Dogwalker and petty thief Jane sees her next mark in Eddie, the mysterious man in the neighborhood. As they fall in love, Jane is haunted by the story of his deceased wife, Bea, the wealthy owner of an interior design company who drowned in a boating accident with her best friend. This modern retelling of Jane Eyre fell flat for me. The first half of the story felt like a romance, and once the mystery kicks in, it never really gripped me as I had hoped.

A re-imagining of Jane Eyre. This Jane is a dog walker in a wealthy estate, taking care of the dogs of all the wealthy housewives who live there. It is pouring rain, and Jane has just about had it when she meets up with Eddie Rochester, who's recently lost his wife in a boating accident with her best friend.
He seems to be quite attracted to Jane, even though she is not of the same social status as him and his friends, and went out and got himself a dog so he could see her again! As their whirlwind romance grows, Jane wonders if this can actually be happening to her, and Eddie asks her to marry him. She feels like she is making real friendships with all those women who she formerly worked for, and loves Eddie’s home, even with all of Bea that remains. We soon find out Jane’s secret, along with other secrets that have you wondering if Eddie is all that he claims to be. I enjoyed the story from start to finish! Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of The Wife Upstairs.

5 Perfect Twist Stars

My stars this was one delicious surprise! Set in a wealthy Birmingham, Alabama suburb, we first meet Jane when she heads out for her dog walking job in the rain. I just loved her snarky character and how she checks out all her clients easy to steal jewelry when she goes in to get their dogs. She’s trying to scrape by, and we aren’t quite sure what’s she’s escaping in her past.

It’s not that surprising that she sets her sights higher than jewelry when she meets the newly widowed, handsome Eddie Rochester. After a whirlwind romance, Jane is soon one of the girls instead of the dog walker and she quickly tries to fit in with their charitable activities and the country club.

Can Jane compete with Eddie’s late wife though? She was a glamourous Southern belle who created her own Southern lifestyle store. Is Eddie who he seems to be? Will Jane’s past catch up to her?

This one took some serious turns, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what mayhem Jane would find next! This one was expertly paced, and the suspense just built and built. Somehow, I missed that this was a modern-day Jane Eyre, but now I see that all the clues are there! I decided to pick this one up after seeing a great review from Jayme and I’m so glad that I did. This is a new author to me, but I will seek out her earlier titles!

Once I started this book, I wasn't able to put it down. Hawkins weaves together tension and observation to create a unique take on a story we all know. A really solid thriller with depth - definite recommend!

I like Jane Eyre. A LOT. As in, I own 19 copies of the book. So I’m always down to read a modern reinterpretation of the book.

However, finding a modern reinterpretation of Jane Eyre that provides a realistic explanation* of why you would keep your wife locked in the attic has proven to be a something of a white whale.
*In this sense, I mean “realistic” in the context of fiction, not real life.

Most modern reinterpretations either go for one of two options: a) everyone knows Bertha is alive, she’s just a bitch OR b) keeping the original explanation that “Bertha is crazy” and being locked in an attic is better than being in an institution, despite 200+ years of advancements in the field of mental health.

Obviously, these options suck. And these reinterpretations never give adequate explanations as to why Rochester is still married to Bertha. Like, it’s not 1847, you have to explain why people don’t just get divorced.

Anyways, you see my struggles. But still I persist and keep reading and finally, it happened.

READER, I CAUGHT THE WHALE.

May I present THE WIFE UPSTAIRS by Rachel Hawkins, featuring a well written reason of why you would lock your wife in the attic while you try to marry the dogwalker.

Bonus points awarded for the following:
➡️ Leaning in to the “grumpy dad and the dog he didn’t want” dynamic of the Adele/Rochester relationship by making Adele an ACTUAL DOG
➡️ “I am no bird, and no net ensnares me” became “I’m not yours, I’m free as a fucking bird.”
➡️ Portraying St. John Rivers as the creep he truly is.
➡️ Acknowledging the character of Helen Burns
➡️ Last but not least, this book features my absolute favorite trope: everyone is awful.

