I didn't realize this was a loose Jane Eyre retelling when I started it, but now I see the parallels. This was an enjoyable mystery about a woman who is a dog walker in a wealthy neighborhood and falls for Eddie, whose wife recently passed away. The mystery is woven throughout so that it's but revealed what happened to his wife until the end. Intriguing page turner that will please many mystery fans new and old.

Wow, this one checks a lot of boxes! You want to like Jane, and you want to see her thrive in her relationship with Eddie. You want Eddie to be her prince charming and you want all these rich stepford type wives to go away and accept Jane into their fold at the same time. It takes a while to figure out why it's titled 'the wife upstairs' but, boy is that something! This was a quick paced enjoyable suspense/mystery/thriller for sure! I look forward to more by this author! #thewifeupstairs #netgalley

The Wife Upstairs has everything you want from a twisted mystery. Multiple dislikeable characters, crazy twists you don't see coming, shocking turns where you aren't even sure who to root for anymore and to add as a bonus, it's a crazy reimagining of Jane Eyre.

How much better can a story get?

This is the story of the neighborhood dog walker, who is stealing a little bit from each of her clients, meeting the neighborhood widow whose wife has gone missing (presumed dead) in a boat accident. They fall in love, she moves in, and what can go wrong, you say?

You'll have to read to find out!

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

First off, the narrator was terrific in the audiobook and was easy to listen to. Secondly, the story as a whole was pretty good and digestible.

A lot of times, domestic thrillers tend to fit so many tropes that they become predictable and boring--but not with The Wife Upstairs. Obviously, the title of the book gives away a tid bit of the mystery and thrilling part of the story but there were so many elements added to this concoction that it felt fresh and different. It's about a woman named Jane who comes from nothing and ends up getting with a man, Eddie, who has everything. Soon she finds out there's some mysteries surrounding the death of Eddie's wife, Bea and Bea's friend. Everyone in this book has secrets and they all do what they can to keep things under wraps.

I actually listened to this whole audiobook in a day because I was sucked into the story pretty quickly and just had to know what was going to happen. The characters were written really well and they all seemed pretty fleshed out. You do get some timeline hopping, multiple perspectives but it wasn't difficult to follow at all. I thought this was an enjoyable audiobook and recommend to people who like quick, domestic thrillers with a splash of mystery.

4/5

Wow! This book was amazing. The title tells you right away his missing wife is probably hidden upstairs. I thought it was giving away too much by naming the book that. However, the author manages to build up the suspense about Bea and her time upstairs while becoming invested in Jane. The author makes you think you know what is going on and does a great job of investing you in certain characters while disliking others. In the end, the author throws you for a loop and gives you a twist that some may have seen coming but I did not! Cannot wait to read more by this author.

Leaving a past of foster care behind, a young woman changes her name to Jane and moves to Birmingham Alabama. Jane takes a job as a dog walker in an upscale neighborhood quickly expanding her client base throughout the neighborhood. As she gains their trust and easy entry into their homes, she begins to help herself to an earring here or a bracelet there felling no guilt. After all, these people are so wealthy they’ll never miss the trinkets she takes. One fateful day as Jane is out walking dogs, she meets a handsome, wealthy widower named Eddie. A year ago Eddie’s wife Bea and her best friend Blanche spent a girls weekend getaway together but they have been missing since and are presumed dead. Bea was the owner of a very successful southern lifestyle business that Eddie now owns and manages. Jane can’t believe her luck when she and Eddie make an instant connection. Jane soon moves in with Eddie and they quickly become engaged to be married. Jane is thrilled to now be part of the upscale neighborhood that she previously could only imagine. Is anyone really who they appear to be? What’s true, what’s a lie? There isn’t one likable character and yet, I really liked the book and couldn’t wait to finding out what happened next.

This book was my introduction to Rachel Hawkins. Having heard nothing about this book before I listened to it, I was initially reminded of The Last Mrs. Parrish, and wondered if I could survive another book like that one. But, soon I became enmeshed in the story and the mystery, and partially due to the excellent narration by Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne and Lauren Fortgang. Although this is not my favorite genre, because I find the romance a little cheesy, I did enjoy this book. I was drawn into feeling disgust for the character of Jane and intrigued by the disappearance of the two women, Bea and Blanche, and found myself looking forward to listening in order to find out what really happened. What a wild ride! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced and tricky romantic mystery. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had to get my hands on The Wife Upstairs when I read that it's a retelling of Jane Eyre. I have a love/hate relationship with domestic thrillers otherwise, so many of the tropes are so tired and the common use of first person POV can be so cheesy.

