What a twist, and then whiplash turn of a storyline. I thought I had most of the story figured out (one of the big predictions I made was actually based on the title), but the ending was great. I liked the development of Jane and could sympathize with her in some of the situations she found herself in throughout the book. The reader is enticed to cheer for her.

Psychological thrillers are my favorite genre and this fed my need for a new read in that category. I will highly recommend this book to others who enjoy having this kind of thrill.

This book was definitely perfect for a compulsive read and it sucked me in from the beginning to the end. It's compared to being a modern Jane Eyre, but the differences between the two are vast. I would not recommend this for someone thinking they're reading a retelling of JE, but is still very good.

This is the 1st Rachel Hawkins book I have read...and I loved it!!! I’ll definitely be going to read some more of her books! The Wife Upstairs was a great, quick paced, twisty thriller until the end! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rachel Hawkins’ latest novel, The Wife Upstairs, is a domestic thriller that is inspired by the popular Gothic classic, Jane Eyre. Thankfully, however, you don’t have to have read Jane Eyre to thoroughly enjoy this dark and suspenseful tale. Jane Eyre’s Gothic English setting has been updated to a gated community in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Jane in this tale is not a governess, but instead is a professional dog walker.

As in the original tale, Jane is the classic underdog character. She grew up in foster care and has been struggling to make ends meet. She shares an apartment with a loser roommate who eats her food, uses her things without asking, and is just all around rude. Jane has some secrets in her past that she is running from and so she is living somewhat off the grid, making money by walking dogs for rich people in the elite Thornfield Estates and stealing trinkets from their homes to pawn for cash at every opportunity.

Life starts to look up for Jane, however, when she has a chance run-in with a handsome, wealthy widower, Eddie Rochester, while she’s out walking dogs. Because his wife and her best friend drowned in a boating accident and their bodies still haven’t been recovered, Eddie is the talk of the neighborhood amongst the bored housewife set. Jane sees her run in with Eddie as the doorway to a better life for herself, and lucky for her, Eddie is so enamored with her that he goes out and gets himself a dog so that he can hire Jane as his dog walker, which quickly escalates to Eddie asking Jane to move in with him. That’s when Jane starts to realize that what seems too good to be true may actually be just that and that Eddie may have just as many dark secrets lurking in his closet as she does in hers.

One thing that surprised me about The Wife Upstairs is that I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters. That was kind of a bummer since I would normally be rooting for the underdog, but something about Jane and her machinations just didn’t sit well with me and I felt the same way about Eddie. Even feeling ambivalent about them, however, I still found myself completely invested in the story. Why? Because, like those bored housewives, I really wanted to know the dirt on everyone. What is Jane running from? What is Eddie hiding? If those deaths were just an accident, why haven’t the bodies turned up? There were just so many questions and so many deliciously dark twists and each turn of the page would just ramp up the tension and suspense all the more.

I don’t want to say anything else because you really need to experience the unraveling of all of those deep, dark secrets yourself, but if you’re in the mood for a dark and suspenseful domestic thriller and/or are a fan of the original Jane Eyre, definitely check out The Wife Upstairs.

"The Wife Upstairs" is a modern-day retelling of "Jane Eyre" through the lens of a thriller. In the book, our heroine, Jane, has run away from her past as a child of the system, and is now attempting to make a fresh start with a job walking dogs in a McMansion-style neighborhood. Along the way, Jane meets the neighbors, befriends the glossy elite of the area, and ultimately bumps into the ridiculously handsome Eddie Rochester. As it turns out, Eddie's a widower; his wife and her best friend were tragically lost at sea.

What's interesting in this book is that none of the characters are what they were in the Jane Austen original. Our Jane, for example, is no sweet, shy innocent; she's a hustler, well attuned to reading faces and determined to claw her way upward to wealth and stability, and in her first-person points of view, she's quite blunt about her goals. And Eddie, well--anyone who read the original has a sense he's no Prince Charming. And of course, there's the little problem of Eddie's wife in the original Jane Austen, too.