10/10 would recommend.

3.5 stars

Fast-paced and keeping you guessing through to the end, "The Wife Upstairs" is a quick, entertaining read—even more so if you're familiar with "Jane Eyre," to which it is clearly an homage. But while I admired the cleverness, the pacing, and that until the end it's never quite clear who's playing whom, I didn't believe the situations or the characters for a minute. There was just something too facile, too superficial about the style and characterizations that kept me from enjoying a suspension of disbelief. Also (and this is a pet peeve of mine), each of the first-person narrators sounded the same despite their diverse backgrounds. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, though, and you want pure escapism, "The Wife Upstairs" delivers.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fun read with lots of twists! Even though the twist is somewhat clear early on, the way the author slowly unravels the story is unique!

THANK YOU ST. MARTINS PRESS! First of all, the cover of this book is just beautiful! I loved this retelling of Jane Eyre. This book 100% exceeded my expectations. Some of the twists were evident, but it still held my interest and I couldn't put it down.

This was adequate. Despite some slow parts in the beginning/middle, and despite the author utilizing the laziest mystery/thriller writing trope ever (purposefully withholding information for no reason: "But no one knew what she'd done in the past."), I mostly enjoyed this. I didn't find it all that twisty, and if you've ever read anything in this domestic thriller genre before, you probably won't either.

But it was a fine distraction.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the eARC of The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins.

Jane is hiding secrets. She is an orphan who grew up in foster care and is starting over. She has a job walking dogs for families in an upscale neighborhood. She meets Eddie. Eddie is hiding secrets too. His wife Bea is assumed to be murdered; although her body as never been found. Her best friend Blanche has also been murdered. Blanche was found at Bea’s lakehouse after they had gone away for a girl’s weekend. Tripp, Blanche’s husband, is the primary suspect.

Jane and Eddie become engaged. Jane has the life she has always wanted. But, things aren’t always as they seem. Soon, this budding relationship starts to unravel and Jane discovers that Eddie may not be the man of her dreams after all. Will Jane’s past catch up with her? Will she ever discover the truth about the girl’s weekend? Will Tripp be charged with murder?

The Wife Upstairs is an addictive read. I couldn’t put this one down. Rachel Hawkins has written a very impressive debut thriller novel. This one releases 1/5/2021

The Wife Upstairs grips you from the beginning and propels you through the story to the end!

Jane is a young 20 something fresh out of school and foster care, trying to make ends meet. One of her jobs is walking dogs in a very posh neighborhood. While walking a neighborhood dog one day, she nearly gets run over by Eddie, whose wife recently died in a boating accident. Eddie invites Jane in for coffee, and they begin to fall for each other. However, they both have their secrets, which will lead to rocky moments along the way. As Jane runs from her past and learns more about Eddie’s deceased wife, she isn’t always sure where to turn or whom to trust. Can she live up to the legacy of Eddie’s wife? Has her luck really changed for the better or is this all too good to be true?

The Wife Upstairs is an edge of your seat thriller, told in multiple viewpoints at different times The story alternates mostly with Jane as narrator, but also we hear from Eddie’s deceased wife and Eddie. Neither Eddie nor Jane are completely honest with each other, and this leads to several pivotal moments in the book. This thriller was a clever twist on a love triangle, and a definitely must read for lovers of domestic suspense.

A psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. I enjoyed the story because the main character, Jane, is admittedly hiding something from the beginning and her attempts to change her circumstances push her to become like her new boyfriend’s former wife who disappeared and is feared dead. Will she lose her identity to have a dream life or will she stick to her true self? Life choices are hard but living in an expensive house in an exclusive neighborhood, living in the former wife’s home, befriending rich ladies and buying whatever you want makes it a bit easier for her.. it was a fun read.

