Member Reviews
I have read all of Liv Constantine’s other books (sister co-authors) so I knew to be wary of every turn in this book. I was on the edge of my seat and distrustful of every character and that experience made this book a great read! The story is told from the point of view of two women, Joanna and Piper, who both love the same man and his children. One is mourning the abrupt end of her relationship and one is starting new. Both seem unreliable but it’s impossible to figure out what is real or not. I thought I could figure out the twist the book was going to take but, once again, the authors were one step ahead of me. In a crowded genre of twisty thrillers, these authors really know how to do it right.
Thank you to Liv Constantine, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Read Constantine's previous work so picked this one up, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Too many books too little time! Constantine's past novel did well with us so will most likely add to our collection despite not finishing it myself.
Piper Reynard decides to leave California behind for Westport, Connecticut in an attempt to recreate herself. She establishes a wellness center and quickly finds success. It is there that she meets Leo Drakos who is investigating a client. She is immediately attracted to him but notices that he is wearing a wedding ring.
Leo has been suffering from depression and his wife Joanna is happy that the man that she loves is returning to his former self. He is reconnecting with their two young children and he is ready to resume his career as a prominent lawyer. What Joanna didn't expect was for Leo to develop a friendship with Piper during one visit. She soon finds out that they have been meeting regularly and there are signs of a romantic interest. Joanna will do anything to keep Leo and her prominent role in the family.
The Wife Stalker is the third novel by the sister writing team Liv Constantine. This psychological thriller is very well crafted and the twisty plot will keep readers on edge. On a personal note, I know these authors and have a hard time reconciling how these two kind women write crazy evil stories.
The Wife Stalker
A Novel
by Liv Constantine
HarperCollins Publishers
Harper
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 19 May 2020 | Archive Date 19 May 2020
Loved this! Read it one day in the Quarentine of 2020. You will not see the end until you read it.
Will recommend to our readers. Thanks to HC and Net Galley for the ARC.
You really REALLY won't see this one coming. There are certain people who read these type of books and concoct several different theories to explain all the questions and mysteries throughout. I'm one of them. And despite all the different concepts I came up with, I was nowhere close. This story is told from the main two characters point of view and you really aren't sure which one is the protagonist, which one is the antagonist, victim, vixen, what have you! I read it all in one day (no big brag during the great Quarantine of 2020 :>) because I really just had to see where it was going. There are certain things revealed towards the end that made me swear I had missed something and was actually going a few pages back to check but no- it eventually all gets wrapped up with a nice little bow AND an extra bonus shocker. My advice is read this through without trying to solve anything - then read it again (which is what I'm doing) to pick up on all the clues and hints from the first time. Very enjoyable way to spend a day!
Shadow of doubt. Essential to any thriller good or bad. In the hands of this writing team it’s like watching thread spun into gold. Piper alias Pamela has relocated to this Connecticut town starting over after a boating accident took her husband and step daughter. Joanna ,loving ,faithful and steadfast in her love for Leo, a lawyer who needs Piper’s help with a case. An undeniable attraction starts and very quickly Joanna is out and Piper in. Joanna’s distress is palpable,her confusion at his disloyalties for all her love and devotion for not just him but the children Evie and Stelli . The magic of this book is one characters unrepentant moves against the other. The veiled manipulation by Piper to bring Stelli to heel ,through diet changes and suggestions of medications to control his behavior. The increased paranoia on Joanna part that the children are in harms way. It’s the kind of thriller you know to be careful reading for fear you will miss something and believe me ,even after what you think is the last twist is revealed, you can almost see the author’s smiling hoping you’ll miss the last little thread in the last sentence! I almost did. Happy reading.
A twisty domestic thriller! An engrossing thriller full of secrets, family drama, relationship confusion, and an ending you won't see coming.
I have just recently gotten into thrillers and this one did not disappoint. The book is from the point of view of two characters-Joanna (the one who has been cast aside) and Piper (the new woman who comes on the scene). Joanna feels something is off about Piper and Leo (the man caught in the middle) and his children Evie and Steli are in danger. These authors do such an amazing job of building up the doubt in the reader's mind and convincing you that this story is a straight forward woman wronged by the temptress type deal and then WHAM! out of nowhere an ending that you will not see coming. Yes the whole thing is a little improbable but it was highly entertaining anyway. That ending really got me. Great book! Will be reading the other 2 Liv Constantine books I've missed.
The Constantine sisters are back with another psychological thriller! The whole unreliable narrator thing is overdone lately, but this time it was done superbly. I loved The Last Mrs. Parrish by Constantine and The Wife Stalker did not disappoint! This novel was so fun to read. I absolutely love when a book goes in a completely different direction than I predicted and the two POVs give two different perspectives to the story which I felt was important. Once I came to the twist I actually had to reread the whole page again to make sure I really just read that. I don't want to give too many details and I recommend going into this book blind without reading anything that could spoil the ending. Seriously. Don't do it. You'll regret it. Highly recommended- especially if you're quarantined at home and need to escape.
Having already read The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You, I was very excited to read The Wife Stalker. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. The story was extremely fast-paced in a way that I felt the root of the drama was not fully developed. On top of that, I felt that by the end there were still some large unknowns that were never fully resolved for the reader. There were multiple completely unbelievable events happening or mentioned throughout the story, but became more clear once the twist was revealed at the end. That said, I wasn't satisfied by this because I had already decided some storylines were way too far-fetched, which took away from my enjoyment in reading the story. I wanted to love this book, and I thought the idea of it was clever, however, the execution didn't quite work for me.
