A curiosity drives me to explore every book I encounter, making my lists of unread books more than I can manage. I've become determined to navigate my ever-expanding reading list more efficiently by weeding out the ones that don’t catch my attention enough to want to finish them. Unfortunately, The Wife in the Photo was one of them, and I threw in the towel at the halfway mark.

While it's a quick, twist-laden read that's easy to digest, it didn't quite reach the level of page-turner I was hoping for. Although the narrative teased at secrets that should have added to the suspense, I found it lacking the tension necessary to propel the story forward as expected.

While The Wife in the Photo was different from that page-turner I was looking for, I appreciate the opportunity to explore new stories, even if they don't all turn out to be the ones I'm seeking.

The Wife in the Photo by Emily Shiner Narrated by Todd Kramer and Kate Handford was an excellent psychological thriller that was packed with great twists and turns throughout that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Once I started to listen to this audiobook it was hard to turn off as it gripped me from the beginning till the very end. It was an outstanding audiobook/book and the narrators Todd Kramer and Kate Handford were superb, they made this book.

I highly recommend this book. I loved it!

Big thank you to netgalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for this amazing ARC in exchange for my review!

I really liked this book. Wasn't expecting the twists and turns. However, the ending really sucked. After everything that happened, I expected way more at the ending.There just wasn't any explanation as to WHY that character would do those things, and if anything it seemed completely illogical for that character to do those things. I just didn't make any sense. I did guess part of the reveal early in the book, and I still found the conclusion lacking context and therefore Not believable. A story's gotta be believable. Also, although I liked getting inside the heads of the characters, their thoughts were just too repetitive. I know that's probably true - people really do think the same thoughts over and over - but reading that repetition of the same lines over and over got tiresome. I think this author does have a good style of writing and shows promise. I see this is her first book. I might try another later and see if her writing improves.

Emily Shiner’s THE WIFE IN THE PHOTO is so tricky, my head is still going back and forth like I’m watching a tennis match. Talk about manipulation, secrets and lies! My favorite kinda book.

Lola Warner died on the night of August 3. While the outward appearances of the lives of Lola, her police chief husband, Evan and their 14 year old daughter, Jessica, are to be envied, inside, the foundation is crumbling. Now that Lola’s gone, Evan is in dire need of someone to come in and make their lives (or at least the house) orderly once again. Enter Arial. She is the answer to Evan’s prayers. As she brings cleanliness and routine back into the home she tries to be there for Jessica, keep her safe, all the while suspecting that Evan killed Lola and covered it up. Working with two other women familiar to the family, Arial is searching for something, anything that will prove it. As she gets closer to the truth, things begin to spin out of control.

I don’t want to give away too much. Suffice it to say that this one will have you volleying back and forth as to what really happened. Just when you think you’ve GOT it, there’s another twist that sends you in the complete opposite direction. And it WILL keep you guessing until the very end. I love the author’s writing style. She is very descriptive so I could hear the footfalls down the stairs and smell an excellent dinner in the oven. I think I’ve read just about every Emily Shiner book and get excited when I see she has a new release. I am NEVER disappointed. If you love psychological games, I mean thrillers, don’t miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

I liked how the book started and gave an overview of the events before moving on to life after the wife’s death. I liked how the rut the husband was in seemed real, but I didn’t like how a car can sit out the front for so long and someone not realise.

I really enjoyed this book! Evan is a not exactly a family man, and he has betrayed his wife Lola and angered his daughter Jessica. Some things come to light about Evan’s true nature, and then there is a big twist at the end that I definitely wasn’t expecting. I thoroughly enjoy Emily Shiner’s books, and I can’t wait to go add another one to my TBR list. 4/5 stars!

I really enjoyed this book!
I loved the way the twists and turns kept me on my feet!
I really wasn’t expecting the ending, so happy to have read this & I’ll be buying from this author in future!

A must read by Emily Shiner! She is an amazing author and you really feel like you know the characters. She draws you into the book. This book was fast paced mind blower. It had me in a hold from start to finish. I will defiantly be adding this to my favorites!

I struggled with this prety heavily. While I finished it, I would not say it was something I was yearning to finish: more forced myself.
I think this had a ton of plot holes. I don't fully understand Ariel's character, and i thought her 'twist' made very little sense. I thought this tried to be innovative by giving us a view into Lola's head and not having the stereotypical killer, but I don't think the twists and turns and motivations for each person made sense.
All in all, I thought this was a bit of a cluster.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance reader copy for my free, honest and voluntary review. Amazing novel with so many twists and turns. Jaw dropping finish, definitely recommend.

Reading Between the Wines book review #115/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3 🍷🍷🍷
Book: The Wife in the Photo
Author: Emily Shiner
Available Now!!

Sipping thoughts: Very deranged, dark and twisted. It was so clear from the beginning what happened to Lola. What I was not expecting was the craziness that was going to ensue at the end of the book. I did not like the ending at all but I can understand how others would.

Cheers and thank you to @Bookouture and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheWifeInThePhoto.

#TheWifeInThePhoto #EmilyShiner #Bookouture #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Really good book, every character has a twist. I did figured out what actually happened quite early on the story. But I think it's mainly because I've read so many mystery, psychological Thrillers. Definitely recommend it.

Obsessed with this domestic thriller from @authoremilyshiner !! It is a definite must read!!! The twists are sure to rock your world.

Thank you @authoremilyshiner and @bookouture for allowing me to read this ahead of time and be a part of the social media tour!! Emily Shiner is officially an auto-buy author for me!!!!

#bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #thrillerbooks

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was a creepy and sinister read. It started off really well but I felt like some of the twist and turns felt a little extreme and unbelievable.

While the story itself was promising, I knew almost right away what actually happened to Lola. There were a couple of things I didn’t see coming, but the story was mostly predictable. It felt like there was too much repetition and a lot was drawn out as a means to provide suspense, but all it did was prolong the story, which made it boring at times. Overall, not a bad story, but it was just okay for me.

Wow, this one was a nail biter full of doubts and suspense. My only gripe with the book is that I wasn't completely clear on who exactly was guilty and wicked at the end. It was obvious with one of the characters but not the other. I like my conclusions spelled out for me and this one definitely didn't do that. However, this is a really, really great book. I found myself so nervous in the scenes where the main character is creeping around the house investigating and when the drama came to a head. These types of domestic thrillers are my absolute favorite and this one really delivered. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. First of all this book is so much like other psychological thrillers that I felt like I had already read it. Same story line. I kept reading and did finish it but the twists were so ridiculous and so far fetched that I was rolling my eyes. I felt like there were so many unanswered questions also. I normally enjoy books by this author so I will not give up and will try another one but this was definitely a disappointment.

A housekeeper starts working for a family to uncover secrets. This book wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy the characters and some of the plot seemed predictable and flawed. Thank you, NetGalley.

I really enjoyed the 1st half of this thriller but then it felt quite predictable, maybe I've just read too many of this genre. I could see what twist the storyline was hinting at and was hoping I'd be doubled bluffed or something but I was correct, again though, it could just be that I've read too many of these books and I'm quite hard to please.
The style of writing was easy to read and it was an OK thriller despite the predictability and quite unrealistic 2nd half.
Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #TheWifeInThePhoto

It gives a Verity vibe for a bit. Who do you believe, daughter or father? In the end, it's very clear what happened. It was okay, but took me a while to get through it as it wasn't as fast paced as I wished it had been.