Hawthorne Lane is an upscale neighborhood that is home to four intriguing women: perfectionist Georgina, bold and pretty Audrey, small business owner Libby and newcomer Hannah. Every year the neighborhood throws a huge fall festival but this year's is threatened when a body is found.

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane is a thriller, but it is also at its heart a character study of the inner workings of a wealthy neighborhood. The reader is told up front there was a death on Halloween but not of who and we slowly get the story by
examining each character's lives. A bit of a slow burn, but a fulfilling one that turned out completely differently than I had guessed. 4 stars for this well crafted neighborhood examination.

I received this advance audio copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Hawthorn Lane is the perfect community. Beautiful houses, manicured lawns, and happy families. However, when a body is found in the nearby woods during the annual fall festival, the web of lies that make up this so-called perfection starts to come undone. Four women, each with a secret to keep are at the center of everything as the truth begins to come out.

“The Wives of Hawthorne Lane” is a perfect neighborhood drama. Set in a seemingly perfect cul-de-sac, author Stephanie DeCarolis brings forth a fun read, with the perfect blend of mystery, drama, and intrigue. 4/5 starts

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane by Stephanie DeCarolis is one of those stories that completely pulls you in. I couldn’t put this book down — I read it in just two days! The story unfolds through a seamless flip between past and present, told from multiple points of view. Each perspective adds a layer of intrigue, as every main character harbors a secret that makes them feel complex, flawed, and deeply human. What really kept me hooked was not knowing who had been killed, or who did it, until the very end. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something new would change my mind. If you’re into suspenseful reads with lots of twists and characters that draw you in, definitely give this one a try!

✨ Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222683992

Review: The Wives of Hawthorne Lane by Stephanie DeCarolis

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’ve ever wished Desperate Housewives had more plot twists and a darker edge, The Wives of Hawthorne Lane is your next must-read. This book gives serious Wisteria Lane vibes—perfect lawns, perfectly polished secrets, and women who are way more complicated than they seem.

The story dives into the lives of a seemingly picture-perfect neighborhood where nothing is quite as it appears. It’s domestic suspense at its finest, equal parts juicy and unsettling. The pacing is tight, the characters are layered, and the plot twist? My jaw literally dropped.

Stephanie DeCarolis has delivered what I think will be one of the top thriller books of the year. It’s an easy, bingeable read that you can knock out in a weekend, but the shock factor and suburban tension will stay with you. Highly recommend to fans of Liane Moriarty, Greer Hendricks, or anyone who loves a little chaos behind closed doors.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise was good, very desperate housewives. I found the book to be slow moving until the end where thankfully it wrapped up on a high note. I did not love this book. I didn’t actually like any of the characters, especially the husbands. This book was a no for me.

I was intrigued by the Desperate Housewives vibes and the promise of neighborhood secrets, and the story started off strong with that premise. Everyone on Hawthorne Lane is clearly hiding something, which kept me turning the pages early on.

That said, I struggled to connect with any of the characters. I didn’t particularly enjoy any of them, and the husbands were especially awful. The pacing felt slow, with much of the drama reserved for the last 20% of the book. Everything wraps up quickly and a bit unrealistically, but it does tie the story together.

Entertaining in parts, but not a standout for me.

Also, small spoiler-

Justice for Libby. She finally was ready to move on when the “nice” guy wasn’t so nice….

This book was very similar to another book I read recently, so at this time, I didn’t enjoy the book. There were some good twists, but I will say that the men and women are a bit tough to handle at times.

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane pulls back the curtain on a “perfect” neighborhood. Cue secrets, lies, and murder. Slow start, but once it hits, it hits. Dark, messy, and uncomfortably real.

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane follows the POV of 5 woman and their seemingly perfect lives. But of course, that is not the case, with lots of secrecy, violence and adultery happening behind closed doors. Very reminiscent of a Desperate Housewives type story, but this started out so slow, and continued that way until about the last 25% of the book. The characters were frustrating and the amount of violence these woman endured bordered on too much to read about. Overall, the ending provided some much need twists, but with how long it took to get there, I could only rate it 3 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting swept up in the lives of the women on Hawthorne Lane. The multiple POVs and layered storylines kept the pacing brisk and immersive, making it hard to put the book down. Stephanie DeCarolis masterfully weaves each character’s arc together, and the thread that connects them all is revealed in a twisty, satisfying ending that I absolutely loved.