This story is both a clever and half hearted retelling of Jane Eyre. It's more a modern mash up of Rebecca with names and quotes mimicking Jane Eyre as it completely misses the spirit of Jane Eyre's characters. Which is totally fine! The author can do whatever she wants and be inspired in whatever ways she wants from the classics, but I was hoping for something a little different. That's a very personal opinion, and I completely acknowledge that. It's well written but a bit heavy handed overall. It's so focused on the protagonist that I felt it missed some of the atmospheric potential, especially since "Jane" is so focused on her love of Eddie rather than her own dreams and development which is so unlike Jane Eyre, rather it's very Rebecca. I didn't realize it was set in the South til well into the book, and I wish the author did more to highlight the local and general culture.

The audiobook is great. The narrator does such a great job going back and forth between preppy, Southern snooty voices, the drier, disenchanted voice of Jane. and the light, wistful voice of Bea.

Overall, I enjoyed this! I definitely recommend it especially to those who like domestic thrillers. I'm very picky about them, so take my review for what it's worth and nothing more. Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press, and MacMillan Audio for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Wow! What a thrill ride! The gothic edge along with the southern setting are the perfect ingredients for this extraordinary, entertaining domestic thriller. This story has the faultless combination of humor and suspense. There were countless times I laughed out loud and other times I was on the edge of my seat. The audiobook was extremely engaging with spot on southern accents that brought each of the various characters to life. Jane Eyre mixed with Desperate Housewives! Wickedly delicious! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this amazing audiobook!

I really enjoyed this book. The story was very engaging and I loved the twists. I liked how the story was told from different perspectives and the pacing was on point. I didn’t really identify with or like any of the characters, but that wasn’t necessarily the goal. Regarding the narration, the voice for Jane was somewhat grating at times. This was my first audiobook from NetGalley and I must say the program was a little glitchy. All in all though this was a good mystery and I would recommend it to anyone who likes twisty thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I will post this review tomorrow to my Bookstagram and companion Facebook page @thatreadingrealtor.

*I have not read Jane Eyre*

This book is absolutely incredible. I thought I knew what was coming, which didn't even take away from my enjoyment because it was so well written.

Thing is? I was completely wrong about all the thoughts. And that made it even better than I already thought it was.

Now, for those that already know Jane Eyre? Maybe it wouldn't be that impactful. I have no clue, but from my perspective? It was incredible.

Also, Ms. Fortgang continues to be one of the best narrators going!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was a fantastic listen! I kept seeing this book on Goodreads and added it to my list, but was so excited to see it was available as an audiobook to review. Let's get straight to it, this one was fun, snarky and twisty. Like a really good audiobook it made my commute seem shorter and even wish for traffic on the way home so I could listen longer. This would make for an amazing tv show or movie.

Set in a fancy suburb of Birmingham, Alabama I loved seeing Jane the dog walker's takes on the rich women who she walked dogs for. Though Jane has way more going on under the surface than any of them do. Jane soon learns that two of the men in the exclusive neighborhood of Thornefield estates have missing wives, who are presumed dead. I loved seeing how this would play out and while I thought I knew how it would end, I was happy to be surprised. Give this one a read or even a better a listen! Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware or Gillian Flynn.

It's a good sign when you look up an author of a book you just started because you're so hooked on her writing you want to see what else she has out there. It's especially good if that reaction is triggered by a book that doesn't even have likable characters. Honestly, I wasn't particularly rooting for anyone in The Wife Upstairs, yet I kept want to find out more, listened every chance I got: in the car, doing dishes, taking the dog out (of course!). By the end of the story, I actually felt empathy for certain characters and all the twists and turns came together in the end in a way that made sense. A great, fast-paced read that is made even better with excellent narration. I will be first in line for the movie if there ever is one.

