This book didn’t feel fully fleshed out to me. It started out a bit slow, got interesting around the middle, and then petered out slowly again. The idea behind the story is that a brilliant researcher who figures out how to make clones finds her husband has replaced her with a more submissive clone of herself. I did like some of the exploration of the clone’s perception of life and what toxic men expect out of their romantic partners, but it just felt like not much happened besides that. A lot of scenes felt kind of superficial, or were only described afterwards, which left me feeling a bit frustrated. It’s an easy read though, and if someone were to approach it thinking of it as a novella, they might feel more satisfied.

LOVED this!!

Super smart and clever novel that reads very much like a well thought out mystery with a bit of Sci-Fi here and there. It was evil and meticulous and so well done that I did NOT see the ending coming.

Very pleasantly surprised and impressed.

3.5 stars. I don't read a lot of thrillers, but the sci(fi-ish) premise hooked me. This is a fun book for people open to or interested in some of the ethical questions of scientific advancement. For thriller readers, I think the pacing will feel a little odd. It's dark but doesn't inspire the mood that I associate with "suspense/thriller." This author has written a wide variety of fantastical stories in quick succession, so taken with some of their other titles, it's interesting to see the evolution of their work.

I've been in a rut, reviewing mediocre books, so The Echo Wife was a welcome break, with its compelling plot and dynamic characters. This is exactly the kind of soft Sci-Fi, or relationship-based Sci-Fi that I LOVE, and I powered through it in 24 hours. As is often the case, I requested this book a while ago and it has been sitting on my shelf for long enough that I managed to forget the synopsis, so when I got to chapter 7, I was surprised in a way I doubt many people who purchase this book will be (as they will likely be well aware that the woman with whom Evelyn's ex-husband took up an affair, Martine, is actually Evelyn's clone). I wish that weren't given away in the synopsis, and that every reader could experience that first shock in the same way I did-- honestly, it's my favorite thing about the book-- but I suppose that's the basic premise here, so it must be disclosed. That moment at the coffee shop, when the barista says "you two could be twins", was so good. Really hope this book gains traction in 2021 and that it's adapted into a film or Black Mirror episode.

What? There are two of me? Awesome! We’re gonna kick ass & take names! OK- so maybe that’s my first thought if i was told I have a clone. But then I’m not in the same situation as Evelyn Caldwell in The Echo Wife. Evelyn spent her entire adult life researching the cloning process, but she didn’t make her own clone; her husband did. He stole her research & used it to make a new, “improved” Evelyn. When Evelyn goes to confront her clone, Martine, only to discover that she is pregnant, her emotions get the better of her. It seems they get the better of Martine too, because later that day, she kills the man who made her. And then calls Evelyn for help.
No spoilers there- this is all in the promotional material- but the book is pretty coy about it for the first 7 chapters or so anyways, which is annoying. The rest of the book is a fairly tense, character- focused meditation on the ways in which women are conditioned, or more generally, nature vs. nurture.
If you thought this would be action packed, you might be a bit let down. We are primarily in Evelyn’s head, in her reactions to whatever thing Martine just did, and at times it becomes a little repetitive. One other thing that bothered me is how the science is never fully explained- like the world where this is possible is not really built in any way. We are just expected to believe it without question.
I did enjoy this read, and for a thriller, it was pretty fun. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if I hadn’t read Magic for Liars and LOVED it, but I’m glad I did. I gave it a strong 3 stars- almost 3.5.

Evelyn Caldwell’s zestful exhilaration of receiving her prestigious award for her excellent scientific research turned into a terrifying nightmare when she received an urgent and frightening call from Martine.

When Evelyn arrived at Martine's house, Nathan, Martine’s as well as Evelyn’s husband, was found dead in a pool of blood, and Martine was holding a bloody knife in her hand!

As both women were trying to deal with this tragedy, they were entangled in a mysterious and surreptitious affair of dark secrets and lies, betrayal and revenge.

THE ECHO WIFE is nail-biting and suspenseful, and will definitely keep you on edge till the end. Undoubtedly, writing unsettling and heart-pounding thrillers is Sarah Gailey’s forte.

I would like to thank Tor Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to enjoy this spine-chilling thriller.

