This book is about a woman. A woman who was married to man whom she loved dearly. She loved him so much she couldn't see his flaws or how she was changing. This book is also about a woman who is about to marry said man. But his ex wants her to see all the things she didn't before it's too late. This book is also about a woman who loves this man unconditionally flaws and all. Just when you think you know which woman is which, you will be surprised. All together, these three women are centered around this one man. This one man who is rich and powerful and full of flaws.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will admit that the book started off very slowly for me. The story was interesting enough, but there wasn't much there to make me pick up the book instead of watch a tv show. At about the 1/2 way point, there was a twist in the story that made me perk up a bit and changed my view on the whole story. Things really got into full swing then and I couldn't put it down. I had to see where the plot was going and what was going to happen at the end. It really leaves you on the edge of your seat.

It's hard to write a review about this book without giving too much away. You think you know what is going on, but in actuality you have no idea.

Richard is the man. He is handsome, rich, powerful. He was raised by his older sister after their parents where killed in car crash. Richard has been married twice before and he is now engaged to Emma. Richard's "crazy" ex-wife doesn't want to see this marriage take place and will stop at nothing to warn Emma, even if it makes her look crazier than Richards claims she is. Who will win in the end?

I believe this will be one of the best books of 2018. Set to release on January 9th!!

This book is so thoroughly misleading. Up is down, left is right, and absolutely no one is who they appear to be. Vanessa and Nellie have more in common than you think. Maureen is keeping secrets. Richard is so not Prince Charming, and Emma has her own agenda that just comes out of the blue. It was very difficult for me to switch gears three quarters through the book, but when I finally caught on: boy, I didn't see this twist coming! Be prepared... 
This is a psychological thriller that will leave you certain that you know what's coming next, totally surprising you with the next chapter, and have you skimming backwards to see if you've somehow missed a clue. I absolutely recommend this book!

The Wife Between Us is a 2017 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Engrossing domestic thriller!

This book got such a tremendous response from my fellow GR friends, I shot it up to the top of my TBR list, ignoring my usual cautionary optimistic approach to well received popular books, because I just had a feeling this one would deliver.


Richard’s first wife, Vanessa, was dumped for a younger woman after many years of marriage. Gone were all the trappings of wealth she had enjoyed as she struggles to put her life back in order.

Forced to live with her aunt and take a job at Saks, Vanessa’s thinks obsessively about Richard’s new girlfriend, Nellie, while consuming large quantities of alcohol. When she inadvertently finds out that Richard plans to remarry, her fragile state of mind spirals out of control. The only thing she can think about is confronting Nellie for a face to face showdown.

Nellie, by all appearances, seems like a sweet girl, perhaps a bit naïve, completely smitten with her fiancé, Richard. She can’t wait to start her new, ‘dream come true' life with her dashing, successful husband. But, she, too, may have a few dark secrets lurking in her past. But, unbeknownst to Nellie, she is being watched, even stalked by a woman whose driving force in life is to prevent her wedding from ever taking place.

The author did a fantastic job of doling out just the right amount of information at key intervals, subtly changing the dynamics of the story by giving the reader another possible angle to explore.

My initial impressions of the situation presented to me, morphs little by little, as pieces of the puzzle are slowly revealed. Once the entire jigsaw puzzle is complete, the picture staring back at me, looks nothing at all like what I was expecting.


This story has a few surprises I never saw coming. The only minor let down was that the plot had a few similarities to another book I’d read just a few weeks ago, which deflated the balloon a little, but not too much, because it didn’t become obvious until I was already very deep into the book.

The truth is, the author kept me guessing and on my toes pretty much from start to finish. I was a bit conflicted about the final turn of the screw. I usually love all that added relish on top, but lately those late minute plot twists are becoming all too common, making them more tiresome than anything else and falling flat, as a result. In this case, the story could have ended quite satisfactorily without that final revelation, but I suppose, since it was a complete shock to me, I must grudgingly concede my approval for sneaking that one by me completely undetected.

Overall, I’m not sure I was as blown away by this one as my contemporaries, but this is a very solid, highly entertaining domestic thriller, and is certainly worth checking out.

4 stars

*Netgalley

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing.
Twisted and deliciously chilling, The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage – and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.



My Thoughts: My initial experiences in The Wife Between Us felt like looking through a kaleidoscope, the images shifting and surreal. The story seemed to tell different versions of reality from the perspectives of the wife and the girl friend. But as I turned the pages, I could see that nothing was shaping up the way I had imagined it to be. Through my confusion, I slowly began to glimpse the many ever-changing layers of the story, constantly in flux.

