If you want to be productive, don’t start this book. Rachel does an amazing job of sucking you in immediately with heavy plot and character development that just keeps twisting and turning. I’m a huge thriller junkie and this was one of the better ones I’ve read in all of 2020. Would recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Super quick and entertaining read! Both Bea and Jane were were unlikeable characters that I found myself really liking anyway, and the book had several twists and turns that I didn't see coming. One of the better thrillers I have read lately - will definitely recommend to others!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, wow, this book is WILD in the best way. Those familiar with the story of Jane Eyre will have fun searching for modernizations of various plot points, but it doesn't really take away from the book if you go in without knowing the story. Hawkins rather brilliantly updates the story and turns it into a modern domestic thriller, which makes so much sense it's astounding it hasn't been done before (to my knowledge). Twists and turns abound, making it so no matter where you think it's headed... you're probably wrong. A compulsively readable update on a literary classic, this is already on my list as a top book of 2021.

The Wife Upstairs
Jane is running from her past, but worried it is catching up to her. Then she meets Eddie, a recent widower and thinks maybe she can change her future enough her past won’t matter. Through countless twist s and turns you are left trying to figure out what will happen next, what really happened and who to really trust. Quick, engrossing read that will keep you guessing.

Thank you NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin’s Press for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

"There's a trick to spinning lies. You have to imbed the truth in there, just a glimmer of it. That's the part that will catch people, and it's what makes the rest of your lies sound like truth, too."

Ok! Retellings are growing on me lately, and this one was a nice surprise.
Meet Jane Bell (known in a classic work as Jane Eyre, which happens to be my favourite), a product of foster homes and dysfunctional upbringing, who escaped her own life to walk dogs of the Uber-rich residents of Thornfield Estate, Birmingham, Alabama. Unlike Jane Eyre, Thornfield is a community that thrives on gossip and scandals. Jane Bell admits that she loathes those rich people whose most laborious activities might be yachting and getting their nails done, which leads her to her small transgressions. But when she meets Eddie Rochester, a recent widower, she entertains the new possibility of becoming part of this community instead of remaining an outsider.

Well, you know how the story goes. Either from the classic or from this title, turns out there's a wife in the attic. But why she's there is tied to the neighbourhood's drama of the indulgent and self-absorbed rather than madness. And this is where the story was really interesting. It was a fairly quick read compared to the hefty classic that followed Jane Eyre from early childhood all the way to Thornfield.

But despite being enjoyable and fast-paced, there was a downside to the book. The modernity and probably the Americanisation of the story caused the main thread of the plot (hidden wife in the attic) to become implausible. In the classic, and I think the comparison is fair considering that this is a retelling, Edward Rochester had his housekeeper handle the mad wife in his absence. And the age-old English estate of Thornfield Hall was a setting much more suited to hide a lot of secrets, more than a suburban house in a nosy neighbourhood could ever be. This lent some implausibility to Hawkins's plot.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read, a quick fix of suspense.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my eARC of this book.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins....I wanted to read this because I loved Jane Eyre and thought it would be a cool twist and lots of fun to see it in a new light. I stumbled upon it by accident but then was excited for it. Then I got the audiobook version and was even more excited, skipping over other books to listen to it first. I was sadly disappointed though. I didn't care for it. I tried hard. I don't give up on books easily. I kept listening, even when I didn't want to, because, usually, books come through in the end. And, for a brief moment about two thirds of the way through, I thought this one might. But, alas, for me, it didn't. I know there are a lot of good reviews, and to each their own. It wasn't my cup of tea. The story was definitely a twisted Jane Eyre, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. The writing was good, though the language was a little rough for my taste. The story was interesting, but I didn't like the ending at all. I felt like I had spent this extra time getting through it and was disappointed at the conclusion. I am giving it three stars though, because it hurts my heart to do anything lower than that. The author obviously put time and effort into it and her work is not to be discredited, even if it wasn't my favorite.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and listen to this story. All opinions are my own.