#TheEchoWife
#NetGalley

THE ECHO WIFE is one of those compact books that takes longer to read than the page count would suggest, as the reader pauses and steps away to digest not only the events on the pages, but also the larger emotions behind them. If there was one gift of 2020, it was the way in which it helped develop our emotional muscles to be able to both appreciate the craft Gailey has exercised on the page, and also feel sad for the characters and their experiences. Another stellar work from one of my "must read" authors.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.
Imagine the pain of having your husband leave you, now imagine if he left you for a more docile version of you he had cloned. That is the pain Evelyn was feeling when one nigjt her clone Martine called needing Evelyn’s help. It seems Martine had murdered their husband Nathan. And it was quite the mess that needed fixing.
I had a little trouble with this one at first, I mean I liked the premise, it just wasn’t resonating with me. Then input it down for a day or two and flew through it. I would say at about the 40% mark it really started to pick up. I enjoyed the story arc and the secrets Nathan held. It was overall a good read.

2–3 stars; I wanted to like this one more than I actually did.

I don’t think this is a bad book. In fact, it has many rave reviews that I appreciate, and I can see this being well-liked by most folks who pick it up. It also carries several interesting themes for readers to unpack, not the least of which include questions of programming versus free will, and women’s autonomy—of mind and body, what we say and what we do, how we carry ourselves, the ways in which we resist and transgress.

I just wish I’d had different expectations going in, because what I was anticipating—and very excited for—was not what this book delivered.


✔️EXPECTATION: Action-packed plot that is as gripping as the storylines of Westworld, with protagonists as entertaining as those in Killing Eve.
❌REALITY: None of the above.

I’ll be honest: what really intrigued about The Echo Wife was its name-dropping of Westworld and Killing Eve.

For me, Westworld was defined by its sublime landscape, its enigmatic sense that all is that what it seems. Meanwhile, Killing Eve ensnared me through the flammable chemistry between its two female leads. This book is marketed toward enthusiasts of Westworld and Killing Eve, and so I was expecting both these things: the expansive world-building of Westworld, and/or the snarky violence (and taut sapphic tension) of Killing Eve.

The Echo Wife… has none of those things.

I wanted more of an action-packed storyline—or more action, period. Instead, it takes seven chapters before the book finally stops acting like the husband’s cheating and death were mini plot twists, when they’re literally mentioned in the synopsis! The book started off WAY too coy.

It’s also very introspective and literary, more of a character study than fast-paced thriller. We spend the majority of the book in Evelyn’s head, as she comes to terms with her divorce from the ex-husband who cheated with her clone. She also recounts memories of her authoritative father and overly docile mother. She shares her frustrations about being a woman in academia (which I appreciated and found very relatable).

Yet I found her narration to be so damn repetitive. Martine would do/say something (or not do/say something) and Evelyn’d be swamped with [irritation, fury, frustration], and then she’d proceed to say something alone the lines of “I’m mad but I get that Nathan programmed her this way.” Rinse and repeat.

Again, none of these things were bad. I just felt disappointed that the plot was not as thrilling as I’d anticipated, and that Evelyn and Martine were not anywhere near as compelling as I’d hoped they’d be.


✔️EXPECTATION: Lush, vivid, expansive world building (à la Westworld!!!!!!).
❌REALITY: Worldbuilding is practically nonexistent.

As Jessica Woodbury puts it in this review: “This is a book where you have to Just Accept the Science. And this would be easier if our protagonist was not a scientist.”

I really wish I hadn’t gone into this expecting more in terms of explanation of the human cloning process. (Like: what is hormonal conditioning? It’s absolutely central to Evelyn’s research and her passions but we know zilch about it.)

There were many moments where things were just so convenient as to become contrived. And I regret not realizing earlier that I should’ve just been content with accepting this world, Evelyn’s world, a world in which we can clone humans, without questioning the mechanics of it or wondering how we got to this reality.


✔️EXPECTATION: Nathan would be tangential to the story.
❌REALITY: Nathan cropped up on just about every page.

This one kind of baffled me, especially since Nathan isn’t even a physical character in the story (his entire characterization is presented solely through Evelyn’s interiority and her thoughts about him). I’m not complaining that he didn’t get more physical airtime—good riddance!—but I do wish he hadn’t been so central to the story. The overall vibe was that the story, and Evelyn herself, had to be defined relative to this utterly insipid man.


Bottom line: Again, truly not a bad book; I only wish I’d gone in anticipating a slower, more introspective story. For the most part, this is a major case of “It’s me, not you”—or, more accurately, “It was my darned expectations, not you”!

The premise of this book was so intriguing. A husband murdered by his wife and her clone? Yes, please! Unfortunately, although it tried, the book never really delivered the excitement it promised. Bogged down by flat characters, never ending dreary inner monologues and repetitive science that made no sense, the story’s attempts to break free and rise to its potential were never fully realized. My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

The Echo Wife 🧬👯‍♀️🧪 by Sarah Gailey

Fans of thrillers get ready!! “The Echo Wife” by Sarah Gailey, which will be published in February 2021, is everything thriller fans hope for -intrigue, spookiness... plus a few clones here & there. I received this ARC from @netgalley & really enjoyed it.