What do we really know about Richard? How could someone who seemed to be caring and loving one minute turn dark and dangerous? How do Vanessa’s experiences inform what happens to Emma, and how did their choices come about because of Richard’s actions? Then I wondered if I could be wrong. Should I go back and start again, with a fresh perspective? The authors have a way of keeping the reader slightly off-balance throughout, thinking one thing is true, only to discover the subtleties of reality.

Would Vanessa risk everything to bring out the truth? How would she manage to turn the tables on Richard, keeping him in the dark until she had finished what she’d set out to do?

Veering between the past and the present, the story is like a giant 1000 piece puzzle with numerous intricacies and deliberately shifting borders. Just when you have it all pieced together, another player dumps it out and you have to start again. This pattern continued through the final page, when still another shocking surprise popped up and I was thrown back to the beginning, awed by the serendipitous events that had transpired. 5 stars.*** My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I turned the page and was hit with a completely unexpected twist. Long after I finished this book, the characters stayed in my mind and I relived their story over and over again.

Loved this book! Amazing and easy read keeps you thinking of where the author will take you next.

Mind-blowing! From one crazy twist to the next, this psychological thriller is absolutely mind-blowing. I'll admit that when I started this book, I wasn't sure that I'd like it. From the first couple of chapters, I thought I had it all figured out and that it wasn't going to be my cup of tea. I thought wrong - way wrong. There is no way to go into any kind of details about The Wife Between Us without spoilers, so I'll just say that the blurb for this one is spot on - Assume nothing, because every time you think you know, you really don't. I'm usually pretty good at puzzling out the conclusion for stories of this type, but this one kept me second-guessing myself over and over, from the very first breath-taking twist, right up to the jaw-dropping conclusion. At each whiplash inducing twist, I could look back and have a forehead smacking moment of seeing the clues, but they're so cleverly done that you don't see them until it's too late.
If you don't read another psychological thriller in 2018, read this one. This wonderfully written and fantastically compelling tale sets the bar quite high for other books in the genre.

This book was amazingly twisted but in a good way. Your assumptions will leave you speechless when you find out the truth. Mind bending but so good is just a few ways to describe this book. A love-triangle where no one is innocent. A must read!!!

OK, I have to admit, this was pretty good. Full of twists and interesting outcomes, although it could be a little confusing at times.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 4/5 ☆

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the free review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

This book has been getting a lot of hype already, even though it isn’t published until January. With it being offered for a December BOTM choice, the hype is going to get even bigger, and it is well deserved. I was left with such anticipation on what was going to happen. I even stayed up late to keep reading this. (If you’re a college student, you’ll understand why this is a big deal)

My favorite part of this book was Part 1. I wondered exactly what was going on and where the story was going. It’s so worth it to keep going. As soon as Part 2 started, I had to stop, reread, and wrap my mind around what just happened. I. Was. Shocked. The description of this book was perfect. I assumed everything the description said I would, and of course my assumptions were wrong. I didn’t see the ending coming quite like it did, but I did assume that there was more to the backstory.

I did feel like the story slowed down a bit in Part 2 and 3. It was understandable, but I do prefer the big shock moments more towards the latter half of the book because of this reason. Even though it slowed down, it was still highly enjoyable. I had to know how it was going to end.

This book comes out on January 9, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, I hope you would consider reading it. It is a fantastic thriller that left me speechless. This book is one of my favorite reads this year.

Vanessa Thompson lives with her aunt in New York City. Life has been tough and she is about to be fired from her sales job at Saks. She also maintains some bitterness from her failed marriage to Richard. Somehow, he emerged victorious from the divorce and got possession of their house in Westchester along with most of their money and friends. Her mood worsens when she runs into one of her former friends and finds out that Richard is engaged to be married.

Vanessa goes into stalker mode in an attempt to stop the marriage. She rationalizes her efforts because this new fiance shouldn't have to suffer from the same abuses. She investigates where this woman lives and make plans to befriend her. Richard finds out about Vanessa's plot and blocks her efforts. He paints her to everyone as an alcoholic looking for attention and in need of professional help. This criticism further motivates Vanessa to block his upcoming marriage.

This book by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen has been optioned for film by Dreamworks. Narrated in three parts, it is a suspenseful story about betrayal, lies, and infidelities. Assume nothing while you are reading this thriller!

Highly recommend this one. There were a couple of turns at the end that were unnecessary for the overall effect of the story. Otherwise a perfect study of a marriage and the versions of truth. I loved the first twist and didn't see it coming at all. A suspenseful read that I couldn't put down. I look forward to more from this duo.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

Holy smokes. This is one of those books that is impossible to review because to do it justice would be to give away its secrets. So let’s just say if you like domestic thrillers, you need to read this one. This is a bit different of a novel for Sarah Pekkanen, just like it was when Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton moved to domestic suspense but she nails it with the help of her former editor, Greer Hendricks. I just want to know who wrote each character.