When dogwalker Jane almost collides with Eddie's car, her future changes in an instant. But, while Jane is running from something, Eddie has his own secrets. The mysterious disappearances of his wife, Bea, and her best friend Blanche left a mark on their wealthy neighborhood. As Jane gets to know Eddie better her gut begins to tell her something is amiss. But, too much investigating could reveal the secrets she is trying to hide.

The Wife Upstairs is a fast-paced novel that will keep you guessing until the final surprise. Stories are not always as they seem and neither are people.

4.5*

“It’s easier, closing a door, creating a new reality.”

Real Housewives, but make it murder. The blurb sells The Wife Upstairs as a “delicious twist on a classic” and I would have to agree. While some of the plot points and names used in TWU will be familiar if you’ve read or learned about Jane Eyre before, this book still has its own unique voice and spin and was entertaining from start to finish. Hawkins’ writing is just so incredibly well done and flows so effortlessly that I did not want to stop reading this story. It was easy to get lost in Jane’s world.

TWU is definitely a steady moving thriller. The “thrill” obviously doesn’t come too quickly, but throughout the story more and more is unveiled about Jane, Eddie, Bea, Blanche, Tripp, and the rest of the people of Thornfield Estates. I didn’t form any real connections with anyone, but that’s because I just had no clue who to trust. This story definitely keeps you guessing in many ways.

I love how Hawkins has loosely used the world created in Jane Eyre and sculpted her very own world of housewives, money, secret pasts, and murder. I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys a thriller with a steady pace and with an ending that may not shock you, but will definitely entertain and have you looking over your shoulder.

Decent modern retelling of Jane Eyre. I felt it lacked depth. The characters were kind of flat. I was really hoping for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an opportunity to read The Wife Upstairs.

Missing best friends ... a young new girl friend ... a grieving husband ... a rich and successful business woman ...

This book starts off a little slow, and I totally through I knew where it was going - but then part 2 started off with a bang ... and I thought ok, now I know where this is going ... but really I had no idea 🤣 this is definitely the type of mystery I like ...

I haven’t read this author before, but definitely will check out her other books !

4.5 ⭐️

Wow. What a twister this southern gothic retelling of Jane Eyre is! The characters in the book are VERY unlikeable but their bad behavior, money, and secrets kept me wanting to know more. Everyone has something to hide and that’s what is so great about this book. It will leave you guessing until the very end.


I highly recommend this if you love:
- B.A. Paris
- domestic thrillers
- books with multiple twists
- rich people on their worst behavior

Thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin’s press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. The Wife Upstairs is out 1/5/21

This was certainly one of the better thrillers that I'd read in a while. The characters were compelling enough to keep me entertained, but I did guess the ending about halfway through the book which was disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free e-copy.

r/suggestmeabook: I want a thriller inspired by Jane Eyre narrated by a not-unwarrantedly suspicious, impoverished alumna of the foster care system.

Movie rating: R
Pages: 304
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: 1/5/2021

In the rivalry between Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights (which I get), just as passionate as the Star Wars vs. Star Trek arguments (which I don’t), I’m definitely a Jane Eyre girl, so this new novel got my attention quite quickly. Rachel Hawkins’s clever reworking of Jane Eyre is an homage to the original but manages to be fresh. She’s not just dressing up the classic in modern clothes, but picking and choosing elements to create a new and fascinating whodunit.

The reworking also forces you to think of things that were formerly hidden behind Charlotte Brontë‘s polite Victorian prose. Foster homes of her period were no kinder then than now, and the soot filled past obscures much of the permanent damage the original Jane would have sustained from her environment. Brontë’s novel was ground-breaking at the time, and does not portray Jane’s childhood as rosy, but the consciousness of what was done is different, probably because we actually discuss the effects of trauma more openly now than then.

