Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

The Other Wife by Clair McGowan tells the story of three women- Ella, Nora, and Suzi-through each of their voices. Ella is a neurotic housewife, who is overly anxious about her doctor husband cheating on her. Nora, recently widowed, has moved to a cottage in the country to escape her past life. Nora's neighbor, Suzi, is pregnant and kept under the close eye of her controlling husband. Each narrator tells their own story, and by the end, it is clear how each woman's life intermingles.

The plot of this book is clever, and it is difficult to see how all the stories are linked for a good portion of the book. The ending is not predictable, which keeps the reader interested. I did find that there seemed to be a lot of characters to keep track of, and each needed a little more detail to remember them by. The first half of this book starts slow, and then is action packed towards the end. I found Suzi to be the most dynamic character, and I would have loved a bigger glimpse into her life in London before moving to the country. I would have enjoyed if each story weaved together a little sooner in the plot.

I recommend this book for readers who like a twisted domestic thriller. It will keep you guessing until the end.

I had never read any Claire McGowan before but was intrigued with the short chapters told from the point of view of three different women. Suzi is married and her husband Nick has recently made them move to a house in the country, Missing her career and their fast paced busy lifestyle, Suzi is left without friends and and is also pregnant. As Nick starts to become controlling Suzi yearns for someone to confide in. She holds many secrets and knows she shouldn’t start to confide them to anyone but when Nora moves in close by she sees a chance to make a friend.

However, Nora has her own secrets. She may appear strong and capable of helping Suzi, but is she the right person to trust. Our final narrator is Elle. Elle is a retired concert pianist and worries that her looks have faded, along with her career. The one thing she has in her life is her husband and all her energy is spent making sure she is the perfect wife for when he gets home.

The novel is fast paced and uses short chapters to flit between the three different narrators which kept my interest. This was very much a case of ‘just one more chapter’. I was intrigued by the characters more than I liked them and I enjoyed that they had some unconventional viewpoints such as doubts about wanting to become a mother. Despite not liking them much, the women were quite relatable. Suzi’s insecurity and worries about her marriage felt real. Nora was probably the most intriguing because from early on I sensed a darker side just under the surface. She is calculating and complex, much more than the middle aged stereotype her husband saw. Elle seems like the least resolved character of the three and her passivity was difficult to sympathise with.

Added to these characters was a bleak rural setting to ratchet up the tension and I did find myself guessing about some of the twists all the way to the end, whereas others I’d guessed earlier on. This is a competent domestic thriller from the author and I will be checking out more of her work.

Got bored at the beginning which sort of resulted in me putting it down for a while but I got the courage to finish it and I think it was okay.

Thank you NetGalley for giving this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

There was some suspense and mystery but it was also very predictable. Although two of the characters had different names it didn’t take long to figure out they were the same person. Some of the parts of the story were also too far fetched.

The Other Wife is a suspenseful tale told from the perspective of four of the characters. Full of twists and turns, fans of Liz Nugent will love this book

The story begins with three different female perspectives: Nora, newly widowed, completely broke, and trying to start over. Suzy, unhappily married to a controlling man and pregnant, potentially with her lover’s baby. And Elle, married to a doctor who she constantly worries is having an affair.

I really do not like to write negative reviews. In fact, I try to avoid it by DNFing books that I won’t be able to give a positive boost to but sometimes mistakes are made. I don’t enjoy insulting someone’s work. I try to find redeeming qualities in everything to highlight along the way. I cannot seem to do that here. I really did not like this book.

As far as readability goes, it had some level of intrigue and moved at a reasonable pace. With the exception of a few drawn out parts, I was rarely bored. Maybe those are redeeming qualities?

I told myself throughout the story that it would get better and that the twists would be worth it. When I reached the first big “twist” I almost called it quits, as I thought this was glaringly obvious all along. It was a poorly executed attempt to fool the reader.

I persevered, deluding myself into believing that it might get better. It was a book built on lies so perhaps I just fell victim to the story line when I told that lie to myself.

The story seemed absurd to me and the plot holes were enormous. I felt like the women were made out to be so silly. I want to say so much more than that; I want to specifically tell you what drove me mad. But I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who does choose to read it. I also don’t want to write a five page review and there was a lot that drove me mad.

Maybe if you haven’t read very many thrillers and you don’t really care if there is any level of plausibility to the story, you will enjoy this more than I did. There are definitely people who have liked it. Goodreads tells me so.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer for a digital review copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is one of the best thrillers that I have read in awhile. The Other Wife starts off with us being introduced to three narrators: Nora, Elle, and Suzi. Suzi is pregnant and her life with her husband is not healthy or good in any way. Nora is a widow and Elle is married with a seemingly perfect life but there are secrets and lies that will unravel her life.

This story is extremely engaging and fast paced. Very early on I figured out something and I was preparing myself to be disappointed when it got revealed at the end. However, this thing I thought I figured out got revealed pretty early on in the book and the rest of the time I was totally captivated trying to figure out what was going to happen next. McGowan kept building and building the story up to the final reveal and I really liked how it all ended up. None of the characters are that likable but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment an any way.

My only criticism of this book is that there were a few side stories that I didn’t feel were necessary to the main plot. I don’t think it added much of anything to the story and the book would have had more of an impact without these added distractions.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.