Warning: unpopular opinion. I cannot for the life of me understand the high ratings and great reviews this book is getting. The description for this book on goodreads literally says: "Discover the next blockbuster novel of suspense, and get ready for the read of your life." Blockbuster novel of suspense? Did I just read the right book? Is this a joke or...?

This book claims to be a suspense/thriller but it's neither of those things. It's a mystery that is dragged out throughout the entire book, that I couldn't give two fucks about honestly. I made an update around the 200 page mark where I complained that nothing interesting had even happened in the story yet and I wasn't sure if I should finish it, but I did and... god damn this book was my Everest. It took so much energy to finish this book because of how bored I was by the story. The title and the goodreads description of this book make it seem like it's going to be some crazy twisted love triangle with so many plot twists and that it's going to be so different form anything else you've ever read, but in reality it's this ridiculously annoying love triangle with a main chaarcter who is obsessed with her ex-husband and a few lame "plot twists" get thrown in along the way. The majority of this book is the main character Vanessa having flashbacks of her marriage with Richard and how "omg he was so perfect then" and "omg where did it all go wrong?" and it was so boring. The writing style is confusing too because I was always confused when it would randomly dive into a flashback and then randomly come back to the present. I never knew what scenes were taking place currently and what scenes were flashbacks, it was just very unorganized.

This book attempts to make a 'plot twist' at the end of part one, which is around the 150 page mark, but it doesn't really change anything in the story. It's not a great plot twist, and I was expecting more from the next two parts. When I finally realized what this story is about towards the end, and I realized there wouldn't be any mind blowing plot twists, I was really disappointed.

I just hate that the main mystery happening in this story is trying to figure out what went wrong in Vanessa and Richard's marriage, and when it's finally revealed it's very obvious and basic and this mystery doesn't bring anything new to the table that we haven't seen in mysteries ten million times. I think this book tries to be clever and it just epic-ally fails, and it was just so boring. The only good thing this book has going for it is the epilogue, which did have a plot twist that I didn't see coming - but even that did not make this book worth reading. I feel like I wasted my day off reading this, so read at your own risk. I don't recommend this.

The Wife Between Us is a very cleverly written novel of psychological suspense that managed to do what few books seem able to do these days – genuinely surprise me. Not just once, but multiple times.

I thought I had this book all figured out in the beginning. I thought that the vague synopsis gave too much away. That I could read between the lines and easily figure out what was really going on. However, I did exactly what the synopsis told me not to do and assumed too much. While there were a few things I guessed correctly, the story has about three major twisty reveals and I did not see any of them coming.

I really don’t know what I can say about this book without giving too much away. I really think it’s best going into with as little information as possible. I will say that it is very character driven and the pace felt a little on the slower side. I didn’t feel the psychological suspense aspects of the story until after the first twist is revealed, which is not until almost half way through the book. However, after that I felt like there was more urgency to the story. I thought the characters were all pretty sympathetic and compelling and they kept me reading during the parts where I thought the pacing was a little too slow. I also thought that the writing between the two authors was really seamless. If I didn’t know there was more than one author I never would have guessed it.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Wife Between Us. The multiple twists were very cleverly written and honestly surprised me. I felt very connected to the characters, as well. My only complaint is that I wish the pacing was a little more steady. I read so much of this genre that few things really surprise me anymore and I loved that this book was able to do it again and again. I definitely recommend this one!

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

This book started and ended great. The twisty plot got a little long in the middle but the end was great. As you ready you start to wonder what is normal and what is not as you progress thru the story.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars....a million perhaps? I am a huge fan-girl of Sarah Pekkanen I would be happy to just read her grocery list. I was unsure how her work would translate as co-author with another writer but Sarah and Greer Hendricks wrote a flawless story. I never felt that one author wrote some parts and another author wrote a different part. The storyline was seamless. The character development on point. The pace was perfection. You totally think you know where this story is going from the first page...you have no idea. You will have no clue until the very end and that's what makes these women geniuses. I could not put this book down and I have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it. It is filled with twists and turns and I predict this will be THE book of 2018 and I can't wait until everyone gets their hands on it.

“The Wife Between Us” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen appears to be a simple story, one you might have read before, but do not be fooled. The players are familiar, the husband, the ex-wife, the other woman, but these are not ordinary players in a run of the mill divorce, and things are not as simple as they seem.

The adventure begins with a caution from one of the players.
“She is unaware of the damage I have wrought; the ruin I have set in motion.”
How reliable is this participant? How ominous is this prediction?