I’d rate myself a medium fan of thrillers, yet after starting this one, I found it very entertaining. Evelyn is a cutting edge scientist who pioneers genetic cloning research...and unfortunately, her husband secretly created a clone of her to have an affair with (major 🤢 vibes!). Martine is the “perfect” version of Evelyn, but the two Caldwell wives must come together to fix a certain few problems that arise.

I’d like to hear an actual geneticist’s take of Gailey’s descriptions of the cloning process - for my lay scientific self, I just bought in to the theoretical cloning process in order to focus on the plot. There are some ethical dilemmas in this book around cloning & scientific research of human genetics, but aside from that, Gailey presents other issues - including how Evelyn is slowly turning into her scary & abusive father. On each page, I kept wondering how and what Evelyn and Martine were going to do next.

I can picture this book becoming a Netflix movie - plot driven & something new at every turn. There were a few questions that I never got answers to (Seyed just disappeared from the story? Or maybe this was intentional to show Evelyn was left to her own devices? Idk!!). I think that the big overarching question Gailey poses is: are any of the human characters “good” or “evil,” or are the lines blurred?

I think it’ll be a hit when it’s published. 4/5 ⭐️ from me!!

I absolutely love Sarah Gailey’s writing, and this book just further confirms that. It’s intense and evocative and draws you in immediately. The storyline is that a scientist’s husband has married her clone, and while that sounds weird and creepy, it only intensifies from there. Each new twist lead me to think about what I would have done in that situation and made me grit my teeth to see how the characters would get through it. Thanks to Tor for sending me one of my most anticipated books of 2021, it was unforgettable!

This is another hypnotically intimate first person character study from Gailey, on a par with Magic for Liars.

Gailey has such a knack for drawing interesting, resonantly flawed characters, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive them for Evelyn; her insecurities and pain were so sharply drawn. That’s where the story really shines for me.

But there’s also a ton of other stuff going on in the novel, on multiple levels. Unlikeable woman protagonist who doesn’t deserve to face judgement on that basis alone? Check. Women avoiding the patriarchy’s trap of being set against archer other (while also being flawed and human and not always sweetness and sunshine to each other)? Check. Women characters who get to live in gray moral areas? Check.

Oh, there’s also clones and murder. What a ride.

My husband has been trying and trying to get me to watch the HBO show Westworld. A show about realistic clones? How could you possibly make that interesting? Put it in book form and let Sarah Gailey write it. That’s how. When an award winning professor (Evelyn) stumbles across a hair on her husband’s clothes, she investigates and finds it belongs to a clone of herself. A clone that she did not make. This can only mean one thing: her husband stole her research and created a new “better” version of herself (meet Martine) to replace her completely. Then the husband ends up dead and Evelyn and Martine must come together to find a solution because there is more at stake than just jail time. This sci-fi thriller is a little outside my usual reading box but I absolutely loved it. I both rooted for and loathed the characters at various points throughout the book. I know it’s still 2020, but this epic 2021 novel definitely needs to be added to your TBR.


Thank you @netgalley and @torbooks for the gifted copy of this book!

3.5 stars | The premise of the book and the questions it raises are interesting: What are the ethical ramifications of cloning? At what point do cells become human? When and how much is a life valued? However, I found the characters flat and ultimately lacking. The protagonist alludes to a miserable childhood that the reader never quite sees. A lot of time is devoted to the discussion of Martine's place in the world, without any real resolution to the matter. Nathan is a clear villain from the start, without us ever having any reason to hate him other than we were told we were supposed to. Evelyn never seems to grow. By the end, I was disinterested and unattached to all of the characters. BUT, the potential for this to be a great story is RIGHT.THERE.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC.

The Echo Wife is an original and entertaining domestic thriller with some very interesting twists. It starts with Evelyn, a research scientist, at a gathering receiving an award for her unique scientific advancements. Her husband, Nathan, is having an affair and by the way, it's with a clone that looks exactly like. He has "programed her to respond the way he wants and wants her to be the mother of his child even though clones can't have children. I really enjoyed the originality and various unfoldings of the story. I also liked delving into the dilemma of cloning and clones' rights which left me wondering if venturing into that realm is worth it. The science was a little hard to fathom but if you suspend your disbelief and just run with the story it's a great read. Thank-you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Available 2/16/21.

