So, I read this book almost a year ago, not sure why I never got around to reviewing it. I started it recently thinking I hadn't read it and it all come back to me within the first little bit.

This is one of those books that has that "oh shit" factor later in the story when things start coming together, and that's what saves this story. This story was just ok for me. I didn't enjoy Evelyn's character at all and the majority of this story is about her and it's written through her eyes.

I felt really bad for Martine though. Nothing was within her control for much of her life, until she takes matters into her own hands. Her story was so sad and I wanted to be the shoulder to lean on that she needed and never really had.

It was a bizarre story with lots of potential that just kind of fell flat. It is not a long story and I think it could have been made a little better if it had been expanded a bit to include more of the husband's and Martine's views and not revolving mostly around Evelyn. There is more I'd like to say here, but I don't want to spoil anything for those wanting to read this one.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest reaview.

**5/5 Stars**

Sarah Gailey's The Echo Wife was a surprise of a read. A far-fetched, unusual premise (I'll get to it in a minute), but yet engaging story about two women who forge a bond amid despair.

Evelyn is a pioneer in the world of biotechnology and genomics. The scientific world has recognized her brilliance with accolades and honors, but the true depth of her intelligence cannot be shared with anyone. It is a dark secret shared between Evelyn, her now ex-husband, Nathan, and her lab assistant.

That dark secret is Evelyn's discovery that she can replicate and clone people. Evelyn has been conducting research in her lab that violates a number of ethical codes, including creating humans and then disposing of them when they are "defective" in some way, or die in the process of her risky cloning experiments. If the scientific world knew what Evelyn was doing behind closed doors in her lab, she would lose all credibility and likely her career would be in ruins.

One day Evelyn receives a frantic call from a voice that sounds oddly like herself. Her husband has been killed by none other than a clone he made of Evelyn using Evelyn's data. The clone, named Martine, killed Nathan in defense.

Evelyn, as a scientist, is curious about Evelyn, so she agrees to help her dispose of Nathan's body. Both women are angry with Nathan for different reasons, but nonetheless decide to clone him to cover up their crime.

What I liked about this book was that it explores the nature vs. nurture debate. Evelyn, who decided against having children to pursue her career, witnesses what it would have been like if she had taken a different route in life through Martine, who is pregnant by Nathan. The women forge an unexpected bond despite obvious tensions underneath the surface of their relationship - namely that Nathan picked Martine so he could "raise" her to be the wife and mother Evelyn was not.

There are a lot of themes in this book that go beyond the sci-fi story of the ethical and moral implications of cloning. The long-term impacts of abuse. The patriarchy and misogyny in the world of academia and science. The loneliness that comes with being a female scientist in a world pitted against you.

Thank you to the author, Sarah Gailey, the publisher, Tor Books, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of The Echo Wife.

I finally finished this book- it took me quite a while to get into it probably because I was expecting (hoping for?) horror but this is really a drama with a splash of sci-fi.
I like the author's writing style and was looking forward to reading more from them (I LOVED the American Hippo series) and while good, this was not what I expected.

Sarah Gailey: Unsettling Stories in Imaginative Settings

I first came to Sarah Gailey's work when I read their debut novel, River of Teeth (St. Martin's, $15.99). The premise seems far-fetched at first: the story is set during an alternate American Civil War; the government bred hippos in the marshlands of Louisiana, failing to account for their brutality and resulting in bayous overrun with feral hippos by the late 19th century. (This was an actual plan presented to Congress as a possible solution to food shortages during the Civil War, though it was never implemented.) The novella reads something like an old western, with Winslow Houndstooth and a ragtag crew of assistants contracted to take back the hippo-run bayou. In Upright Women Wanted (Tordotcom, $20.99), Gailey once again proves an ability to pack a slim tale with outsized action and adventure, this time in an imagined future America in which Librarians run state-sanctioned materials between territories--and smuggle a few contraband items along the way.

Gailey's genre-defying imagination once again shines in Magic for Liars (Tor, $17.99). It reads like a fast-paced whodunit combined with all-too-familiar high school drama. Except this high school is for magical teenagers, and the down-on-her-luck private investigator sent to look into a murder on campus is decidedly not magic. In their latest novel, The Echo Wife (Tor, $24.99), Gailey once again straddles genres in a story of a woman who discovers her husband has been having an affair--with her clone. A little bit sci-fi, a little bit domestic thriller, the novel poses questions about responsibility and creation: not only when cloning but also when crafting a life, for ourselves and for others. Shelf Awareness's reviewer called it "unsettling"--a quality that could be applied to any of Gailey's imaginative works of fiction, and not a bad thing in the least. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

This story is so twisted and dark, by the end I was strongly reminded of setting down <i>Gone Girl</i> and thinking about how all these characters kind of deserve one another, and foreseeing the inevitable implosion of the fragile status quo. I also got Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstein</i> vibes because of the egocentric creators who don't recognize the humanity of their own creations (even when those creations are somehow more human than the doctors).

