Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book I received in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this book as a person, but it's very unlikely I will require it for an entire class. When I read that it was an adaptation of Jane Eyre, I was pretty exciting because I had been planning on using Jane Eyre and doing a project with adaptations. I got even more excited when I saw that it was a mystery because I don't have tons of opportunities to use mysteries. I will probably use it for a project that allows certain students to select it from a list of approved texts, so some of my students will be required to read it.

The Wife Upstairs…. ON MY TOP 10 LIST!!! WHAT A READ!! The suspense in this book kept me on my toes as much as all the chaos in 2020 so far, but this was in a good way!!! From the title you know there is going to be something of the wife hiding somewhere in the house but how this story is told is genius, creative, and twisted that made it such a good read!! So as the story goes you have Jane, plain old Jane running from her past and struggling to get by. Jane becomes the dog walker in the rich neighborhood, and is swooned by the “single” rich man, All of her dreams come true, she now has wealth, recognition, and status to compare to the elite around her. The book flips between Jane and the present time, to Bea and when she was married to Eddie. Both past and present are interesting stories that collide toward the end of the book, and what happens…. Well you just have to read to find out how it ends. I loved the whole book from start to finish. Bea had a friend and her name was Blanche but were they really the best of friends? It says they drowned but is that how it really happened? Who killed the B’s and what was the motive? You will not be disappointed in this book if you like thrillers!!!! Thank you for the read Netgalley. I happened to win this ebook on Goodreads also, and did write a review for that as well.

The Wife Upstairs
A Novel
by Rachel Hawkins
St. Martin's Press
You Like Them
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 05 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 05 Jan 2021

This was one of the best thrillers I have read in awhile. Thoroughly entertaining, it kept me guessing till the end. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. You need to read this book!

5 star

A perfectly written twist on a gothic classic. The Wife Upstairs is true to the classic in it's surprisingly spooky, slow burn writing that will have you turning pages as quickly as possible.

This book gets a strong 5/5 from me! There is a lot more to the story than what appears in the synopsis. Readers are introduced to a girl named Jane who is down on her luck. She is so down on her luck that she is the dog walker for the rich locals. It is through her job as a dog walker that Jane meets a recently widowed man by the name of Eddie. On thing lead to another and Jane finally thinks she is turning her life around. But is she really? This novel has intricately woven webs throughout that will leave the reader turning the pages well into the night.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was just the thriller I had been craving y'all! I have needed something that was full of all the twists and drama, and this was so much of that. This story starts with a focus on Jane. Jane is a dogwalker in an upscale neighborhood. She has many clients in the gated community, and then she meets Eddie. Eddie is a wealthy widower, who doesn't even have a dog, but gets one just to connect with Jane. The two quickly connect and before long, Jane is living with Eddie. With Eddie, however, there is mystery and secrets around Eddie's wife Bea's death. The story is mainly told from Jane's point of view, but there are stories from Bea's point of view to slowly reveal the truth behind what really happened. This is one that kept me reading - literally I stayed up way too late one night because I was so drawn in. And the twists of this one were just so, so good! I could say a million ways how brilliantly this one was pieced together. You know there are secrets, but the characters are also so damn good at hiding them and making you believe their lies as you read. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this January 2021 read. This will be one you're going to need to check out in the new year!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. Even then, you may not know the truth. Jane Bell transplants herself in Birmingham Alabama, a fresh start for a new life. She needs money, and decides to start a dog-walking business in the elite Thornfield Estates. A gated community of busy-body housewives with not only a lot of money on their hands...but too much time as well. They don’t notice plain Jane, or the fact she helps herself to jewelry and valuables hanging around their houses, until Jane meets Eddie. Eddie Rochester is a recently widowed, wealthy neighbor who catches Jane’s eye right away. Eddie’s wife Bea, along with her best friend and neighbor, are presumed dead from a boat accident although their bodies have never been recovered. As Jane and Eddie’s relationship quickly becomes serious, Jane finds herself haunted by Eddie’s now deceased wife, who started her own million dollar company, Southern Manor, from nothing. Jane feels there is something more happening, whether it’s Eddie not wanting to let Bea go, or Jane not thinking she can measure up to the person Bea was. As the story unfolds, and the accident seems to have a more sinister outcome, no one, including Jane, knows what to believe to be true. What really happened at the lake the night Bea and Blanche disappeared?