In addition to twisting all of the characters into shades of gray (in some cases, very dark gray indeed), Hawkins manages to create a surprising book with tension despite the fact the original plot is quite well known indeed. Even when the book moved towards an obvious connection with the original storyline, it didn't feel paint by numbers--the author is coming to the same points but in a way that is unique and fitting for her own story.

What's iffier: I felt the ending was a bit flat and several points seemed to have been left hanging/don't seem to have served much in the way of character development, leaving me to wonder why they were included. (Jane's kleptomia tendencies, for example, is an obvious way to signal to the reader her inner avarice, but ultimately I don't see the time spent on those character moments as particularly doing much for the plot at all.)

Overall, "The Wife Upstairs" was a fast read and an interesting one, and I give Rachel Hawkins kudos for an enjoyable ride.

4.5/5

Well hot damn! The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins totally blew me away, and I'm not sure I was even expecting to love it as much as I did. I vaguely remember reading the synopsis and thinking it sounded good, but I'm glad that I had basically forgotten what it was about besides that it was a Jane Eyre retelling which I haven't read. I think it is perfect to go into this one blind, but you will have to keep in mind that it is plumb full of unlikeable characters. I don't actually think I liked a single person in this book, and it really sets a tone for the story. It was a great Southern fiction read, and I loved the different viewpoints and super short chapters. I listened to the audio which is narrated by Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne & Lauren Fortgang, and that was the best way to go for me. They were all on point with their narration, and I love when there's a different narrator for each POV.

I was pretty wowed by the fact that this is the author's debut adult novel as well. I love the way she plotted this book, and it was so addicting. I had a hard time putting it down and could have easily listened to it all in one sitting. I thought Jane's thieving was an interesting part to the story, and there are just so many little things about her that I just really didn't like. However, she was smart and wily, and I couldn't help feeling a little respect for her once everything is unpacked. So many twists in The Wife Upstairs, and I couldn't have predicted how it would end but I loved it. The pacing was fantastic and if you like it when no one is as they seem, you should love this one! I will have to go back and read Jane Eyre now so I can see how it compares. Will be looking forward to whatever Hawkins writes next, you can count on that!

Thank you to Libro.fm and the publisher for both my advance listening copy and advance review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This was definitely a page turner!! This book has been referred to as a modern day Jane Eyre but I haven’t read this classic so I can’t comment on that. I loved the twists and turns especially when they really increased toward the end of the book. None of the characters were very likeable and I think that definitely added to the tone of the story. I went into this one not really knowing anything about it and I really think that made the book even more enjoyable. I liked that the book had different POVs as I think that made the story more well rounded and we understood the characters better. If you like a good domestic suspense story this is for you!

Posted @withregram • @tinavenusreads The Wife Upstairs by @ladyhawkins #fourthbookof2021 #arc Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the review copy. I love retellings of #JaneEyre and this modern version is absolutely worth reading. I enjoyed the Alabama setting and the fact that a few different perspectives were included. It drew me right in and I tore through this book, dying to find out how it all came together.

Excellent thriller that kept me intrigued the entire way through! I enjoyed the back and forth between characters.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down! Even after reading days later I was thinking about it. Highly recommend.

With its twisty turns and engaging characters and story to the very end, I Loved this novel so much! I could not put it down!

I should start of saying this is not a WLW romance in any way. I know that’s what I usually read/review. From what I could tell, there wasn’t even a single queer or POC character in this.

“The Wife Upstairs” by Rachel Hawkins is a suspenseful thriller and retelling of “Jane Eyre” set in modern-day Alabama.

I loved so much about this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to see what would happen next. I will admit that I guessed one of the main twists, but there were still a few surprises that kept me guessing reading. In fact, in some parts, I felt like I couldn’t read fast enough.

I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling it. But the story is told in alternating point of views, mainly from Jane’s point of view. Jane is 23 and has recently gotten a job walking dogs in an affluent neighborhood when she meets Eddie. Eddie is a recent widower and they bond pretty quickly.

