Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Wife Upstairs.

Overall I found this to be a really good book, quick read full of twists however it was incredibly predictable. Jane has just moved to Birmingham when she meets Eddie who is a recent widower. Eddie’s wife Bea drowned while away with her best friend Blanche and her body still hasn’t been recovered. To Jane, Bea seems like the perfect wife. Incredibly successful, beautiful and loved by everyone, Jane starts to think she won’t measure up. But is everything what it seems?? There seem to be a lot people didn’t know about Bea and Eddie, and Jane is hiding a lot of secrets of her own. I guess if you don’t read too much into things like I do, the twist could be a surprise but for me I saw it coming very early on!

This book exceeded my expectations. It was fast-paced, kept my interest, and had oh so many twists and turns. Recommended for fans of Chevy Stevens. For someone who has been struggling to read for fun during this pandemic, this book was the perfect cure!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I didn't care for this thriller. I found the characters unbelievable and the writing often silly. If you this one, I hope you enjoy it more than me.

Modern day Jane Eyre retelling. Very fast paced and had me from page 1, although it was very predictable. Reccomend for an easy beach read.

I throughly enjoyed every page of this book!! Rachel Hawkins reeled me in on page 1 and didn't let go until the very end.

A modern day retelling of Jane Eyre (which I have never read...don't hate me!) has Jane (not her real name...she has a mysterious past!) working as a dogwalker in a prestigious neighbourhood in Alabama. Then she meets Eddie, the lonely widower (who also happens to be extremely wealthy). They hit it off right away and the next thing she knows she moved into his mansion and they are engaged to be married. If only she could shake the ghost of his dead wife Bea.

I found The Wife Upstairs to be a perfect summer read. It was a captivating story with likable & interesting characters and a satisfying ending. I definitely be will recommending this one to friends.

Thank you to #Netgalley and @StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of #TheWifeUpstairs by Rachel Hawkins!

What do you get when you combine Gone Girl with Jane Eyre? A fast-paced, southern gothic thriller that you can't put down! For fans of Mary Kubica and Ruth Ware.

Jane, former foster child, current down on her luck, dog walker and petty thief, longs to live the life of her rich southern clients in the Thornfield Estates. Nevermore than when she meets Eddie, gorgeous, interested, wealthy. And most importantly, recently widowed.

With an eye to escaping her sketchy past for the safety that wealth brings, Jane dives into a relationship with Eddie even when his wife's disappearance turns into a murder investigation and everyone knows that the husband is the likely suspect.

Fans of Jane Eyre will appreciate the callouts throughout the book. Suspense fans, enjoy a story told with multiple unreliable narrators. With some fairly pointed commentary about wealth, privilege, even lifestyle brands this was a twisty and compelling read that was difficult to put down.

Victorian gothic meets southern gothic in this modern retelling of Jane Eyre. Those who haven’t read the classic can easily jump into this as a domestic thriller. Those who have read Jane Eyre might be more drawn in by seeing how Hawkins adapts the novel to modern-day Birmingham than by tension in the plot, since they already know what happens.
Or at least they think they do. I enjoyed this book most in the final quarter of the book, when Hawkins departs from the original story. I also so enjoyed how much agency the women had in this novel, which was a welcome departure from the original as well.

Really enjoyed this book. I figured out the ending but it was a good fast read anyway. Highly recommend.

A fresh and interesting twist on the classic Jane Eyre. Full disclosure: I did a quick review on Jane Eyre before reading, so I definitely caught more references than I would have otherwise.

Jane Bell is a dog walker in the posh Thornfield Estates in Alabama. Her ulterior motive is to worm her way into the lifestyle, one way or another. Enter Eddie Rochester.

Eddie recently lost his wife, Bea, in a tragic accident/murder? He falls for the plain Jane, and they become engaged in a matter of a few months. However, Eddie has quite the big secret lurking the attic.

Really well-written, paced, and imaginatively thought out. I will look for more books by this author.

Wow, I’ve never read a book by Rachel Hawkins before, but I was quickly drawn into The Wife Upstairs! The author’s writing style had me hooked from the start, and left me eagerly turning pages throughout the whole book. I couldn’t wait to finish it, and the twists kept me guessing about where the story was going.
The book’s descriptions of scenery and character development really helped to keep up my interest, and I look forward to reading more books by this author!

I loved this suspense thriller! I enjoy multiple-POV narratives, and each here kept me riveted. The story kept me guessing the entire time. There are short, bite-sized chapters that kept me page-turning.
I also enjoy novels featuring rich people with problems.
I highly recommend this to all thriller readers and thank NetGalley for the advance read.

Take a dash of Gone Girl, a bit of The Wife Between Us, and add a little A Simple Favor - that gets you The Wife Upstairs, and I mean that in the best way possible!

Suspicious circumstances surrounding death, a life that's probably too good to be true, and housewives who like to gossip? Count me in. Jane arrives to a posh new town and takes a job as a dog walker. She meets widower Eddie and becomes intrenched in his life, but the circumstances surrounding his wife's death are suspicious, and the suspects all live in town. Lots of twists and turns, and it wasn't entirely predictable. Perfect for reading in one sitting!