I was looking for a good thriller with lots of twists and turns. I definitely got this here. The story is told from different points of views of the female characters.

I did figure out some of the twists, but there were a few that came as a surprise.

One problem I did have was the ending. It just ended. I thought I had missed something. But nope. It just ended. It is possible that it ended this way to open up the door for a second book - which I would definitely read.

I read this pretty quickly. It's not perfect but it's a decent read and I'd recommend it.

WOW! What a rush! LOL! Taut, psycholical suspense that I could not put down. Plenty of twists I did not see coming...there were a few times I was SURE I knew where it was going but I was so wrong! Just loved it!!

#The Other Wife #NetGalley

Wow, another great thriller by bestselling author, Claire McGowan!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The setting is in a small English village in a remote countryside. Therefore, Suzi, who lives here and is pregnant and lonely with her controlling husband, Nick, is thrilled to have a new neighbor and friend. Nora who moves in next door has secrets and is living a lie, but eventually warms up to the unhappy Suzi. Also involved in the plot is Elle, who is a perfectionist with a perfect home, and
she is an excellent wife until her husband betrays her.

The story follows the lives of Elle, Nora, and Suzi in a plot that truly dazzles!! The reader discovers three very different women with different motives and goals. Their determination to get what each wants involves many lies, revenge, murder, deception and gaslighting. These elements fuel this exceptional thriller. The characters are well developed, but not very likable. I stayed up until 2 am to reach the blockbuster ending and huge reveals of this book! I highly recommend
to those who love a book that you just can’t put down! This is the second book I’ve read by Claire McGowan, and she continues to be a favorite author of mine!

Many thanks to Claire McGowan, to Amazon Publishing UK, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Other Wife. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I actually could not finish this book and it takes a lot for me to stop reading a book. I was so confused at the beginning with so much going on that I could not keep details straight so gave up.

This book was fast-paced and full of twists, which is exactly how I like books in this genre to be. It was definitely a page-turner, keeping me reading because I wanted to know what would happen next. I also enjoyed the growth the main character (Eleanor) showed, as well as the ending that was different from the typical ending I have seen many times in thrillers. I would recommend this book.

This was a fast paced thrilling book with twists and turns. I feel like the major twist in the middle of the book wasn’t enough of a twist, I could see it coming a mile off. But that being said, the book didn’t end the way I thought it would and I really liked that.

The characters were unlikeable but in a good way and while there were parts where I really had to suspend belief in order to take what the book was offering... it was good fun! Dark but interesting.

I haven’t read from Claire McGowan before but I have read Eva Woods and I will carry on reading both for sure!

I am a sucker for a psychological thriller these days but that does mean I now end up guessing the twists more often than not and sadly this was the case with The Other Wife. That said, don't let that put you off; I still very much enjoyed this one. For me, this had slow start and even during this time I had already guessed the twist, but the further in, the more I was hooked and eager to find out how the lives of these messy, sometimes unlikeable and lacklustre (although I think that's the point) characters turned out. The ending was good and I liked how everything felt solved - no cliff-hangers here! - but also a tad unrealistic and the lead up was bit chaotic and rushed considering the rest of the book was a slow-burner. A great plot, good writing and overall enjoyable read; it could have been better but I'll still look out for the authors' other works.

*I received an advance review copy of The Other Wife from the publisher through NetGalley.

Suzi and Nick have recently left London and bought a cottage out in the middle of nowhere. Suzi left her job and is now at home all day - bored and lonely. The house is very nice with lots of state-of-the-art security and other luxuries. Suzi is pregnant and is very nervous that Nick may learn a secret she has hidden. He dictates to her that she needs to keep the house clean, take a long walk every day, and have a nice dinner waiting for him when he gets home. Suzi misses her friends and has to ask Nick for money if she wants to go into London, which is infrequent. Some days she is so lonely she thinks she may be losing her mind.

Nora has moved into the cottage across from Suzi and Nick. Theirs are the only two homes in the area and Nora’s home isn’t as nice as Suzi’s. Nora is a widow and she and Suzi begin a bit of a friendship.

Elle is married to a doctor and lives in a nice home. She was a renowned pianist in her younger years but has given that up to be at home. She loves her husband dearly, but she also has some well-buried secrets.

These women become intertwined together and some secrets emerge with revenge not far behind.

This is a good story that builds slowly (it could have been faster) to show how a group of people end up learning about people they truly thought they knew. It’s amazing what some people can hide. I enjoyed the story and the ending wrapped it up perfectly. Hope other readers enjoy it as well.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A good story of secrets, lies and deceit. Suzi has a secret, Nora, her new neighbor knows this. Nora has her own secrets. This was a fun, fast-paced thriller. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Well written. Not really fast paced and not much action but really good thriller with interesting characters you can relate to, a good storyline, secrets...
Even though it's not fast paced I didn't find it boring at all, it was a page turner! I wanted to see the connections between people, events, secrets... Well developed story.

I liked it a lot. 4 stars.

ARC received through NetGalley. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a real page turner! Unexpected in many ways. My emotions were all over the place as I read this book! The author did a great job hooking her readers until the very end. This is my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher.

Exciting, scary and thrilling. A brilliant psychological book and another triumph from Claire McGowan. Makes you think and wonder about people! @NetGalley@TheOtherWife