Just like with <i>Magic for Liars</i>, I can't deny Gailey's artistry while grappling with the intense discomfort their characters' moral darkness inspires. This is more a thriller with science fiction themes than a straightforward sci-fi story.

Received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. Great writing and kept me hooked til the end. I sometimes have a hard time getting into books but no issues with this one!

Just after receiving a prestigious prize for her work on cloning, Evelyn learns that her ex-husband, Nathan's, new wife, Martine, is pregnant. While this would be upsetting for many, Evelyn's particularly angry because Martine shouldn't be able to get pregnant, as she's a clone. One that Evelyn's ex made and based on Evelyn (but without the "disagreeable" parts, of course). But when Martine accidentally kills Nathan during an argument, Evelyn grudgingly gets involved in helping Martine cover up the murder, risking her career in the process.

Clone novels always introduce an element of ethical debate, and The Echo Wife is no different. What makes this one stand out, however, is the multiple layers of ethics up for debate. Are clones people or tools? Can a woman who was programmed to want a child and be subservient to her husband really make an autonomous decision to have the child? Can a clone be blamed for the crimes of its source human? Gailey is an angry person, and in this book, their anger crystallizes into a wonderfully told, taut drama solidly based in science fiction. This will make a wonderful book group title.

Sarah Gailey is a treasure and the future of fiction. This book was very different than their previous books, but what was the same was the compelling and believable characters. I enjoyed working through the mental gymnastics of what it would mean to incorporate clones into our lives.

Evelyn Caldwell is a world-class researcher with questionable ethics. And her very own clone happens to be having an affair with her husband.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The premise drew me in immediately, but I didn't leave feeling totally satisfied. First, the whole theme of genetics and cloning had so much potential, but I felt that the author barely scratched the surface. I know it's sci-fi, but I think if Gailey dug deeper into the real-world research and ethics, and folded that into the storytelling, it would've felt more believable, more chilling, and more dynamic. Second, I had trouble connecting with the main character, Evelyn, and that makes any book a tough sell. I found her cold, entitled, and a bit simplistic given that she's a brilliant scientist (I love a good antihero, but the point of the antihero is that you're still rooting for them despite their flaws).

Overall this was a satisfying read full of plot twists and surprises, but there were a couple things that held it back from being great.

I loved River of Teeth and expected to adore this just as much - unfortunately I think it was a case of wrong book at the wrong time for me. I will revisit the finished copy I bought for the library some time in the future.

Evelyn is a renowned, award-winning scientist famous for her human cloning work. When we begin the story, she’s just won a prestigious award, and her husband has recently left her for a woman he secretly cloned of her, using her own research.

Martine, the cloned woman, reaches out to Evelyn to try to establish a relationship and to share some news. It would seem that Nathan has programmed her to be more to his tastes than the original Evelyn, and she is in for quite a surprise with how she and Martine will soon become entwined in each others’ lives.

I typically don't seek out sci-fi, but this was a good read, and I thought the premise was unique and strong— though there is one plot hole that is still bothering me about Martine's backyard. Anyway, while the characters certainly weren’t conventionally likable, it was enjoyable to watch the development and strength grow in both Evelyn and Martine through the novel. While I read it quickly and it captured my attention, I felt the story was a bit cold in tone and could have drawn the reader in further.

I got an ARC of this book.

So I am a huge Gailey fan. I have read most of what they have gotten published. I have laughed so hard I have cried over their snail issues and had strong feelings about noodles with them. I knew that I needed to read this book, didn’t even read a single word of the description. When the clone was revealed I was floored, but honestly that is in the description so I am probably alone in that feeling.

The book itself reads very quickly, like a lot of Gailey’s works. The big difference is this did not feel like a Gailey book. There are some authors that you read them and there is just this incredibly distinct style where if you are given a paragraph or two you can tell exactly which author wrote it. Gailey has been that sort of author for me, but then this book appeared. This is very different than their other books to the point it felt like a totally new author. I also loved this author, but it was wild to see just how different this was from anything else Gailey has written.

This was a wild ride, but also felt incredibly controlled. I loved the MC, not because she was a good person, but because she was so consistently her. She felt complex and difficult. She sounded both terrible and awesome. I loved that there really wasn’t a character that was super flat, except maybe Nathan. Even Martine, the clone, was complex. Some of Martine’s complexity was clone stuff, but some of it was the way that Evelyn saw her or didn’t see her.

Every time I though the big drama had been had, there was another little hiccup. Some of the hiccups were moral, some were murder. I was afraid that the ending would reveal that Evelyn really was the clone the whole time, but thankfully Gailey managed to avoid that trap that so many thriller books have that are really obnoxious. The ending hurt my heart and soul in this really wonderful way. I was very impressed every step of the way with this book, but the ending alone was five stars.

I really recommend this book. It is complex and seemingly gentle book that really is a lot at once.

The premise alone for The Echo Wife was enough for me to instantly become interested in Sarah Gailey's work, and after reading it, that desire has only grown. The twists, while sometimes foreseeable, were still engaging and so well written that I remained on the edge of my seat and devoured this book in one sitting.

