most dangerous glue you can ever imagine : you cannot put it down and after you read the final page, it is already in your head and never let you go! You keep thinking about the evil characters and their dark back stories, you get shivered but also a satisfied smile forms on your face because this is well written, exciting, riveting and surprising novel.

All those three POVs : especially Bea and Jane’s ( of course both of them don’t use their real names) breathtakingly twisty!

Reading this book is like driving your car at full speed in a rainy day into a cliff as Lucifer Morningstar sits next to you, asking what you truly desire: yes, it’s both frightening, heart pounding, but also adrenaline pumping, exhilarating experience!

Let’s take a close look to the story-line: Jane moves to Birmingham, Alabama, broke, looking for a fresh start, running away from something really dark about her past. We don’t know what is. But as we start to know more about her abused childhood at foster care, her kleptomaniac tendencies and mind games to control the power, we may sense she’s the person who has nothing to lose and the people are truly wrong about her: she isn’t the nice, naive dog walker!

Then she meets with charming widower Eddie who is Thornfield Estate’s resident, looking like he may see her soul. Eddie’s wife Bea and her best friend Blanche are drowned at an unfortunate accident and their bodies were never found.

And now a quite intimate relationship starts to build between Jane and Eddie. But Jane feels threatened by deceased wife’s ghost and as she starts to learn more about her past, she realizes Bea and her best friend Blanche are competitors and they have love-hate relationship ( mostly hate) And Eddie also acts strangely from the beginning, following Jane where she goes and emphasizing that he loves her because she’s the opposite of her wife. But if he loves her beloved wife so much why he tells something illogical!

And what if Bea is still alive. I don’t want to give spoilers but when you read the title of the book, you may get the wife’s living conditions and the place where she stays.

The gothic atmosphere of the book reminds you of Rebecca and Bea and Eddie’s dysfunctional relationship reminds you of not so naive Guinevere and Joe Goldberg who spends more time at gym (funny thing is Eddie also loves the books as it is mentioned in the first chapters!)

I already gave too much clues so I’m shutting my mouth! But I have to tell you get ready the rug get pulled out from under your feet.
Of course I’m giving five mine bending, WTH I just read, I’m truly numb and the ending was epic stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this remarkable arc with me in exchange my honest opinions.

THE WIFE UPSTAIRS
BY RACHEL HAWKINS

This was a delightful and realistic contemporary drama that takes place in Birmingham in a neighborhood of a well to do gated community. The glimpse of how these rich people live in their seven figure grand scale cutout Mansions that all look the same and how they live was an escape for me. Jane has a job as a dog walker for a few of the husband's and wives. She is unhappy where she lives with a roommate she doesn't like in what she describes as a drab "Cell" like apartment that she is having trouble making ends meet. I know that the age group of these character's is much younger than I am but the writing was incredibly interesting and this exceeded my expectations in being fresh and not your typical formulaic psychological thriller that I have already have had a lifetime of reading where they are not mind expanding.

I didn't like Jane at first and her behavior would be unacceptable. She steals from the homes that employ her by taking one diamond earring of a set and pawns it thinking these rich women either won't miss it or suspect her because only one goes missing and a person might think that they lost it. Most of the narrative is written from Jane's point of view and she dreams of living in one of the houses one day. She sets her sights on the biggest Mansion in the estate's because it is different and has a unique facade from all of the rest of them.

Eddie is a widower who lives in Jane's favorite house and they meet one day while she is walking one of the dog's and they strike up a conversation. She has already learned that his late wife Bea died in a boating accident with her best friend in Bea's lake house. She ends up working for him because he gets a dog and she is able to see inside her favorite home that it is also eclectic in the furniture and the interior design in the home is not a clone of all of the rest of the homes.

Bea Eddy's dead wife had her own business and five year's after graduating college has several hundred million dollars from her own brand of designing baubles that she designed herself that are the kind of things you would buy for an accent piece for your home. The items she sold varied from jewelry to bathing suits and clothes or dishes or decorative items. Jane sets her sights on Eddy. Eddy is handsome with beautiful blue eyes and a buff physique that one has from doing hard labor for work.

Eddy has a secret. Bea had secrets. Jane has secrets.

The appeal of the book to me was the suspense of a page turning addictive plot of me being amazed at how much of a planner and actress that Jane is. I am not always good at reading people and I am too trusting so I tend to believe everything that people tell me. So watching Jane's character being somebody who I knew she wasn't and seeing how she manipulates everybody was fascinating to view as a voyeur watches a car accident--not wanting to look but peeking regardless. That is how it felt reading this novel.

This is not the author's first book which I only realized after reaching the end. She has written many books but I had never heard of her before or read any of her other's. At first I didn't like the course language but the more I read I overlooked it because there is a lot that happens in this story and I haven't even scratched the surface with this review. I don't mind a good thriller if it keeps me guessing and is taut with tension that makes me want to keep reading and neglect my to do list so that I can't put it down. I am inspired to try another one by this author because the snappy dialogue and the direction this story went blew me away. My review sounds predictable but this book was quite the opposite. If you like suspense and writing that captures you and engages you and shocks you then you might consider giving this one a try. I knew the direction that this was going but it did a 180 degree turn that I never saw coming and it was pure fun.

The surprises and there are many almost made this a five star read that was like a roller coaster ride. I was submerged up until the very end. I did not like the ending and this one has an epilogue that I didn't like. If I am honest I don't like epilogues and find them to be an amateurish writing device. It felt like a let down. It's feels like after being highly entertained all day and the reward was that the author abruptly stopped her writing while the story wasn't ready to stop. There is no reward. For this I deducted two stars. I felt like things were just getting very interesting and boom it stops. Have you ever started to enjoy a ride in an amusement park--nothing too crazy but you're just beginning to enjoy it and the ride is over. That is how I feel but it is only my opinion and I don't claim to be an expert but I felt cheated. I am not bashing the book because I think she is very talented to have kept my attention and the feeling that I wanted more.