There’s something so compelling about a story where women find strength in one another, and The Wives of Hawthorne Lane delivers on that front beautifully. The themes of empowerment, resilience, and female solidarity are at the heart of this novel, and DeCarolis does a fantastic job bringing them to life.

Highly recommend for fans of domestic suspense with strong female leads and a touch of mystery that keeps you guessing!

DNF at 52%

Just, no. Five women with liars as husbands (mostly) and/or abusers and some of the women are liars themselves. It’s 2025, people. Can’t we do better? In a bad marriage? GTFO? I know that’s oversimplifying for some, but not for the ladies of Hawthorne Lane. Ugh.

I love a good murder mystery book and this one was even more fun because you don't know who has been killed until the end of the book. It's almost like two mysteries in one because you are trying to find out who dies and who does the killing. The beginning of this book introduces a lot of new characters and I'm glad I decided to jot them down because otherwise I likely would have forgotten who was married to who and who's kids were who's. Once I got familiar with the couples and their individual dramas the story really started to unfold and the pages started flying by. I'll say I didn't suspect who died or who the killer was but the resolution was excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine | Bantam for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane was a fun read, a great beach/summer read. I saw someone mention that it was sort of "Desperate Housewives" (if you remember that show) and I agree with that. I haven't read anything else by Stephanie DeCarolis but I certainly will add her other books to my TBR pile.

All that being said, I do want to pass along a trigger warning for anyone sensitive to domestic violence. It comes up several times in the book and I found it a bit overwhelming and it isn't even a trigger for me. So please just be aware of that if it is a trigger area for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC of The Wives of Hawthorne Lane in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my gosh did this book have twists, turns and suspense. I loved getting to know all of the women - 5 in total and how the individual storylines all weaved together. A very well written book that I absolutely recommend to anyone. It felt very ‘Desperate Housewives’ but with a dark subplot.

Starts slow but builds as it goes on. My biggest issue is that every man except one was horrible and there was way too much domestic violence. I understand why it was there from the Author's note, but it made it hard to enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Whoa!’ What a ride!! I love a good suburb suspense and this one did not disappoint! I couldn’t put it down!

I enjoyed getting to know the ladies of Hawthorne Lane, as well as their significant others. This title holds a mirror up to all of those that live in glass houses. Every character in this novel has problems---though they are perceived by others to "have it all." Seeing the characters delivered in their perfect facade---but learning about their not-so-perfect lives was highly entertaining.
Excellent suspenseful plot---ties this into a perfect summer read.

Ingave this book the full 5 stars. I was hooked from startto finish. I thought Inhad ift figured out but I was mistaken! You will not regret reading this thriller/ romance.

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane is a domestic thriller set in a fictional (I think it’s fictional, anyway) town outside of NYC. Hawthorne Lane is an affluent neighborhood in which the residents are busy, influential, and everyone is hiding a secret.

The novel is told from multiple points of view, mostly the wives of Hawthorne Lane, but one of two other characters as well. It is also told using a trope common to thriller novels- the book begins with the aftermath of an incident, and then backtracks to show us all of the disagreements and furtive actions that led up to this culminating event. This was a book in which I felt as though the multiple POVs worked very well to show the inner fragility of the neighborhood’s social ecosystem. The characters all had very distinct personalities and issues so it was easy for me to keep them straight when the POV changed.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. This may contain slight spoilers. The author dealt with some difficult topics relating to women in this novel, including post partum depression, domestic violence, miscarriages, and divorce. I thought the author handled each of these issues in a very thoughtful and respectful manner.

I also loved how most of the wives were shown as acquaintances throughout the book but cared enough about these women to help when they could.

Great novel, would highly recommend to fans of domestic thrillers.

For much of the book, the story seemed to drag; I wanted it to proceed faster. It didn’t help that many of the major characters were not particularly sympathetic or likable. However, the book gets much better near the end, where there are quite a few twists; some are not particularly surprising, but some are pretty unexpected.