Add it to your TBR list!

I did not initially realize that this was a retelling, and after I found out I went in with low expectations as I’m not particularly found of Jane Eyre. I’m pleased to say I very much enjoyed this, much more so than I ever enjoyed the original. This update is thrilling, with mounting psychological suspense throughout, and strong female characters. 4.5 stars, as the gothic elements weren’t as present as I would have liked, rounded to 5.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press!

In this contemporary Jane Eyre retelling, Jane Bell moves to Alabama to start and create a new life for herself. She struggles finding work until she starts walking dogs in an unbelievable upscale neighborhood. There she meets newly widowed Eddie Rochester. Eddie's wife, Bea, is presumed dead after a boating accident. As Jane & Eddie, romance continues to escalate, Jane starts to realize there are 3 people in their relationship. Eddie has never really let go of Bea as her presence is a constant in house. Although, the story unfolds slowly, the thriller does not disappoint.

First, a thank you to NetGalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished this last night and I'm still processing my thoughts on this, which are considerably mixed. I'm typically not a fan of locked room mysteries since they give me the heebie-jeebies, but I'll pretty much read anything if it's got a hint if psychological intrigue, so that, in addition to the fact that I love the cover, compelled me to give it a try. The book started off rather slowly for me as it didn't seem to go anywhere rather than to spin it's wheels in an endless loop. There was little action and more uneventful interaction between a group of not very likable people who are aware that something bad has happened in the neighborhood in a way that's rather reminiscent of The Stepford Wives (which, yes, also gives me the heebie-jeebies.) Things did pick up about half way through though and despite still not caring much for the characters, they did becoming more intriguing. As for the grand finale, it was sure a shocker indeed and I absolutely loved that, so despite my quibbles, it's definitely readable and will surely find an audience. I think if it were to be a little shorter and with a little more character development, it has the potential to be really great read.

Jane lands a job as a dogwalker - and she has a lot of secrets. She caters to dogs in the affluent Thornfield Estates. Barely able to make ends meet, herself, Jane lives in a crummy apartment with an even crummier roommate.

Jane is out walking one of the dogs and is almost run over by Eddie (in his red vintage sportscar). He feels sorry and invites her in for coffee. Although Jane feels an immediate connection to Eddie, the reader is not sure if the feeling is mutual. Eddie is good at "mixed signals".(After all, his wife passed away
only 6 months ago...)

A lot of gossip, stolen items and lively banter make this read glow! Not one to miss!

many Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a great read!

Things I enjoyed: the different point of views. It really added to the mystery of the book. The pacing of the book. The setting (Alabama). Things that fell flat for me: I didn't like any of the characters, which maybe that was the point? Eddie and Jane's relationship was not believable at all. Jane's POV was lacking for me and I didn't find her likable at all. I really enjoyed Bea's POV and would have loved to read more about her childhood. The ending felt abrupt and fell a bit flat for me.

The Wife Upstairs, after a few chapters, appeared to be a “ creepy story.”
After continuing through the book it became a sinister murder mystery.
It actually had somewhat of a happy ending for at least one of the characters.
It definitely kept my interest with its twists and turns.

In my opinion, this is the most frustrating type of book to read. Not only is every character a terrible person (they're supposed to be, and that's fine) but they're also super flat and not relatable at all. The writing is simple and just kind of meh, but it's fine. Everything is just fine, okay, not great. So what you're reading for is the plot. That's the only real hook this book has going for it. That may have been intentional, and it would have been enough if, instead of a satisfying climax it didn't just fizzle out. It's frustrating to rate this type of book because I was completely hooked and could not put the book down for the first 75ish percent? But then the least satisfying 'climax' ever happened and I totally lost interest. I had to force myself through the last part of the book because once the mystery was over, I didn't care about any of the awful characters. I was just looking forward to not having to read about their bitter, selfish, spiteful selves anymore.

I'm not a Jane Eyre fan. I can't remember when I read it, I just remember thinking it was creepy and not for the reasons it was supposed to be. I'm not sure whether this would particularly appeal to fans or not. This gets three stars for the first part being very interesting and entertaining. But because of the ending and the way things turned out, it ultimately feels like I wasted my time reading this. Had the characters or writing been exceptional I might feel differently, I don't know.

A solid four star stunning psychological domestic thriller!
The story revolves around Jane who has a horrid past and has relocated to Birmingham, Alabama to start over. She gets a dog walking gig in a ritzy, rich neighborhood. After a run in with Eddie- a recent widower, she quickly forms a relationship with him and her life turns into what dreams are made of. However, she learns things aren’t what they seem when details of a Eddie’s wife and best friends murder emerge.
This book had punch after punch and was a quick, fast read that I couldn’t read quick enough because I had to know what happened.
I did feel like I wanted more from Jane’s character and maybe even Eddie’s wife. The ending let me down about - I feel like it was a huge climax that sort of left me hanging.

Thanks to Netgalley and St.Martins Press for my advanced ebook copy. This is out April 2021, put it on your tbr!