The Echo Wife is a captivating thriller with sci fi elements that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

The writing is so rich and the plot is so interesting, you can’t help but fall right into the story. The pacing is amazing and the characters are well developed.

The story really makes you wonder what you would do if you were in that situation with regards to cloning. How would you feel if your husband cheated on you with a clone of yourself? Really mind boggling! It was quite a ride to be right there with the main character as she went through the story.

If you’re like me and don’t read many sci fi books, don’t let that sway you because it isn’t overly sci-fi. It focuses more on the relationships.

I cannot recommend this book enough! It’s also not too long which is great for a fast paced thriller.

The Echo Wife was an amazing read that features an incredibly unique concept.

Evelyn Caldwell is a pioneer in the scientific community for her genetic clone research. The last thing she expected was for her husband to leave her for a cloned replica of herself. But Martine is everything Evelyn is not, patient, kind, and obedient. When Evelyn receives an urgent call from Martine requesting a meeting, she's shocked to discover her ex-husband dead on the woman's floor. Now the Caldwell wives must clean up the mess before Evelyn loses everything she's worked for her entire life.

The cloning concept in this book was quite interesting and I liked that the author made it easy to understand. The author has Evelyn explain the process behind cloning to Martine who, like the reader, knows nothing about it. By explaining everything to Martine, it allows the reader to get all the necessary information without an uninteresting info dump. So don't let the science fiction aspect of the story put you off as it's easy to understand.

Evelyn and Martine's characters are so different from each other at the start of this book which I didn't expect given that Martine is a clone. While they do have some of the same mannerisms and obviously they are physically identical, they very much stand apart as characters. Evelyn has dedicated her life to her work and she is very driven. She doesn't bother with anything that doesn't interest her and is unapologetic about that. Martine is a much softer version of Evelyn and her focus in life is her husband. She doesn't question information she's given and accepts that what she is told is what's best for her. Martine changes a lot over the course of the book and I won't detail how to avoid spoilers but it was definitely interesting watching her development.

The thriller aspect of this story is very slow paced and that's definitely a change from most thrillers that I read. The Echo Wife is more about what's happening with the characters and not necessarily the death of Nathan Caldwell. Don't get me wrong, his death does ultimately influence why the story goes a certain direction but this book is more about the other characters' journeys after his death. I don't want to give away what happens, but I will say it was a quite interesting plot and I wondered how Evelyn and Martine would pull it off. The ending was a bit surprising but I did enjoy it.

Overall The Echo Wife was a fantastic read and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a unique sci-fi twist on the traditional thriller.

I've read every novel Sarah Gailey has written. Just let that sink in a bit....

So when I say I found the alternate history hippo western more believable than this book, that is going to be my major critique. I have read so many novels that examine the ethics of AI and cloning and this one simultaneously advances us way too far in the science of cloning while willfully disregarding all the checks and balances in place to keep what happens in it from happening. I had a hard time letting go of the implausibility. And like I said, I was okay with hippos.

The underlying premise is a scientist who is being acknowledged for major scientific breakthroughs while her personal life has gone down the tubes, largely because her (also cloning scientist) husband is mad at her for not wanting to have babies. So he ...er... finds a wife that will. There is some rough background stuff in her life, untrustworthy lab behavior, and too much of her face to contend with. I feel like the ending is interesting and a bit of a gothic horror feeling which also didn't really belong but I did find interesting.

This is a kind of Westworld scenario, with one big difference, I could understand the plot of this one! Although that’s not entirely true as some of the science explanations went over the top of my poor brain! Dr Evelyn Caldwell’s cheating ex husband Nathan creates a clone called Martine who looks exactly like Evelyn (yes indeed, psychoanalyse that one) except that Martine is a more pliant version. Or is she??? Only time will tell. That’s not at all messed up creating a clone of your wife is it? That’s just for starters, there’s a huge seven course menu to follow with lots of eye popping tasty surprises!