Like the original, it’s a first-person narrative; unlike the original, it’s not just Jane we here from. Bea (Bertha’s nickname) is also heard from, and even Eddie gets a turn at the mike. The multiple points of view are well-marked and separate, adding rather than detracting from the story. It’s a little odd (and jolting) when the text shifts from first- to third-person in Bea’s sections, but the publisher has used italics to separate the two perspectives, so they’re easy to follow. I think I’d have preferred to have those first person as well, realizing Bea might be an unreliable narrator, but it works well enough in Hawkins’s capable prose.

Jane’s discussion of privilege, in the sense of wealth and education, is deft. It’s enough to make you aware of the issues of class without descending into an overt morality play. The role her formative years had in her ability to trust pervades the narrative, making her understandably cautious. This was a prime example of a character giving you a way into a different perspective and making actions you might ordinarily find morally indefensible suddenly becoming, if not justified, at least understandable.

The world in which the story unfolds is well built. Hawkins chooses her details well, and you can viscerally feel the comfortable, elegant, and monied world. It’s also a very Southern world, set in Birmingham, Alabama, where Southern Living is the magazine of choice and magnolias and gossip framed in sympathy. It’s a very white world, though, which surprised me a little, knowing the demographics. But the setting is a wealthy, white microcosm, so I personally didn’t find it problematic.

The novel moves along at a nice clip, but still allows things to unravel slowly enough to build tension. The story jumps along timelines, but Hawkins is always in control of them, so there’s never a moment when you’re confused about when you are.

Overall, a masterful book that even a Wuthering Heights fan might love.

I just finished reading/listening to The Wife Upstairs and I have to say, this is one of the most thrilling retellings I’ve ever read! A modern-day yet way twistier Jane Eyre, complete with a Mr. Rochester and Thornfield Estates (in this case).
When down on her luck Jane (not her real name) meets Mr. Rochester in the upscale gated community Thornfield Estates, she’s sharing an apartment with a pervy guy she met in one of the foster homes she eventually aged out of. She’s broke, walking the dogs of the wealthy and sneaking out their trinkets to make rent. It’s in Thornfield Estates that she meets Eddie Rochester; handsome, charming, rich. Everything about him screams success except he’s not quite as uptight as the other Thornfield husbands and he’s recently lost his wife along with her best friend in a tragic boating accident. When Eddie shows interest in Jane, everything she always wished for is suddenly at her disposal. Living in Thornfield Estates is a dream come true at first but it isn’t long before questions about Eddie’s wife Bea, whose body was never recovered from the lake where she drowned, start to arise. Can Jane trust Eddie? Is Jane herself trustworthy? Everyone has secrets …

The story is narrated primarily by Jane but we also get insight from Bea and from Eddie but not until a little later in the book. This is so well done; it adds to the suspense and adds a unique observation from Janes perspective first before giving the core of the story from those who have something to hide. Who is telling the truth or their version of it?

The plot is paced beautifully, never a dull moment and each chapter leaving me wanting more. The characters are emotive and well-developed, primary and secondary which I really enjoy! The narrators are wonderful in the audio; Kirby Heyborne, Emily Shaffer, and Lauren Fortgang kept the story moving seamlessly with perfect pitch and discernable voices with each character.
My thanks to MacMillan Audio and Libro FM for providing an ALC and St. Martin’s Press for providing a DRC so I could both listen and read The Wife Upstairs.

This was my first time reading the author and I really enjoyed her voice. It definitely has all the elements of the psychological suspense genre but still manages to be fresh and fun. I read it in two days.

I loved this book. I knew something was off with the characters but couldn’t quite figure it out. I was enamored with Jane and her determination to get the life that she thought she deserved but wasn’t sure why she thought Eddie was her best choice.

It read like a twisted contemporary and I flew through the pages to find out what was going on. I really enjoyed this and had never read any of Rachel Hawkins’ other works. I thought this was well done.

Lord, it has been a week for bad books.

The characters in this book were vapid, one dimensional. The story bored me. Which says a lot for a "psychological thriller." There really wasn't anything suspenseful or thrilling about The Wife Upstairs. Nothing mind twisting, I pretty much had the "twist" figured out early on.