Jane grew up in the system and has never had much to her name. So, when Eddie, rich and handsome, shows an interest, she just can’t help herself. It turns out there’s a lot more mystery and intrigue to this rich neighborhood than what Jane was expecting.

Also, THE ENDING, what. I screamed a little. I hope we get a sequel one day.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Two women who are best friends are on a girl's weekend and have plenty of alcohol to drink so they decide to go boating at night and are never seen again. The women are assumed to have drowned and their husband are devastated although now, filthy rich. Then one day along comes dog walker Jane who is very young and very broke who dreams about what it would be like to live in the magnificent homes of the her clients who look down their noses at her. One day Jane meets a very wealthy widower who seems attracted to her and she wonders if this could be a Cinderella story for her and all of her dreams will come true. Unbeknownst to Jane some of the people in this neighborhood have secrets and one or two some very deadly secrets but no-one knows that saavy little Jane has some mysterious secrets of her own.

I somewhat enjoyed the book although I was surprised that every character was very unlikable even though the story was written that way so I really never connected with any of them and didn't care about about anything that happened to them. I seem to be in the minority about this not being a great book. The story was okay but there were just too many implausible situations and the careless amount of times the F- word was used was just over the top and too ridiculous to let slide and too many questionable and unrealistic situations that took away any suspense because I just didn't really care about characters yet I did want to find out how the story would play out in the end. The book has received many high reviews so remember these are just this reader's opinions and I would still want to try another of "Rachel Hawkins" books. Interesting storyline just not my cup of tea.

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press" and. Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 2 1/2 Implausible 🌟🌟🌠Stars!!

Talk about book anxiety. Can’t put it down. Can’t keep reading. The struggle. Stayed up until 3am finishing this. Loved it. Never would have guessed the ending! Great work!!!

This was a fun modern retelling of Jane Eyre. It pulled me in and I read it quickly, although I felt that the ending packed some punch. Still, enjoyable and clever, with some twists and turns.

Everyone has secrets. This book was so great. I loved the pacing the characters and plot twists. I flew through this one no dull moments at all. Thank netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book

Shorthand review is that this book feels like Jane Eyre and Gone Girl were dropped into a blender and mixed to perfection. (I say that because Gone Girl, like this book, is full of so many characters I actively disliked while thoroughly enjoying my reading experience.) It's a twisty, quick read with a lot that holds true to the original story while infusing it with newness and wit, almost like one big wink at the reader over the rim of a glass of sweet tea.

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

Jane is a part time barista and dog walker. She also isn’t really named Jane. She walks dogs in an affluent area in Birmingham called Thornfield Estates. The residents have so much that they don’t notice when things go missing. This is how Jane helps finance her life. Jane meets recently widowed Eddie Rochester. His wife died in a boating accident along with her best friend. Eddie seems to need Jane as much as Jane needs Eddie. But as the relationship turns to an engagement, Jane finds that Thornfield Estates isn’t all she thought it was. Jane tries valiantly to live up the Bea’s memory. But does she succeed?
I really thought premise at the end of the book was odd. I don’t think I understand why the things happened. But, it did hold my interest as a thriller.

The Wife Upstairs can be summed up in one word - fun. Rachel Hawkins does a masterful job of taking the reader into her Stepford-like world and creating a delightful mystery surrounding the death of Blanche and Bea. Jane is an entertaining, likable character that I think all of us can relate to a little bit. All in all, a thoroughly entertaining and likable read!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a free audio copy of The Wife Upstairs in exchange for my honest review. I was ecstatic to get an early listen of this domestic thriller after seeing so many glowing reviews on Instagram and NetGalley. I enjoyed the concept of a multiple-POV retelling of Jane Eyre set in the American south. There are plenty of lies, rumors, and twists to keep you turning the pages towards an ending you can't see coming. However, I found myself incredibly annoyed with the shallow, heavily stereotyped wealthy Southern characters. While I love a quick-read thriller to read in between my more serious reads, this one just missed the mark for me.