Evelyn is an intelligent and driven scientist. Martine is a clone of Evelyn, made from Evelyn’s research. Evelyn didn’t clone herself though. Nathan, Evelyn’s husband, cloned her in secret to make a more docile version of Evelyn. Nathan is having an affair with Martine, until he ends up dead. Now, Evelyn and Martine have a complicated mess to clean up.

A character driven novel that combines drama, mystery, and science fiction. The existence of Martine is troubling for Evelyn, in both her personal and professional lives. This novel tackles some ethical questions that could make for interesting discussions.

Enjoyable book, but it didn’t fully draw me in. I don’t mind the unlikable characters, but there were plots holes that took away from the story for me. Recommended for fans The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine you find out your husband is cheating on you... with your clone 😳

You'd be confused. And mad. And confused about why you're mad! Because ok, but is that really cheating? Isn't he still TECHNICALLY "with me" - y'all, it would all just be so infuriating!

Welcome to this book 😂

Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

Really not the genre that I normally read but I couldn’t stop reading this book. The concept was so original and I was gasping at how crazing the concept is but how it could totally happen.

The science part threw me a little bit and I admit when they were in the lab that’s when I skimmed because I was waiting for something to happen and I didn’t want to lose focus.

Excellent, ambiguous thriller, with some unexpected psychological horror. Full review at the Ancillary Review of Books.

The basic premise of The Echo Wife is quite good. Evelyn Caldwell is an award winning scientist, her work with cloning is second to none. Unfortunately, her awards comes with a cost – namely, her marriage to Nathan. When Evelyn suspects Nathan of being unfaithful, she hires a private investigator to discover the truth. The truth is something Evelyn never would have expected; Nathan is indeed having an affair and the other woman is an exact duplicate of Evelyn herself.

For such a promising premise and such an intriguing cover, sadly The Echo Wife does not deliver. On more than one occasion I contemplated actually not finishing this book and writing a short review saying just that. However, because I was curious as to how it would end I continued to read and did finish the book.

For me, the majority of the problems I saw with The Echo Wife come from the main character herself. The story is told from Evelyn’s point of view with all her internal thoughts and feelings. And she is a mess. She is almost always upset by something, either from something someone did (as when Martine tidied up Evelyn’s townhouse) or from something someone did not do (such as her co-workers not noticing she was upset despite her keeping her feelings to herself). Evelyn comes across as self-righteous and overly emotional and that became tiring after a while.

Overall, while I did enjoy reading The Echo Wife it was also a struggle. Would I recommend it to my readers? Yes, provided they take my advice and take everything in the book with a healthy grain of salt.

What a unique book! Evelyn Caldwell is an award winning scientist that specializes in cloning. She can actually clone an adult human, that will look, act and even believe they are the person they are cloned from. Mainly these clones are used for politicians who are in danger of being killed, so they would send the clone in. Evelyn's obsessive work has made her marriage suffer and her husband, who is also a scientist has used her work to clone Evelyn and have himself a new wife, Martine. Nathan ends up dead and both Evelyn and Martine, have to clean up the mess and fix things while in the process discover things about themselves.
Evelyn could be harsh and mean at times but you xome to learn why that is in time. I had a hard time connecting with her. But there were a few time I did feel bad for her.
Martine on the other hand made me feel so much empathy for her situation. She was programmed to be the perfect wife that Nathan wanted but there is more to life than that. I loved watching her grow into more of who she wanted to become.

Evelyn is a brilliant scientist involved in cutting edge research. Her focus is on cloning and she has been quite successful. Evelyn is a workaholic and dedicated, but her personal life is another story. Her husband, Nathan, also a scientist, has grown tired of sharing his wife with her job and has left her for another woman. That’s when Evelyn discovers that her husband, using Evelyn’s research, has made a clone of his wife. Martine is everything that Evelyn isn’t. She’s gentler and much nicer, and she is the wife that Nathan had always hoped for. But, when Martine does something that he hasn’t anticipated, he attacks her. In the struggle Marine kills Nathan and then frantically calls Evelyn. The rest of the story is concerned with how the two women deal with Nathan’s death.

The Echo Wife has such an interesting and unique storyline. It’s a light thriller with sci-fi as well. Although who knows just how much is imagination or a glimpse into the future. Many ethical and moral questions are raised and, for many readers, the decisions that are made might be disturbing. There is also a fair amount of scientific explanations and descriptions which, again, might not be appealing to everyone.

For the most part I enjoyed The Echo Wife, although I didn’t find any of the characters very appealing. The story is told from Evelyn’s point of view and I found her to be very unlikable. Although I can understand why the author chose to give Evelyn this personality, I think it diminished the story a great deal for me. She simply displayed too many unappealing qualities, which made her very unsettling.

Nevertheless, the book is well-written and clever, with a plot that is well-drawn. I fear it just wasn’t quite the book for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.