I wouldn't ever tell someone not to read a book. However, I would suggest borrowing from the library vs paying for it. The Wife Upstairs definitely isn't worthy of the $15 price mark.

Thank you to Naureen at St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

In this modern-day retelling of Jane Eyre, foster child Jane Bell is trying to leave her past behind. In an attempt to make ends meet, Jane starts to walk dogs in Thornfield Estates, an affluent neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama. It is there that she meets and falls for recently-widowed Eddie Rochester. After a whirlwind romance, Jane moves in with Eddie, and he proposes, setting Jane up for her much-desired happily every after. However, Jane can't shake the feeling that she's still living in the former Mrs. Rochester's shadow.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. Hawkins' writing was propulsive, and I quickly moved through this book, wanting to know what was next. Each character was twisty, dark, and both likeable and unlikeable in their own ways. The references and nods to Jane Eyre were fun and not too heavy-handed. There are enough similarities between the two books to allow the reader to recognize the parallels, but enough differences that Hawkins' work can stand on its own. One of the big twists definitely caught me out of nowhere.

My only real critique is that some of the transitions in narrative style felt a little bit clunky or too abrupt. There are multiple viewpoints and a nonlinear timeline, as well as a switch to a third person omniscient narrator at some points. I was still able to follow the story well, but the narration did make things confusing at certain points.

Overall, this was an enjoyable thriller full of a few solid twists!

Note to publisher: Review will be posted to Instagram (@shelfshocked) on pub day!

This modernized Jane Eyre update WORKED. I'm so stoked about this book. This was NOT a heart-beating, edge-of-your-seat thriller. But gothic novels didn't work that way, so this shouldn't either. There was enough of the original: Eddie Rochester, Jane, Adele, Bea, Blanche Ingraham, Helen Burns. Oh, man, did I love it.

Without giving much away, Jane meets Eddie, and, as a widower, Eddie and Jane get together pretty quickly as Eddie hires Jane to walk his dog, Adele (yes, sounds cheesy, but it works for this neighborhood of Thornfield Estates.) Because the book has three different points of view, Eddie, Bea, and Jane, we start to put the pieces together about what really happened to Bea (hence, the title...).

Some of my favorite lines from 19th century British literature come from the Bronte sisters. The class, "Reader, I married him" is updated to 2020. You'll need to read it to--it's a fabulous surprise. "Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same," is one of my favorite lines from Wuthering Heights, written by Charlotte Bronte's sister, Emily. Yup, this line was thrown into The Wife Upstairs as well. And man, did it work. For such a deep and complex quote (you'll need to read Wuthering Heights too!), this line was perfect for the characters and part of the book it was used.

For the Jane Eyre purists, Jane is definitely not your average Jane. Her inner monologue reminds me of Holden Caulfield's. She just tells is like it is, throwing in a f*** wherever it is deserved. It was hard at first to accept this Jane as my proper and plain Jane from Bronte's classic, but I grew to appreciate Jane's no-holds-barred attitude. Her past made her--and the loss of her friend at a young age has made her into who she is today.

I can't rave enough about this book. What a genius update, and I will think about this one for awhile. I'm not one to accept any modernized update: it needs to work, and Rachel Hawkins made this work. I can't recommend enough. However, I do think that know Jane Eyre will make this even more enjoyable.

Wow. This book was such a surprise. This is my first book by this author and I can say with confidence that I will definitely be picking up her next book.

I loved her writing style especially with the southern references. This book definitely had me questioning everyone and their motive. I loved Jane’s story but I also loved getting to know Bea and how her marriage with Eddie was too.

Also I’m a sucker for rich women drama. I don’t know why but there’s something addicting about it and I loved that this is the center of the plot and the focal point with Jane trying to fit in.

Definitely recommend you check this one out.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin Press and MacMillian Audio for the advance copy.