The characters in this story are not very like able. The neighborhood itself is very “Desperate Houswives-ish”. The women are gossips, Jane is not a nice person in the beginning, bit she did grow on me a little in the end. She did have a tough upbringing in her foster homes, so that definitely comes through in her actions. Eddie is a little harder to figure out. You know you can’t trust him, but you just don’t know why. He really doesn’t act like a widowed husband, but he seems like he can’t live without Bea herself. He’s an obsessed husband, and you see him unravel as time goes on. The suspense in this book is very good. Although we are introduced to some surprise characters, the reader will have no idea how it plays out in the end. It does have the components of forbidden romance, jealousy, obsession, as well as the possibility of murder.

I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs. I was surprised throughout the book, it was dark and suspenseful and had just the right amount of wow moments. Even the ending was twisty and jaw dropping. After finishing it, I still can’t get it out of my head! It’s been compared to Jayne Eyre, but with a gothic and more sinister twist.

I would like to thank Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Rachel Hawkins for an advanced reader copy of this delightfully suspenseful book. I would certainly recommend it to my psychological thriller loving friends!

A southern Gothic retelling I never knew I needed.

This was such a thrilling wonderful ride that had me sitting on the edge of my seat. I had to know what would happen and next and where this story was going to go.

I didn’t love Jane Eyre when I read it but I did appreciate it so seeing the nods to the original was great.
It’s hard to talk about a thriller without fear of revealing too much.

I highly recommend this story.

Thank you for the early copy! This is going to be a big hit for fans of Gillian Flynn and BA Paris. It is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre (which i read in high school but do not remember). A twisty mystery about a lower class woman falling for a widower in a wealthy neighborhood, who possibly killed his ex wife. The twists were a little predictable but overall it was really good and i read it in 1 night!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! When I search for a thriller book, I try to pick ones that seem unique or ones that have a “not so popular” story line. “The Wife Upstairs” Did not let me down! Jane was a down to earth gal who is just trying to find her way, and I liked that about her. I feel so many people can relate to Jane. She was probably my favorite character out of the story. This book is a quick read that will keep you intrigued until the end. I found myself wanting more after the ending. I would’ve loved to have dived into more of Jane’s life (before and after).

Beau and Blanche are best friends, Successful Jobs, Nice homes,Good marriages, living life to the fullest. But when both girls come up missing after a girls weekend on the lake, things take a turn for the worse. It has been over a year since anyone has seen or heard from Beau or Blanche. Their husbands must move on.

Meet Jane- A young lady looking to leave her troubled past, stumbles upon a dog walker job in a prominent neighborhood. Soon she meets Eddie.

Meet Eddie- Beau’s Husband, Eddie and Blanche met in Hawaii one a business trip. It was love at first sight. Things moved fast. Love at first sight! After only a short few months Beau and Eddie got married. Eddie who came from nothing inherited Beau’s fortune when she came up missing. Eddie has to move on, He loves Beau but knows his life can not revolve around Beau. Eddie spots Jane and is ready to settle down. Things speed up in the relationship and everything is going good until there is a break in the missing girls case. Will this be the end of Jane & Eddie?

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review of “The Wife Upstairs”.

#Netgalley #TheWifeUpstairs

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this E-ARC!

Review will be shared on my bookstagram: @vics_little_library on 9/15/2020

Synopsis: Jane (or what she wants you to think her name is) is living in Alabama after escaping a difficult life from Arizona. To make ends meet, she decides to become a dog walker for the uber-rich in Thornfield Estates. While doing her job, she runs into Eddie Rochester, a rich and very handsome widower whose wife tragically drowned in a boating accident with her friend several months earlier. She immediately falls in love with him and is equally surprised when he seems to take a quick interest in her as well. After a whirlwind romance, she finds her self engaged and trying her best to fit in with the neighborhood wives. But she soon finds out that everyone in Thornfield Estates has secrets, including her fiancé.

WOW, it has been a long time since a book has made me want to finish it the second that I started it. I actually don’t think I have finished a book in the same afternoon since Verity by Colleen Hoover! The synopsis might make you think that you know how the story is going to turn out, but NOPE. The twist was satisfying and it actually left me wanting more. The only thing that I did not like about the book, was that it left a couple questions unanswered. But if that means that I will be thinking and talking about this book to whoever will listen to me, then I guess the author has done her job!

Book Rating: 5/5

I really enjoyed this one. There were times the story was a bit slow but for the most part it really kept me engaged. Having the different POV's really made this story for me. I have to admit that I really didn't see some of the events playing out like they did and I have to give it to the author for being able to keep my on the edge of me seat. My only complaint is that I felt the ending was a bit rushed and a felt like it wrapped up a little too nicely for the story.