Chilling and thought-provoking! This was a wonderful sci-fi/thriller mash-up that read, to me, like a combination of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Helen Phillips' The Need - definitely cross-over appeal even for those who are not usually sci-fi readers.

Hi friends! I received an ARC of this book from Tor Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book won’t be published until February of 2021, but feel free to read my spoiler-free review and add it to your list if you’re interested! Although I received this book for free, all thoughts and feedback are my own.


Synopsis & Quick Thoughts
The Echo Wife is the newest novel by Sarah Gailey and tells the story of renowned scientist Evelyn Caldwell. Evelyn’s wife, Nathan, has been cheating on her…with a clone of herself. Now Nathan is dead, and the two have to figure out a way to work together, or risk ruining everything.

I had never heard of this novel before I came across it on NetGalley, and the synopsis was so strange as to immediately pique my interested. I’m SO GLAD I got to read this book. It was unique, clever, thought-provoking, and just a really ride. I think that the timeline this book chose to cover could have been expanded to have more of a punch, but all in all this was a great way to end my October TBR list!

Positives
The Echo Wife does science fiction to my tastes. A number of science fiction novels are a miss for me and I’m a little cautious when selecting books from the genre. This novel is very light on the unbelievable qualities that sometimes are prevalent in sci-fi, and instead uses existing scientific terms and ideas to make the fictitious parts of the story seem more realistic (sort of akin to the way Any Weir writes, which I greatly enjoy). This allowed me to become more absorbed into the story and think about the moral questions posed, as opposed to getting caught up in my suspension of disbelief.

Each of the characters was morally grey and I loved how my feelings about each of them shifted over the course of the plot. Gailey does well to ensure that each of her characters have a great amount of depth and dimension, and there where points in time where I greatly disliked each one of them. At the same time, she doesn’t make them so dislikable as to not have moments of fondness or understanding between the reader and each character. I could understand the motives and feelings of each character even when they had opposing views, and I think that’s a really complicated and advanced thing to be able to accomplish. Gailey does it really well.

The Echo Wife is thrilling without being scary, intelligent without being pretentious, character-driven without being slow, and thought-provoking without being exhausting. A number of the themes and writing choices made in this book can be detrimental to the story if executed incorrectly, but I was thrilled time and satisfied time and time again.

Negatives
I have two small critiques that only marginally took away from my enjoyment of The Echo Wife. I’m not sure that changing the plot to accommodate these things would improve the book, per se, but it would be interesting to see how they would affect the impact of the novel overall.

For the length of time this book takes place over, Evelyn doesn’t appear to show a lot of growth. It’s understandable that the ideals she’s held and grown up with over the course of her life would be ingrained in her and relatively hard to change; I’m not even saying she has to. In fact, her not changing says a lot about her character. I just wish that there was less repetition when it came to how she viewed Martine at times. It occasionally made the story drag.

The biggest change that may be interesting has to do with my expectations for the book before I began reading. I thought the plot the novel would encompass would include Evelyn discovering her husband’s affair, but as the novel starts we are already aware of this aspect and Evelyn has moved out. I think starting the novel earlier in time and including these developments could have added more tension to the plot, but all-in-all I enjoyed so much about this book.

Rating & Final Thoughts
I’m so happy that The Echo Wife is another 4 out of 5 star read! Definitely add this one to your list for 2021. Even if you aren’t a science fiction lover, I would really consider this one, especially if you enjoyed the informative prose of The Martian or Jurassic Park like me!

The Echo Wife was both suspenseful and eerie and it also addressed interesting philosophical issues of cloning. I also appreciated the author's handling the power issues between men and women in marriage. It would make a great movie!

When we meet Evelyn, it’s clear that she’s a successful, beautiful and accomplished research scientist. And yet despite that, she’s just moved out of her home with her husband Nathan and into a stark new townhome. By herself.

But how do you behave when your spouse is in love with you? Well, not exactly, but rather a cloned version of you? And what happens when they’ve turned to that clone to make all their dreams come true, dreams you didn’t share, like having a family?

And while Evelyn would love to hate Martine, the Stepford Wife version of herself. She can’t hate herself. She looks and Martine and it’s like looking in the mirror. She knows her struggles, she knows her insecurities. They are the same.

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? It is. And it’s only going to get worse. This is one I can’t tell you much about. But if you are fascinated by the ideas of cloning and the fallout from modern science, the Echo Wife is a chilling tale you will absolutely love!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review. This one is out February 16! This review will be posted on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on January, 16 2021.