This book hooks you in right from the start because it’s so startling! It’s horribly fascinating as you watch the drama unfold, often with bated breath but even in my wildest dreams I couldn’t have envisaged where this would end up. It’s extremely dark, twisted and twisty and original. The characters are enthralling, they aren’t likeable especially as the book progresses and we get to see more facets to their personalities. They’re mostly cold, clinical with few moral boundaries which of course makes it compelling reading. The plot is clever as in part it’s a domestic suspense drama, partly futuristic and partly a thriller. It’s entertaining, crazy and shocking but also smart and darkly humorous. In places it blows you mind and makes you reflect on what the possibilities are in the future and it’s to be hoped that clones don’t turn out like Martine! My only negative thought is that in my opinion the book deserves a better ending as I feel it ends with a convenient whimper rather than a bang! However, there is much to reflect on with Evelyn - eeekkk!

Overall, a fast paced page turner that keeps your attention.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the arc for an honest review.

Balancing big ethical and philosophical questions with a sharply-written character drama, The Echo Wife is modern science fiction landing on its strongest beat.

The science fiction genre has explored so many avenues over the decades. Sometimes, sci-fi stories are fantastical and theatrical. Other times, they're thinly-veiled allegories used to examine specific moral and philosophical ideas. In The Echo Wife, Sarah Gailey combines multiple story elements in the vein of classic sci-fi by Golden Age writers like Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick. Gailey's novel poses big questions but never distracts itself from a compelling, intimate, character-led narrative.

Read the rest of the review at BookBrowse.

This is a powerful novel about identity, relationships, abuse and betrayal. The Echo Wife is a science fiction based mystery thriller framed by an interesting narrative. Scientist Evelyn learns of her husband's affair. However, she quickly discovers that the "other woman' is her clone. Evelyn is not only conflicted by the cheating, which has ended her marriage but by the knowledge that her husband stole her own research to create his ideal version of her.

Readers soon discover that there is much more going on and will glued to the pages to find out what happens next. I do have a better appreciate for much of the narrative from reading the author's acknowledgements and do recommend reading these first.

Engrossing. Well, well-written. Frankly a bit disturbing.

“'Why would you ever cut the blooms off the rosebush?'
It was one of the only truly useful things she ever taught me: Stress stimulates growth. Sometimes, in order to make something develop in the right direction, you have to hurt it.”
― Sarah Gailey, The Echo Wife

This evocative sci-fi thriller is set in the contemporary world, but one where cloning of people is starting to happen, and Evelyn is on the forefront of this research. Her husband, Nathan is unhappy in their marriage and clones her, creating Martine as his idea of an ideal wife. Now he is dead and the two women have to clean up the mess.

This is an interesting mix of thought experiment, an examination of women’s roles, pushing the bounds of technology and ethics, and what it means to be human.

Evelyn is cold, methodical, and diabolically brilliant. She’s hard to like, but she is fascinating. She feels she knows the lines of human and clone. She is willing to do the gruesome things to prefect her science. But when she meets Martine, the lines get blurred and it’s fascinating.

Martine, though she is Evelyn’s clone, is her polar opposite. She’s been designed to the be the perfect wife, attentive, nurturing, and self sacrificing. But she’s also a quick study.

These 2 women coming together to deal with Nathan’s death makes for an interesting ride. I love this kind of book that makes you think about everyday issues that we sometimes take for granted, like what makes a good wife, what limits should science have, and even what makes us human.

