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.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. 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. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

While not my personal favorite of Gailey's work, The Echo Wife is absolutely their best-written work yet. Every aspect of Dr. Evelyn Caldwell's life feels placed under a microscope as she navigates her fraught relationship with her dead ex-husband, Nathan; the clone of her, Martine, whom he created from Evelyn's stolen research; and the relationships with her parents that formed the person she is today—for better or worse. With its brilliant commentary on agency and faithfulness, The Echo Wife is a domestic thriller with a science fiction twist, perfect for fans of Orphan Black, Killing Eve, and Big Little Lies.

What a surprise read! I’m not at all into sci-fi, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I found myself wanting to read more and more to find out what would happen next!

4.5 stars

What would you do if your husband left you for a better version of yourself? Evelyn never imagined her research would one day lead to her marriage ending, but her husband didn’t just leave her for another woman. He created a genetically cloned replica; a patient, more obedient “Evelyn”.

When Martine contacts Evelyn for help, the last thing Evelyn expects to find is Nathan on the floor in a pool of blood. But rather than cause a greater divide between the two them, his death in turn brings Evelyn and Martine even closer, and together they learn that Nathan’s lies and secrets go even deeper than they ever thought possible.

This was a really unique story, and I’m glad I chose to read it. I’m a science geek, so I enjoyed reading about all of Evelyn’s lab work and research. Overall, I really liked the book, but I felt like the end was a bit anticlimactic. I think it was a good spin on how to rectify the situation to benefit both Evelyn and Martine, but I was hoping for a bit more of a dramatic finish.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3612662212

Evelyn, a gifted scientist finds out her husband is having an affair, but not just with any woman but her clone that he illegally created using her research. After this betrayal and ensuing divorce she is trying to put her life back together but receives a call from Martine, the clone that has replaced her, and finds out that Martine has murdered her ex, Nathan. Evelyn and Martine cover up Nathan's murder since Martine isn't supposed to even exist and if the world found out that a sentient clone was created Evelyn's life's work would be destroyed. Not one character in this book makes good decisions, showing that even intelligent people can make dumb choices when they're battling their own self interests. This was a captivating read and watching Evelyn and Martine deal with their discoveries about Nathan and the repercussions of their actions was at times frustrating and totally understandable.

This story is so weighed down with inner monologs and flashbacks that do not move the plot forward. The premise is interesting but the book could have been so much better.

Evelyn Caldwell is an award-winning scientist, who has been recognized for her work with clones. She is beautiful and brilliant, but she cares more about her work than her husband. When he creates a Stepford Wife version of Evelyn things get interesting.

I loved this storyline. I did not guess the ending, which I take as a positive attribute. I was interested throughout. My only critique is the world was too small. We never see anything past Evelyn’s lab and home. No one questions where the clone came from. I loved the premise of this book, I loved the way it kept me interested, but I would have loved a little more realistic look at the troubles the character’s actions would have caused.

I am not a SciFi/fantasy type person but finding out your husband is involved with your clone was too much to pass up. I think it would make a great miniseries. It really made you think about what makes you, you and about betrayal.

An Echo is an almost perfect reproduction of the original, but one can tell it’s the Echo. In The Echo Wife, who is the echo? The original wife who wouldn’t give her husband a child at the expense of her career? Or the clone, who has been programmed to only think what she is told to think? Who is The Echo Wife?

I had the hardest time putting this book down! All I wanted was to find out what happened next to Martine and Evelyn!

The Characters
Evelyn is logical and unemotional while Martine is docile and nurturing. They couldn’t be two more different people. Just the fact that Martine exists pushes against the boundaries of Evelyn’s research, and she’s constantly fighting against her personal beliefs about Martine’s very existence.
Nathan doesn’t have much dialogue in the book, even though his existence actually plays prominently in the story. The book is more about the results of his actions and decisions, than the actions themselves.
This book is excellently written. I connected to Evelyn, even without relating to her. I think this is deliberate, because Evelyn is the unemotional one. Even through her research, I could tell she had a hard time connecting with and trusting others. Even her choice of research shows she is a loner and recluse.
This book doesn’t seem to be about Evelyn’s divorce at all, even though it plays into it. It’s not even really about Nathan’s infidelity. It’s about two diametrically opposed human beings learning to accept one another, even when the world says it’s impossible.