This book was an interesting twist on the Jane Eyre story. You follow the story of Jane - a dog walker with a murky past who works for wealthy snooty families in their rich neighborhood. As the story progresses Jane becomes more entwined in their lifestyle and becomes part of their complicated clique.
I enjoyed "wife upstairs" concept and they way the mystery of the story developed. This narrative was easy to get pulled into and not want to put down. My only disappointment was the final chapters which were a little unsatisfying - i had a expected a cleaner ending. 4 stars for originality and engaging writing.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the free copy of this!

This was a super quick book that kept my interest. I have a hard time with totally implausible plots, but this was wasn't so terribly overdone that I was disgusted with it or anything.

It was obvious to me that something was up with the journal writing early on. Bea's story as she told it in the journal didn't add up or make sense.

I found the 'flashback' parts a bit clumsy...they weren't flashbacks, they weren't memories, they were just necessary pieces of info. from the past that the story needed, but the author didn't seem to have any other way of including.

Once the 'secret' was out of the closet, I feel like any characterization of all 3 main characters sort of fell apart, but I really enjoyed the book up until then, and from then on, it was just a short hop until the ending.

It also bothered me that I don't think there was mention of the panic room having a bathroom, but it must have. But I would think running water from the panic room would be more easily heard and detected than the thumping! There was also a mistake in the ebook at location 1987 where a paragraph was repeated accidentally.

I loved Rachel Hawkins as a YA author and she did not disappoint with her dive into adult fiction. Jane was relatable and sympathetic and while the twist wasn't unsurprising, I still enjoyed the journey to get there and didn't even mind the conclusion of the story. A fun thriller all around.

I was THRILLED to read this book! A Southern Gothic reimagining of Jane Eyre? From a YA author I already LOVE? YES!

This book goes down so smooth and was such a blast to read. It's twisty even for people who know and love Jane Eyre. It takes some of the iconic lines from the original and hilariously updates them. It gets rid of some of the worst parts of the old one (that fortune teller scene? yikes).

The ways Hawkins updated the story to fit contemporary times-- Thornfield being a gated community of McMansions, Jane being a dogwalker, the estate being a Southern lifestyle brand, they're all great.

I don't give this five stars not because of any faults per se, but because I think of an author like Gillian Flynn, who writes "who hurt you, Gillian?" levels of darkness and whose prose is so crackling, and this book is not at that level. And I might have appreciated if the book had more insight beyond the pretty well trodden idea that superficially perfect and affluent lives often hide sordid truths.

I am thrilled Hawkins is transitioning to writing more adult books, though, because I am very along for the ride!

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

Loved it. I read it in one day. I loved the nod to Jane Eyre, the way it was written, and how it was it's own story too.

This is a modern twist on an old, female written, classic! At the risk of it turning into a spoiler I won't mention said classic and let you figure it out as you read.

Jane is broke, she's living with a creepy roommate in a sketchy part of town and walking dogs for rich southern housewives. When she meets Eddie, a rich widower who's wife and her best friend went missing in a tragic boating accident and are presumed dead she's instantly got her eyes set on a new and better life for herself. Jane starts to hear some rumours around town that make her question somethings about Eddie but Jane knows she's got quite a few skeletons in her own closet to worry about!

This book was such a fun read, I couldn't put it down. There were a few twists I predicted but even more that I didn't see coming at all - right up until the very end. The Wife Upstairs has intriguing characters, an unreliable narrator and a twisty, fun plot. A great domestic thriller to read this winter!

[Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reading copy, scheduled for release on 01/05/2021.]

"The Wife Upstairs" by Rachel Hawkins is all about appearances and the baggage threatening to rise expose the perfect facade. Newly arrived Jane comes with a few secrets of her own when she arrives in Birmingham, Alabama and sets off to work as a dog-walker in a gated community full of bored housewives in shiny McMansions. Nearly immediately, she takes up with Eddie Rochester, a wealthy, recent widower who can offer her protection against what she's running from. Eddie is the talk of Thornfield Estates after his late wife and her best friend die in a mysterious boating accident. He's not a suspect in the investigation but that doesn't make him any less guilty. The more time Jane spends with Eddie, the more she starts to wonder if he knows more about that fateful night than he is letting on.

This was a compulsive page-turner that once I started, I flew through. That's a testament to the author's writing and her ability to reel you in. Ultimately, though, I thought the novel was fine. I didn't get the sense that it was particularly different than some of the other thrillers out there, either when it came to the plot or the characters. The last quarter of the novel felt rushed and hastily put together; it felt like things were missing from the plot and everything was left in an awkward sort of way.

Awesome retelling of Jane Eyre! I could not put it down! The author really dove into some of the toxic characteristics of Mr. Rochester that the original sort of ignores.