This is definitely a book I raced through, even though it’s not your typical thriller and is a little on the slower side. This is definitely a book I’d recommend for those who like speculative fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

This book was so tonally different from Gailey's Upright Women Wanted (which I also loved), but really just speaks to their incredible strengths as an author. A page-turner of a domestic thriller that also pairs science fiction (cloning) with the intricacies of relationships. What do you do when you find out your husband has replaced you... with a clone of yourself? That's the dilemma Evelyn Caldwell finds herself faced with when she encounters Martine, who isn't only engaged to her husband but expecting his child as well (when it shouldn't even be scientifically possible, given her clone replica status). But when Martine calls Evelyn later that night in a panic, the two women become connected on a more intense and intimate level than they ever expected to be. I recently found out this novel has been adapted for film by Annapurna as well, which is SO delightful. This is exactly the kind of story I want to see on the big screen.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book presented a lot of really hard questions, both emotionally and ethically. Evelyn, the narrators, relatability swung back and forth like a pendulum as she rode the rollercoaster of being left for another woman. Evelyn could be a spiteful, cold hearted bitch. She could be a scorned women. She could be an aching ball of hurt. The story of her own parents unfolding was....a bit surprising, and very illuminating into her psyche.

So of course the woman who her husband left her for was her. Just a cloned version with some tweaks. This of course locked out many more layers of pain and ethics. To be replaced by yourself with what someone considers your flaws cleaned up. Betrayal after betrayal, and the disbelief that Nathan stole Evelyn’s work to pull this all off too. So much to explore. What makes a life? What rights should not quite a life have? How far should they go? What constitutes murder? Does intention change whether an act is bad or not?

This book left me with a lot to chew on and think about. Hard questions for sure and I enjoyed how the story explored all the facets of them.

The author of this book, Sarah Gailey, wrote Magic for Liars and River of Teeth, quirky suspense books that I’ve never read but now I want to. The Echo Wife’s synopsis mentioned clones and maybe some of you don’t know about me: I love weird dystopian/sci-fi-ish suspense like Bird Box, Minority Report, I Am Legend, Ray Bradbury. This one seemed to fit into that weird area.

It was weird alright! Evelyn and her husband are lab partners in a cloning lab. Her husband makes a clone of her and can you imagine all the interesting places this story can go? Well I’ll just say where it did end up going wasn’t as exciting as possibilities I’d imagined.

But this book was definitely worth reading. It was crazy! I cleaned my house and ran errands and it was the perfect audio book to listen to. I didn’t lose my place or have to concentrate too hard. As far as mature content, there is language but it wasn’t overwhelming.

I thought this was a great book. I liked the characters, even though they're not likable as people. It's an interesting topic to think about, clones. Especially one of yourself! I sometimes struggled to see how the past chapters with her dad were relevant, maybe until 75% of the way through. But overall I liked it and have recommended it to others. A short read!

Wow! What a creative, intriguing premise for a book. Then add brilliantly written characters and unexpected twists that keeps the story moving at a rapid pace. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

'The Echo Wife' is a really unique thriller with a sc-fi twist. I love reading about clones, genetic modification, and the ethical implications. 'The Echo Wife' raises a lot of disturbing questions about what our future might hold, and it didn't feel too far from reality.

Evelyn is a well-respected scientist who has made breakthroughs in her field. She is known for perfecting a cloning process that allows the clones to be altered so they are exact (or very close) replicas of the original person. The clones can be used as a stand-in for a politician, for example, and no one else would know the difference. When the clones are no longer needed, they are discarded.

Evelyn puts everything she has into her work, and perhaps it should be no great surprise when her marriage breaks down. However, Evelyn makes a starling discovery about what her husband has been doing while she has been so focused on her work--and who he has been spending her time with.

This book holds a lot of surprises. Some I saw coming, and many I did not. It raises a lot of questions about the ethics of cloning and the humanity of the clones we create.

I would highly recommend for fans of sci-fi and intelligent thrillers.

Wow!! This is my kind of book!. I could not stop reading it, late into the night and all day. The premise is interesting - what would you do if you found out your husband was cheating on you... with your clone? And much, much more. I loved it I highly recommend this one.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

he Echo Wife is the first novel by author Sarah Gailey that I have read. And I must say – I am very glad that I have had this opportunity to read her writing. I found The Echo Wife an engaging, interesting and kind of bone chilling read that I fully enjoy. A mixture of science fiction and futuristic possibilities that kept my vivid imagination in overdrive.

