I had high hopes for this one because I heard such good things, but to me it just seemed like another predictable mystery/thriller.

I really enjoyed this book!! I couldn’t put it down after I started it! It had me from page 1! The twists I didn’t see coming!!! I would definitely recommend this book!

Synopsis: Jane stems from meager and mysterious beginnings but dreams of being rich. So far she has only managed to infiltrate the exclusive, ritzy Thornfield Estates as a dog walker. However, her situation abruptly changes as soon as she meets Eddie Rochester. A whirlwind romance leaves Jane trying to fit in with her intolerable former employers. On the surface, it appears Jane's dreams have finally come true...

My Evaluation of the Book: The Wife Upstairs was a uniquely modern version of Bronte's classic Jane Eyre. I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat with twists and turns that kept me guessing. It is definitely a thriller worth reading.

Interesting twist on Jane Eyre with excellent commentary on cattiness and backstabbery among women, especially those who create and control small queendoms. I never knew quite whom to trust when I read this book, keeping me curious. A satisfying read with very few likable characters, which isn't always a good thing, but Rachel Hawkins did this one admirably.

I have been recommending this book to everyone. I love domestic thrillers, and The Wife Upstairs was just what I was looking for. Twisty, thrilling, and fun, this is the perfect book for fans of unreliable narrators.

This was a great retelling! As someone who knows the basics of the Jane Eyre plot but has never read the book, I found Jane, Eddie, and Bea super interesting and that there were some good twists on the original story. A great adult debut from Rachel Hawkins.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Review of this novel will be posted soon.

The characters were a little bit too shallow for my liking, but I enjoyed the storyline. The main character's secret was definitely lack luster; however, one twist surprised me. I did want to keep reading, that's always a plus.

Though I am personally not especially moved by the tropes and atmospherics of Gothic literature in general, one of my favorite classics is Jane Eyre. The title character, with her determination to be true to herself, is one of my all-time favorites. So when I read that Rachel Hawkins (a truly delightful Twitter follow) was writing a southern-inspired take on the Bronte novel, I was really excited to get to pick up The Wife Upstairs! In her work, Hawkins transports Jane, Rochester, and Bertha from Georgian England to modern-day Mountain Brook, the most upscale suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Jane is now a young dog-walker, on the run from a mysterious but clearly rocky past. She meets Rochester (or Eddie, here), a widower, when he nearly hits her with his car and then hires her to walk his own dog.

Eddie is both very handsome and quite wealthy, having inherited the successful southern lifestyle brand of his deceased wife, Bea. Jane, a much more savvy manipulator in this version of her story, is both genuinely attracted to him and definitely cognizant of the benefits to be gained from getting into a relationship with him. There's a whirlwind courtship, but something isn't quite right. The police keep stopping by to ask questions about Bea, who died in a boating accident with her best friend, Blanche. He does his best to wave it off, but what did actually happen on the lake the night that Bea disappeared? Could it be that Eddie is using her just as much as she's using him? And what are those occasional banging noises coming from the attic?

I spent three years living in Alabama for law school, and had plenty of classmates that came from Mountain Brook, so I was extremely excited to see how this story played out in this setting. Anxiety about social class is a hallmark of British society, but also American Southern society, so it had lots of promise. Alas, it never rose beyond the level of "mildly entertaining but not really compelling" for me. There are twists in the story, different than the original, but even someone like me who is generally not great at guessing twists shouldn't find them too challenging. Ultimately, though, what really lost me were the characters. I've already mentioned that Jane is much more street-smart and open to using people, but what is charming about Jane in the original is that she's both strong-willed and level-headed. Her romance with Rochester is a slow burn, often veering off course because Rochester himself is awkward and stilted. But Eddie is a charmer who seems to see Jane as a useful tool almost immediately, and their relationship goes from 0-100 real fast. It's based not in genuine mutual longing, but mutual deception.

What did stand out was Hawkins's writing style. She's witty, funny, and sharply observant. Her plot moves quickly, developing a good momentum. Although I didn't love her departures from the original characterizations, I did appreciate that this didn't feel like a retread. The changes she's made to the narrative are more than just window dressing. I liked the structural changes she made, like giving us perspectives outside of Jane's own. And this book isn't bad in any way, just not especially good. If you need something to keep you distracted without overly taxing your brain at the beach or on an airplane, you could make worse choices. But you could make better ones too.

This book took forever to get to why it's called "The Wife Upstairs" and when it did it felt very anticlimactic. I also thought once the author started down that path there would be more information on what happened, but instead there was just more talk about the main character's mysteries background.

I got really bored with this book and didn't really find it suspenseful. I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend.

I received an eARC of The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
5 stars! Full of twists, this fantastic book kept me engaged from start to finish. Rachel Hawkins is very talented. I highly recommend this thriller!

*I did not read The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins as an educator, but just through a mystery readers lens.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins caught and kept my attention. While I didn't find the characters particularly likeable, the story was intriguing and Hawkins had me hooked. The story was fast paced and had some twists that I hadn't seen coming. I will definitely be adding Hawkins to my must read authors.

Oh heck to the yeah. This book was everything. I did not see this scenario coming because "who does that". This book really had it all. Unreliable narrators which I love. Narcissistic humans everywhere. Lies. Deceit. How could it not be great people. Bring on more Hawkins please

This book was awesome!!! I could not put it down! I was at the edge of my seat! Rachel Hawkins is an amazing author. Her books never disappoint! Can not wait for the next one!

Pretty standard for the genre. Didn't hate it. Didn't love it. Would recommend to fans of the genre.

This was a good book although a bit farfetched. I didn't kept my attention although it wasn't an edge of your seat thriller like I prefer.

Unfortunately, classic gothic books are not my cup of tea, so a contemporary version may seem like a good idea, but didn't really change my thoughts on the genre.

Very good, but unfortunately...pretty predictable. That being said, I enjoyed and flew through The Wife Upstairs. A good, easy thriller; I really think I would have enjoyed this just a little more if it hadn’t been marketed as a modern Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre is one of my favorites so even with the small plot twists the author added in, it was still pretty easy to see where this was going. None of the main characters were likable but it didn’t stop me from liking the rest of the book. The setting, details, and descriptions kept me into it. Still a 5 star book, I just wish the marketing hadn’t “spoiled” it for me.

This was super eerie. The Wife Upstairs is a re-imagining, but completely original. I read this with a group of friends on Instagram and we all enjoyed it very much. I'm from Alabama, so I especially enjoyed the setting! I'll read anything Rachel Hawkins writes.

I had the opportunity to read this book thanks to Net Galley In exchange for an honest review. This was the first book I read by this author. This book was just ok to me. I was disappointed in the ending. I would give this author another try in the future.