Relationships make this a compelling novel; we meet all the usual players, all going about their daily lives. They work; they play, they struggle; they plan. We love them, we hate them; we are perturbed by them. We see the impending trauma from multiple points of view, or at least what appears to be from each point of view. Pieces of the puzzle are strewn here and there just waiting for us to put them together into the perfect picture. However, this picture is far from perfect, and none of the pieces fit together as they should. All the little things are important, but how?

The flow of the book is just like the characters, psychotic, unorganized, and almost rambling, but then plotting, focused, and determined. We watch as the whole perfect world just starts to unravel and crumble, leaving us to question everyone and everything.

The story is excellent, the plot compelling, the twists and turns unexpected. The action is hard to describe without giving things away, but it is a wild ride with twists and turns at every corner. You will not catch your breath until the end.

I received a copy of “The Wife Between Us“ from Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley. This is absolutely a “must read” book. This divorce is unlike any other. However, plan your schedule wisely; you will NOT want to put down once you start reading.

EEK! A twister blister formed in my poor brain and it was ready to burst! This thriller had a twist that made me think me three things, explanations that jumped fast around inside my head, irritating the hell out of the blister: Either I was an absolute dummy, or I had meandered into the Twilight Zone, or the publisher (or editor) had made a mistake that was mammoth and unforgiveable.

My 10-step journey:

1. Was going along just fine, enjoying this fast-moving thriller. La-dee-da, la-dee-da.

2. Got hit. WHAP! What just happened???? I was about halfway through. Surely all will be made clear in a second. But it wasn’t. I should understand. But I don’t. Way too confusing!

3. Reread pages. At first, I did so patiently, though nervously. Nothing clicked. A book should not be this hard!

4. Reread the pages a few dozen more times. I kept at it. Reread these sentences, carefully, I told myself, they WILL make sense. They always do in the end. But I was losing my dear patience. I was mad, I tell you. How could they do this to me? Despite my attempt at soothing self-talk, this book continued to make NO sense.

5. Paced. Okay, I’m a sitter, not a pacer. For this sitter to actually pace in the middle of reading a book is an unheard-of event. I usually just sit still and let my head (instead of my legs) do the work. As I clomped through my all-in-a-row living room, dining room, and kitchen (a nice straight place to pace), I tried desperately to figure out what was going on in this book that had hooked me from the start. I had pretty much settled on the idea that of the three possibilities, I was a dummy, unfit to handle a twist in a stupid book (because by this time, I was defensively calling the book “stupid”).

6. Paced some more. I don’t remember it clearly (due to stress, which often obliterates memory), but I’m pretty sure I was cussing by this point. I should have been wearing a pedometer.

7. Loaded the dishwasher. The hell with this book, I’ll do my chores. Doing the dishes never seemed so pleasant.

8. Sat back down. Should I abandon this book? Throw my Kindle across the room? (Not a smart idea to throw an electronic device, so I nixed it.) I was really pissed off. A book should not make me this mad or be this hard. My head hurt. Maybe I should call a friend and just forget about this dumb story.

9. Reread pages one last time. Okay, I’ll try, but that’s it—no more.

10. And then….OMG, I get it!!!! I get it!!!! I love this book! This twist is genius!! I felt like I had found the last piece in a 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. I was all cocky now that I had finally understood, and I could not stop marveling at the ingenuity of it. The authors winked at me. I winked back.

So that was my frustrating journey. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But then I started reading like a mad fool; my energy was renewed. Plus my dishes were done and I had had a little exercise.

It’s about time that I mentioned what the book was about: A scorned, obsessed ex-wife whose ex-husband is about marry again, is stalking the new fiancé. There are some good secrets about everyone’s past. As I read on, though, I realized that no twist could outdo that first one. That first humdinger was a twist of a different kind, but I’m not going to elaborate. I don’t want to give anything away.

The twists continued. What fun to have a stream of twists, not just one. Most books don’t come with a variety of them. I could not stop reading. In fact, I read this book in two days, which is super fast for me.

But yes, there was a bit of a letdown, only because that first twist was so grand. Also, the characters were somewhat stereotypical at first. Even some of the twists seemed a little familiar. But there were surprises that were new. The Epilogue was really good, for instance. Really good.

I do think this book might be a blockbuster. Unlike in Gone Girl, however, the language didn’t slay me; it was pretty pedestrian. I liked that there were no wasted words, though. As an ex-editor, I’m fascinated by the fact that this was written by two people. I can’t imagine how that worked.

This book is being brought to the big screen. I can’t for the life of me figure out how that first twist will be handled—sure hope they don’t have to ditch it, because the movie wouldn’t be as great without it. I’m definitely lining up to see the movie, though.

I recommend this book because of all the twists. As the blurb says, assume nothing, because nothing, and I mean nothing, is as it seems. I definitely thought it was a lot of fun, despite the pain of my twister blister.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.