I think this is going to be my last psychological thriller because I find my tastes are changing. I know that I sound harsh but I am being honest. This story just had more telling. I was surprised to get this because I had requested it a while ago and it suddenly appeared. I have one more and I am taking a break from this genre and only reading author's that I trust. It could be me so if you like happily ever afters that tie everything up in a bow you may enjoy this.

Publication Date: January 5, 2021

#TheWifeUpstairs #RachelHawkins #StMartin'sPublishingcertainstealing a diamond earr that you left on a table.

A twisted story about how Jane goes from being a dog-walker in a prestigious neighborhood, to being engaged to a man in the neighborhood whose wife disappeared mysteriously. You can tell that there are many secrets hidden in each character's life. A quick read to figure out who is really telling the truth.

So, I’d like to preface this by saying I feel slightly misled by the synopsis here. The “gothic classic” was what prompted me to request this book and read it but unfortunately I didn’t see that element anywhere in the book. Also, the events portrayed in the synopsis did not actually happen in the book and I feel a bit disappointed because those events would have been better actually.

“Jane and Eddie fall for each other...” um no. There was no actual romance here and I’ll keep it vague as to not spoil anything for others but no falling in love at all. The characters were not like able. I will say that I really despise characters who are so focused on the materialistic aspect of life. Every other paragraph in the book was about how rich someone was and what their rich life was like. I was over it by the fifth paragraph.

This could have been an incredible story but there was a point of view thrown in there that I thought unnecessary and actually skipped over a couple of times. The ending was awful!! What happened with the murder?? Is no one going to be held accountable? What really happened in the house? I wanted some answers to that and when I didn’t get it, I felt unfulfilled. This book did not live up to its intriguing description.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this digital arc!

What a wild ride! It’s always dicey when there’s an unlikeable, unreliable narrator, but it worked in this case. Though some of the story was predictable, there were still plenty of twists that kept me engaged. Good character development, great dialogue, overall good pacing. Would recommend.

Wow! This book was very well written. The plot was focused and kept the reader on guard as the plot moved along. The characters were developed and creatively portrayed. This book is a true page turner and keeps the reader guessing...it can be read in one day!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jane is living in a crappy part of town with a roommate that she knew in a past life and doesn't like. While walking dogs in a high end neighborhood, she meets Eddie, a rich widower, whose wife along with her best friend presumably died on a lake a year ago. They begin a relationship and Jane thinks she is going walking into a life of leisure but things are not as they seem with Eddie or Jane.

I liked this book. It was a quick read. I thought it was going to be pretty predictable but things took a turn that I wasn't expecting. I would probably read more from this author.

Jane has managed to flee her boring life in Arizona and wind up living a new, not so fabulous life in Alabama. It is not that she hates her dog-walking job, she likes the dogs, just not their owners. They have everything Jane doesn't have, money, style, and the ability to hire someone like Jane to handle the more mundane aspects of their lives.
When Eddie Rochester nearly runs her over, she sees a chance to live the kind of life she envies. Eddie is a recent widower whose wife Bea and her best friend are presumed dead, apparently drowned. So what if Eddie still lives in the house Bea bought and decorated, it screams money, and it is where Jane used to dog walk. The clients she once worked for will have to accept her as an equal now that Jane and Eddie have fallen in love. So why isn't Jane living her version of happily ever after?
Well, maybe because Jane's past is creeping up behind her and she doesn't want it anywhere near Eddie. Or maybe it is because there are a lot of unanswered questions about what happened to Bea. Or, it might be because the police are knocking on Eddie's door with some shocking news. What's a girl to do when she is this close to having everything she thought she wanted. I kept flipping the pages of The Wife Upstairs since there is more going on here than you will see at first glance.
A fast-paced story told mostly from Jane's perspective. I didn't care for the character of Jane, and Eddie did not strike me as anyone's knight in shining armor. What hooked me was wanting to know what happened to Bea, whodunnit, and why, and what was Jane hiding. 304 pages that I flew through.
A fun backyard read though this will not be published until January. I can picture it snowing out and settling in by the fireplace to enjoy this twisted tale.

I thought this book was amazingly written and hooked me from the beginning. Told in multiple POV’s this fast paced novel leaves you guessing at every step. I absolutely loved it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
After leaving Arizona under not so great circumstances, Jane has a plan. She’s moved to Birmingham, AL and is ready for a fresh start. She begins walking dogs in an upscale neighborhood that she can only dream of living in. One day, as she’s walking one of her clients dogs, when she’s almost run over by the recently widowed Eddie. She begins to think maybe she can make her dreams a reality. Soon she discovers that Eddie’s wife’s death may not be the accident everyone previously thought but the police have another suspect in mind but Jane is not so sure anymore.

As an Alabamian who has always loved Jane Eyre, this book could have failed on several levels. Instead, it was successful on every single one. It even managed to pull off a few twists which only made me happier. Just when I was feeling extremely smug because I was so sure I knew what was going on because I was so familiar with the plot of the original Jane Eyre, the twists started.

Everything about this book was clever, and it felt true to the feel of modern Alabama. All the little nods to Jane Eyre, like using names from the book in different ways e.g. the name of the subdivision or of Rochester’s dog that Jane walks and even employing the “Reader, I...” quote, were charming. The plot was a fun combination of an old classic and modern mystery that made it a book that I did not want to put down until the very last page.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.