The Writing
One thing I thought was funny is the ARC I received was labled “Uncorrected,” but I didn’t find many writing issues at all. Evelyn is the narrator, so the story moves along in almost a scientific way. It’s almost cold and unemotional. I was able to see some growth as the story progressed, because of Evelyn’s proximity to Martine.
When Evelyn and Martine are interacting, it’s easy to see the frustration in Evelyn’s voice over what she sees as Martine’s failings. When Evelyn is trying to understand Martine, she is only doing so through the lens of her own research.
Sarah Gailey’s depiction of The Echo Wife is so well-written that one could almost believe cloning is a real, achievable science.

The Author
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey is not her first book, but she is now on my list of auto-buy authors. I don’t have many on that list, so the fact that she made it tells you how good I think this book is! I haven’t had a chance to find her on Twitter yet, but trust me when I say it’ll be one of the first things I do. I need to follow this awesome human! I’ve only read this one book of hers, but I will be adding the others to my Amazon Wishlist.

I’m not sure what genre this book would fit into, because it seems to have elements from several different ones. I would probably consider it a thriller, because most of the story seems to fit that category. It is definitely an adult book, as it has bad language sprinkled through the book. The language isn’t so prevalent that I would ever say don’t read it, but there is some.
Honestly, I will say I thoroughly adored this book. This will go on my list of “Books to read again when I’m going through a reading slump.” Even knowing what’s going on doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story.
The Echo Wife has enough psychological aspects to it, that I think it could take a lifetime to discover all of them.
I hope you give this book a chance, because I don’t think you could be disappointed.

I am so happy I read this book. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the advance copy. This is not a book I would normally read. This is a book about cloning. The premise is good. Evelyn’s ex-husband has divorced her and made a clone of her. He’s managed to get his new wife, Martine, pregnant. Evelyn was betrayed by her father and now her ex. How can a clone be pregnant? Evelyn’s clone are for research, or to stand in for a politician. The writing isn’t too technical. It’s also one of those great books that aren’t time/place specific. She has a lab. She drives a car. This would be brilliant for a book club, and in my opinion, it should be a movie.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey was the first time I had read anything by this author. This was an interesting read. I usually do not gravitate toward science-fiction, fantasy type reads. However, this book was interesting and written beautifully. I was drawn into the world and needed to know what happened. The author did a fantastic job in developing the plot and the characters. There were so many creepy twists and turns I was on the edge of my seat!

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Sarah Gailey is one of my favorite writers, so I was especially disappointed that this fell flat for me. The science was unclear at best, and the timing of the whole endeavor didn't really hold up. The writing lacked Gailey's trademark wit and cynicism. There were some underlying themes of abusive history, manipulation, and the ethics of cloning, and I felt like none of that was adequately explored. Ultimately, pick up one of Gailey's fantasy books, all of which I would recommend over this one.

This tightly-wound, thoughtful thriller with a sci-fi twist is EASILY an early 2021 standout. Scientist Evelyn Caldwell's ex-husband is having an affair - from a clone of Evelyn herself, programmed to be everything her ex ever wanted her to be. In Gailey's expert hands, this scientific premise reads like a gripping psychological thriller, with each secret and betrayal unearthing another dazzling layer that will leave readers relentlessly turning pages. This novel is rooted in issues of the moment and packs a sharp, emotional punch.

Oo y’all I was SO happy when I was able to read and it did not disappoint!’! Seriously one of the best novels this year. Very dramatic and suspenseful.