11 February 2018

The Wife Between Us

Women's Fiction
Psychological Thriller

By Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Paperback 384 pages
Publisher Pan Macmillan (26th July 2018)
ASIN B074SWVVHM
ISBN-13 978-1509842834

'A fiendishly smart cat-and-mouse thriller.' New York Times Book Review



📕My Review

It's difficult to write about this book without letting slip any spoilers. It's about Nellie, Vanessa and Emma. Their lives are intertwined through Richard, who may or may not be all he seems. Vanessa is determined not to let Richard's fiancée make the worst decision of her life; the same decision Vanessa made years earlier and lived to regret.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this book. It was supposed to be twisty and suspenseful; similar to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. My expectations were high and I was really looking forward to getting stuck in. Unfortunately it left me feeling rather flat and, in my opinion, didn't live up to the hype.

I've read quite a few excellent Psychological Thrillers recently - Helen Callaghan's Everything is Lies, Karen Hamilton's The Perfect Girlfriend and Amy Lloyd's The Innocent Wife (to name a few), but for me this book fell short. Don't get me wrong; it's a good read but I've read better. Yes, there are twists but they didn't blow me away. 

There are various tangents and sub-plots which work well and are tied up nicely in the final chapters. My initial reservations about a book with two authors turned out to be unfounded; the flow and writing style are exceptionally good and cohesive. Overall I thought it was a good read but I expected a little more.

I received an Advance Reader Copy. My thanks to NetGalley, Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen  and Pan Macmillan.

Barnsey's Books Rating 

📗The Blurb

The woman before . . .

Vanessa and Richard fell deeply in love and were married for seven years - until he left her for another woman, someone younger and more desirable. She now spends her days immersed in painful memories, trying to decipher how it all went so wrong. Of course, she isn’t blameless - she was never the woman Richard thought she was. 

. . . the woman after

Nellie is engaged to the man of her dreams. Caring, charismatic and accomplished, Richard provides her with the security she has always craved. But as their wedding draws closer, she can’t shake the sense that someone is watching her. That someone is following her wherever she goes.

The wife in between . . .

No one knows the truth about what really happens within a marriage, even a seemingly happy one. But Vanessa is certain of one thing: She will do whatever it takes to stop Richard’s wedding before it’s too late. . .

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