Evelyn Caldwell is a scientific cloning researcher. She is also a married woman to Nathan. Nathan wants a wife that will always be pleasant, not show him up professionally (he is also in the same field – though not as successful) and wants children. As we get to know Evelyn we realize that while she has MANY of the other qualities of a wife that Nathan wants, the three noted above were missing. So what does Nathan do? He borrows/steals Evelyn’s research (though it is not perfected by any means) and creates his own perfect wife. Really not very ethical! At this point – I lost all respect for Nathan.

From the get go – Evelyn was not a warm and fuzzy type character. She is hard to like. Luckily, even if some of her actions are questionable, I began to sympathize and even like her as the story went on. Definitely a nurture versus nature storyline relating to Evelyn and her upbringing. I found Evelyn’s upbringing sad…I wonder how things would have been different had she had a more nurturing mother?

“After my father was gone, my mother didn’t have to bear his weight anymore, and she could have taken mine. But she didn’t…. I learned to breathe in a vacuum, to walk underwater, to be all alone in the world. Because of the solitude she gave me, I learned never to lean on anyone too hard, never to lean on anyone at all. Not even my husband.”

The plot twists (which frankly, I do not want to give away as I feel each reader should discover and enjoy on their own) were unquestionably thought-provoking and at times surprising. The Echo Wife certainly opened my eyes to futuristic possibilities. Would our values allow us to create clone spouses? Would technology create clones that can self learn? All very interesting questions. Time will tell. In the meantime – one can read this book and immerse themselves in fiction at its finest. Additionally, I was surprised (or was I really?) the lengths people would go to in order to have the perfect wife or cover up crimes using technological advancements.

Martine – the clone in the story surprised me. At what point was her behaviour a result of her programming or was there some self learning beyond the programming going on?

I certainly had my eyes opened about neurocognitive programming. VERY intriguing topic, which I will delve into as I certainly would like to know what was real and what was fiction.

I was mesmerized by The Echo Wife. If a reader is looking for a book which stretches the imagination into the unknown and possibilities of what cloning could be like in the future (or are we there now?), then this book is for you. I look forward to seeking out more such titles penned by Sarah Gailey.

Hard to describe and hard to put down once you start. Evelyn Caldwell is an award winning scientist who clones human beings. Her ex-husband has stolen her technology to build a clone of her to be his new wife.

3.5 stars. An original, interesting story about cloning and cheating husbands. The main character is a brilliant, driven scientist who is totally focused on perfecting her clone technique and basically ignoring her husband. Hubby, feeling neglected, steals her research and makes a clone of his wife, but programs it to be totally focused only on him. Of course this backfires and mayhem ensues. An intriguing story with a bit too much repetitive introspection by the (unlikable) main character but does bring up thoughts about what makes us truly human.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for a complimentary digital ARC for an honest review.

This book was a very interesting read. It makes you contemplate what will happen in the future if human clones are produced. And the repercussions if they can also reproduce. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how she would resolve her dilemma.

#TheEchoWife #NetGalley

What if you discovered your husband was having an affair with his wife? Yes, you read that properly.

The main character knocks on the door of what she believes to be the home of the women her husband is cheating with. Things get a lot more perplexing than expected when the door opens, and she sees…herself.

Evelyn is a brilliant scientist who has made unprecedented strides in the area of human cloning. Never in her wildest imaginings did she expect that her husband would steal the technology to make a version of her that was more palatable to him. Someone he could dominate and be superior to. As the saying goes, the best laid plans…

The author spins the extramarital and domestic strife tropes in some intriguingly unique directions. This book has a lot to love; weird science, murder, bad romance and the unspooling of enough twists to leave the reader with a serious case of whiplash.