I’m a big fan of thrillers and stories that grab your attention right from the start. I have to say that this was not one of those stories for me. There wasn’t a wow factor and for me I had a hard time connecting with the story and characters. While this may have not been for me, I encourage others to give it a read.

Yikes! Not sure if there is a good guy in this book. All the characters in this book lack any redeeming qualities.

The main character Jane, has been raised through the foster care system and has had a sketchy past. So when she found a way to improve her status, she jumped on it and became a gold digger. Eddie, the rich "widower", has his wife locked upstairs and decides after six months, it is time to move on and date Jane. Bea is Eddie's wife and she is locked in their panic room. Now you have to decide who is the good guy, who killed Bea's best friend Blanche, why is Bea locked in the panic room, and why is everyone lying about their real name?

There are some pretty good twists in the book and a few are pretty predictable, but it was still pretty twisted and entertaining. I love the different POVs, it definitely helps with understanding each characters' back story.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for gifting me a copy of The Wife Upstairs in exchange for my Honest review.

The Wife Upstairs was a great suspense read. It had just enough mystery to get my blood pumping as I read each page. The author, Rachel Hawkins takes the reader on an incredibly engaging journey as the local dog walker finds herself in a whirlwind romance with the local widower at the end of the gated community. She quickly begins seeing that the other women in the neighborhood have lots of gossip to share, especially about his late wife and her best friend And neighbor who both died by accident one drunken night. Later we find out that it most likely was not an accident and that there is sometimes more to gossip than one may think! I give this one a solid five stars because I did not see the sending coming AT ALL, which is always rare for me and i applaud any author that gets me good with a plot twist. Go read this one as soon as you get the chance!!

I was sure that I had this figured out but then the twists started right up to the very end. Jane was a dog walker in the ritzy neighborhood that wanted to escape her secrets by making a new life. Eddie was trying to get on with his life after the tragic disappearance and presumed death of his very rich wife. They find each other and start to build a life together but will their secrets keep that from happening?

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

I feel a little rusty. I took a break from thrillers for a little while because everything was the same.

When I started this, it had me immediately. I was interested in where it could go, because it seemed different from what I was used to reading.

But somewhere around halfway, I got antsy and kept wanting to skip ahead. There were a few twists, but nothing out of this world. It was an okay read for me.

I loved how fast-paced this book was. I'm not taking action every second but just true-blue drama, suspicion, and "uh oh" moments the entire time. The ending was phenomenal. Rachel Hawkins will not let you down.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* What a deliciously creepy read this was. Imagine if Jane Eyre was set in the 21st century, in an upper middle class suburb of Alabama. And that's what you have in Hawkins' suspenseful book, 'The Wife Upstairs'. The book focusses on young Jane who is a down and not quite out dog walker in the exclusive community of Thornfield Estates. Her luck changes when she meets none other than Mr Rochester, or as he is known in contemporary times, Eddie. They quickly fall in love and Jane is suddenly living a rags to riches story as she moves into his gorgeous house. However, not all is as it seems... A delightful take on the old classic that had me tearing through the book to find out what would happen next. There are lots of twists and turns in the story and I am hesitant to tell any more of the plot, for feel of spoiling the surprise.

I had a hard time getting into this book right away... I couldn't connect with Jane and understand her story. I like that she's a dog walker and is trying to make some money to get over the hump of her troubled past, but it felt very disjointed and confusing. However, at Part 2 the story takes a new turn and things pick up. Jane and Eddie have an odd, but somewhat romantic relationship following the disappearance of his wife Bea last year. The neighbors are all rich, spoiled and gossipy, but will latch on to Jane once she's connected to rich Eddie. Ugh! How can you like anyone in this book? I think the only one I liked was Blanche, Bea's childhood friend that died at the same time of Bea's disappearance.

This book had a lot of twists that kept me guessing. Lots of secrets and no one is what they seem. The last half of this book was much, much better than the first half.