This book was okay. It was a quick read so I kept going. There are some twists in it. But I can't say the story was great and many of the characters were a little unbelievable. But there is enough suspense to keep you reading. The story alternates between two women who love the same man. Slowly the reader is given a little background on both of them.
Piper Reynard needs to start over, so she packs her bags and heads to Westport, Connecticut. There, she meets Leo Drakos, and is instantly taken by him. Promptly ignoring his wedding ring, she is determined to become his wife.
Joanna is Leo's ex who, after all these years, is happy that he has come out of his depression and returned to his normal self. He has been busy with his children, and Joanna is determined to scoop him back up. There's just one problem - Piper beat her to it. Joanna is hell-bent on finding something, anything, in Piper's past to drag her through the dirt, and boy, does she hit the jackpot. After her discovery, however, she begins to fear for Leo's and the children's lives and is on a mission to loosen them from Piper's grip.
Another fun book by Liv Constantine.. I love that this author is actually two women who write together but live across the country from one another. They have this formula down pat.
I was drawn to the characters and the setting in this story. A wellness center in an upscale seaside neighborhood served as a fun backdrop to the ever twisting tale.
This story had a few - "Wait! What?" moments that I was not convinced would ever happen. These moments actually tune out to be subtle clues - Can't say more!
The end is packed with background details that I thought could have been dripped to the reader a little sooner....it was a lot at the bitter end.
#NetGalley #TheWifeStalker
This was a miss for me. It took me forever to finish because I was bored and stopped about 60% of the way through for a few weeks. I finally decided to finish, and probably would have put in my DNF list, but I hate not finishing it at all possible. It did have a nice twist, but honestly did not make up for the rest of the story to me.
I was so ready to rip into this review. I was going to say how the author lazily skipped over the beginning and went right to the action reserved for the middle of the story. I was disappointed in the lack of character development, lack of any lead-in to the situation the characters were plopped into. Did this author even know how to begin a well-thought out novel? Then the inevitable twist. And all becomes clear. I am so happy I didn't give up on this and I never really thought I would. I've enjoyed books by Constantine in the past and looking back shouldn't be surprised at how skillfully this one was put together. I was very distracted by all things pandemic but in the end was very satisfied with the author's story-telling. Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. Definitely recommend!
#TheWifeStalker
#MustRead
All I can say is these ladies know how to spin a tale! A must read for anyone who love suspense/thrillers!
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the E-arc copy of this novel.
Thank you to Netgalley for ARC of “The Wife Stalker.”
I have mixed feelings about Liv Constantine’s books. I absolutely lovedddd her first one, hated her second novel, and this one fell right in the middle for me.
Piper settles down in Westport, Connecticut where she opens a rehab and wellness place. When she meets Leo, she realized the only thing she doesn’t like is the wedding ring on his finger, but Piper knows that no marriage is every permanent. Joanna has been in love with Leo and has been with him through his severe depression. When it seems like life is returning to normal for her and the children, Joanna is shocked to discover that Leo is in love with someone else. Joanna is determined to find anything against Piper and she begins to dig into Piper’s dirty past. Can she find the proof she needs in time to save them?
This book is told from Piper and Joanna’s POV with short chapters that keep you glued to the book till the very end. I absolutely hated Piper, which I’m sure every reader does. The author does a good job of crafting her as the villain and Joanna as the poor person who got dumped by the man she loves. However, you begin to wonder about Joanna and is she “all there.”
I thought the book moved very quickly, except the last 20% was completely rushed. I reached a point where it was 80% finished and there was not really any ending approaching. I felt there were parts of the book that could have been deleted to really focus on that twist at the very end. I was slightly shocked by the ending, it did surprise me - but I wasn’t “wow-ed.” There are still a lot that is not wrapped up when it comes to Piper’s character.
Overall, not great, but not awful! It wouldn’t be my first recommendation to people. If anything “The Other Mrs. Parrish” will be my favorite by LC!!
) I’m still catching up on my reviews from vacation and dreaming about the days I was on the beach with a cocktail. It seriously feels like another lifetime, right when we got home shit started to hit the fan and it’s like a totally different world now. Crazy, scary, sad and weird times. Speaking of, how’s everyone doing? I’m all over the place in all aspects of my life, from parenting to reading I’m struggling to deal with anything. I feel like that’s all of us though, right?!
Ok, let me tell you about The Wife Stalker because it is the perfect summer read! I know I’m praying that things will be brighter this summer and I’m sure you all are as well, so here’s something to look forward to because y’all need to get this one on your radar. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book on vacation that was more perfect for beach reading, it’s a lighter style thriller that I lost myself in for a few hours and was just a breezy, wickedly fun read. It wasn’t a book full of twists and turns but it had one killer twist that had me gasping and I love being surprised! If you liked Mrs. Parrish you’ll enjoy this one too
WOW! Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy! Couldn’t put this book down. Such an emotional rollercoaster. I was totally blown by the ending! Never saw this coming! Great writing! One of her best! You think you are siding with the right character....then boom, you end up being totally wrong! WOW!
I unfortunately can’t say I loved this as much as the duos first two books. The first two thirds of the book was so outlandish and I was so annoyed with Joanna and how easily she seemed to go along with all the hardships in her life. It was unbelievable to me that a mother would act like that, so I was assuming a twist would be coming to explain her inaction. Her therapist Celeste also seemed off to me and I had a feeling she was someway involved. Of course it all came together with a brilliant twist at the end and wrapped up all of the things that had been frustrating me about the book. It was a compulsive read, Joanna was just too infuriating.