I'm sitting here stunned (in the best way possible) by this book. It was emotional, it dynamic, and the story grabbed me and didn't let me stop until I had finished the book. I will be thinking about this one for a good while.

In Sarah Gailey's The Echo Wife, Evelyn is an extremely successful and lauded geneticist whose marriage has just fallen apart. She tries not to care- she has so many more important things to do- but the woman for whom her husband has left her is... her. Well, not her but a clone of her. He stole her research and her supplies and built his own custom-made wife. If he'd left Evelyn for anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but this is her research, and she is responsible for anything that happens with it. And something so big has happened. When he turns up dead, Evelyn and the new wife have to work together to keep all the secrets from getting out.

This book was fun! There are social dynamics and conversations on the value of women. What does it mean for the woman to be the more successful partner in a marriage and how will that affect the relationship? Is motherhood the occupation that should take precedence once it is on the table and what if that is never the goal? Also, how many bodies can one backyard hold?

I really enjoyed the tension and resolution of this book. Add it to your list and keep your eyes on the science news- this could be real someday!

An amazing novel with many issues to reflect on and unpack. The moral dilemmas experienced by the characters are reflections of questions we have all had about our existence, self awareness and what makes us human. The uncovering why each character is the way they are and their change and growth as the narrative progresses is interesting and relatable. The author handles not only the science and logistics of the plot but also the dynamics and relationships of the characters in a masterful and engaging way. The twists are unexpected and thrilling. A must read!

I really enjoyed this. I think this gave me a lot to think about in terms of the gender roles we have in society and the expectations that puts on us. It left me thinking about it for weeks afterwards.
Not your typical thriller but I personally loved the sci-fi twist it added. It felt very personal.
I think it meandered at times near the end and won't be fulfilling for everyone.

A really interesting concept, but I found Evelyn's and Martine's motivations unclear. The pace was slowed by the information dumps in lectures.

The premise of this book is really unique and I appreciated the science lingo used by Sarah Gailey when writing this book. Even if you don't know a thing about science, the descriptions used in this book can be greatly appreciated. It really helped me get deep into the plot and characters. I guessed much of the major plot twists, but I found it still enjoyable to follow along. I am more of a plot gal, and this book focuses more on the characters and how they are feeling in the situation they put themselves in. I didn't enjoy that aspect as much. I wish there had been bigger plot details than what was given. Overall, a decent book with original thinking.

Astonishing, challenging, brilliant, wholly unexpected. I didn't want to put it down. Unlike anything I've read before.

Overall: It was one of the best, amazing, shocking, dazzling, phenomenal sci-fi reads of this year. I highly recommend it to genre lovers. I couldn’t put it down! It’s smart, its dark humor captivates you and you don’t want to let it go.

The Echo Wife is quite an ambitious, thought-provoking and thrilling study of human psyche that explores themes of humanity, family, love and the moral aspect of human cloning.

There’s so much to love here. The complexity of the plot was amazing and I was fascinated by the idea of lab-grown clones. The thriller aspect of the story was executed flawlessly, with some really bone chilling and unsettling twists. And the punchy ending was the perfect cherry topping.

This is a book that invites you to ponder humanity and consider what molds us into the people we are. It’s a story dark in tone but not entirely bleak, nor hopeless.

Sarah Gailey really is a genre unto themself. The book was engaging, the moral quandaries downright dirty, and the domestic horror kept me coming back for more and more. In a book where a woman is cloned in order to make a more amenable version of herself, I was surprised at the level of frustration and sympathy I felt for the clone - something I can't recall feeling in other books with similar plots. The ending was a little anticlimactic for my taste, especially with all the hard questions that were asked in the lead up, but this is still going to be a read that I return to.

This disturbing SF/domestic thriller crossover is a great bridge books for readers who are looking to dip their toes in different genres! I booktalked it for a program at the library where I work.

This was not at all what I expected and I ended up loving it. The characters were great and the story was engaging. So much so, that I finished it in a day. Will definitely recommend.

I'm a fan of both Sci-Fi and Thrillers so this book should've been a perfect read for me. I typically get really into all books and movies about cloning and the ethics behind it, but while the premise was great, the execution....not so much.

While Sarah Gailey's writing is beautiful, the story itself felt severely lacking to me. I felt it had too many plot holes and was too slow for my taste.

I feel this would be a good fit for those who don't overanalyze like I have a tendency to do, and for those who enjoy a slower paced read.

Thank you NetGalley for my digital copy and to TOR for both my digital and physical reader's copy's.

I found The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey to be a fun and exciting read. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it from the description but I did! This book really kept me guessing and I had no idea what would happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a dark as hell, morally blank and captivating book.

Evelyn Caldwell is a scientist and her field of expertise is genetic cloning. She's successful and brilliant but now her husband is having an affair with a clone that was derived from her research.

When he dies, the Evelyn and the clone Martine are left to clean up the mess, literally and figuratively.

I loved this book it was chilling and dark, near-future dystopian speculative, and somehow timeless. High recommend.

I used this review copy to inform my interview with Sarah Gailey on the Fantasy Inn podcast: https://thefantasyinn.com/2021/02/23/e73-sarah-gailey-interview/

I am a huge fan of Sarah Gailey's work and this is easily one of my favorites of theirs. I think the concept of cloning in science fiction has been done so many times it's hard to find a fresh perspective on it, but the cloning takes a backseat to razor sharp social and personal commentary. It's a story that ends up being more about strong women, weak men and what marriage brings out in the people involved. I was also in the middle of reading this when I watched Swan Song (starring Mahershala Ali and Naomi Campbell) and that made an interesting companion piece to this journey.

Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She is patient, and gentle which makes her a good person.

Martine is also having an affair with Evelyn’s husband! Nathan feels neglected by Evelyn because she lives in her lab working all the time. Evelyn’s husband, Nathan, is killed. Well good riddance, who cheats on his wife with her clone?! And Martine is pregnant, what we’ll how?! Crazy!

This was a slow start but it becomes a crazy thrill ride, you don’t want to mess with Evelyn or her clone! Martine and Evelyn work together to dispose of Nathan’s body and then to clone him. Crazy!

It is a page turner with a few twists to keep you guessing. The genre would be science fiction and thriller - domestic suspense.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Evelyn Caldwell is an award-winning scientist and in the top of her field of genetics and cloning. It is with this great skill set, that her own husband Nathan, was able to create a replica of her. However the clone, he named Martine, was genetically programmed to be a softer, more docile version of Evelyn.
After leaving Evelyn and starting a new life with Martine, Evelyn is tasked with trying to move on from this betrayal. She works to keep her distance from Nathan and his clone wife for fear of getting wrapped up in Nathan’s ethical misconduct; clones are meant for scientific research only. She manages to start taking those steps towards a new life, that is until Martine calls Evelyn because she needs help with Nathan’s dead body…

I am really bummed to say that I really didn’t enjoy this book much at all. The whole premise of the book sounded amazing, but I feel like either the synopsis gave too much up, or the most interesting parts of the book were sped through.
We discover that Martine has killed Nathan and has asked Evelyn for her help within the first 10-20% of the book. Now for me that would have been okay, had there been some more twists or reveals throughout the book, but there really wasn’t anything else to spice up the book after that.
The majority of this book felt like non-stop internal dialogue of Evelyn thinking about how much she hated Nathan and how she was superior to him in so many ways.
The one aspect of this book that I did enjoy were the parts where Evelyn was in her lab and we followed her in her daily work. As a woman who herself works in a medical laboratory, I found these bits the most interesting and it felt like the author was either already knowledgeable in genetic science or did great research for this book.