I received an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

I listened to this novel, as well as read it on my kindle. The main narrator is really good, but the narrator for Eddie Rochester is totally miscast for this role. Instead of keeping the suspense going by portraying Eddie as a bit of an enigma, he sounds just clumsy and clueless. It really spoils the suspense just at the point when it should be heightened.

Thank you MacMillan Audio, Rachel Hawkins, and Netgalley for this audio book in exchange for an honest review. This psychological thriller will leave you speechless. Keeps you engaged as you either read or listen to it. I loved the narrators. They really did an awesome job. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating from me and a must watch for other books from this author!

For this one I swapped between reading the ebook and listening to the audiobook. I enjoyed the multiple narrators for this one and did not find them confusing.

The storyline for this one was enjoyable. I’ve never read Jane Eyre so I don’t have the original story as a comparison. I did enjoy the storyline, but found myself having a hard time connecting with any of the characters. I just couldn’t see any of them as super relatable or likeable for that matter. The storyline itself was enetertaining and not easily predictable. I think my lack of a connection with the characters kept me from being wowed by this one like so many others were. For me this one gets 🌟🌟🌟💫

This audio book is soo good! The Wife Upstairs is a super twisty, suspenseful novel that you won't want to stop reading. It's a modern, Southern homage to the classic, Jane Eyre. A very compelling story that will keep you engaged and guessing throughout, even if you weren't a fan or the original story. It was definitely one of the top thrillers that I have read this year, it really exceeded my expectations and comes highly recommended!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝:⁣
◘ Readers are going to LOVE this book. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very end.
◘ Apparently this is a take on Jane Eyre (never read it, never would have known), so if you're a fan, you'll probably like this?
◘ The story is entertaining, no doubt about it.
◘ Narrators were awesome! Loved the accents and multiple voices.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝:⁣
◘ ⁣I've read a lot of thrillers lately and I think I was expecting more from this one. Every thriller I've finished hasn't hit its mark, and this one was missing 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
◘ Definitely felt like a "dramedy" rather than a thriller, despite what I just said above. Lots of gossip, drama and talking behind backs, but in a southern way.

All in all I think people will love this book. I felt like something was missing but I still enjoyed it. It was super easy to follow and I'll definitely keep this author on my list to watch.

As a thriller lover, this was one of my most anticipated thrillers of 2021, but. it was a disappointment.

I was confused and bored throughout most of the book. I am not sure if I missed something, but nothing thrilled me. Even though I was confused throughout, I still found it to be predictable, especially the ending.

The narrators telling the story were bland. Had no thrill or suspense to their voice which I feel like that also caused me to give the book one star. The love between our main characters Jane and Eddie was very fast and instant, which I did not like because it just seems like fake love. The book also seemed slow and was dragging at times.

I also really didn't like the writing, this book in general just didn't give me the thrill that I wanted it to!

Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's press for my review copy. Thank you to MacMillian Audio for the audiobook version!

The Wife Upstairs is a modern retelling of the classic Jane Eyre but set in Birmingham, Alabama. I have always wanted to read Jane Eyre, but never brought myself to it and now I am dying to read it and compare the class to this version. This story tells of Jane, who recently moved to Birmingham and got a job as a dog walker for the rich families of Thornfield Estates. Slowly, throughout the story, we learn of Jane's troubled past, how she got to Birmingham, why she takes pieces of jewelry from the mansions, if Jane is even her real name. Then she meets Eddie Rochester, who is recently widowed when his wife and her best friend when they drowned/went missing at the Rochester's lake house. Eddie and Jane begin to fall for each other, as Jane's plan of rags to riches comes to fruition. But she can't help but wonder if she measures up the Eddie's late wife and if Eddie will ever find out the truth about Jane's past.

This book is full of suspense and a few twists! It also has dramatic irony throughout as the author gives the readers pieces of information that the other characters do not know about which made me want to continue to listen to find out when the characters will get all of the information the reader had been given. I also loved that it was set in Birmingham, as I live in Alabama myself and I'm very familiar with the area so that was fun to read about. The author also includes many Easter eggs that tie the story back to Jane Eyre, such as Eddie's dog name Adele. I'm not a big suspense reader so I did not predict the ending. I do think the ending could have been better and was slightly disappointed with it but the rest of the book was fantastic. The narrators were fantastic, I loved that there were multiple.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for letting me listen to this ARC!