Member Reviews

This is certainly a brilliant psychological thriller. As the story flows new twists keep popping up till your not quite sure who or what you believe.
Loved the main character but the triplets freaked me out. Who in their right minds would let them into their home. But then again if they hadn’t moved in there would be no story.
A gripping read and definitely to be recommended .
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc in return for an honest review

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In a nutshell, The Wife (the name is a mystery) is a widow, grieving for the death of her husband Juan, who died in a car crash. She lives in Cliffside, a beautiful wow looking house on the Big Sur in California, all by herself, even though she has family living back in England. The Wife is feeling lonely and vulnerable living in the house, thinking that someone is actually stalking her. The one day, the triplets, Kate, Dan and Jen enter into the house, claiming that Cliffside used to be their house, with a tale that the house was sold to pay for their mother's cancer treatment. The Wife naively and foolishly invite the triplets to live with her, feeling sorry for them. Then the story starts.

Initially, I was a bit bored with the beginning that I honestly was going to stop reading. However, as I read on, the story starts getting interesting and intriguing, with unexpected twists and turns in each other, with the introduction of the triplets by the middle of the book. Then I simply, couldn't put the book down, wanting to really find out what is going to happen next!! This book was like a roller coaster ride, filled with lies, secrets, deceit, between the Wife and the triplets, the secrets that are uncovered by the end and the most unexpected twist towards the end, that made your heart beat faster and your thoughts reeling! Though it was slow paced in the beginning, it eventually came to a climax and I must say, I was reading this book as if I was watching a thriller based movie. Perfect for the movie I should say and kind of reminded me a little of the Korean movie that won the Oscars The Parasite though the story plot line is entirely different. The writing was good, it got really good towards the middle and end, the dark secrets uncovering. The Wife to me was somewhat an unreliable character, on the verge of becoming an alcoholic and addicted to the pills that you actually question if she was playing with the reader's mind or if she is actually genuine as the story was told from the Wife's perspective. I also liked the ending. I also like the descriptions that the author used to describe the house on Big Sur, that make you feel like you are in that house, with the house overlooking the woods, the house entirely a bit see through (though it was a bit creepy to me) so that made the reader feel like they are with the character. And to me, the story was not very realistic to me as I said this was more like a scene from a thriller movie.

Overall, this is actually a good thriller, worth reading and will keep you up all night to a thrilling adventure

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This was a decent thriller. I liked the premise of it but I found it slightly predictable. I did like the characters abd the development of the story but I saw the ending coming which kind of ruined it for me.

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A hard book to review, it’s easy to read, well written, characters to loathe, good descriptions of a beautiful area, and house, in California and the list goes on
The problem is the believability of the story, without giving too many spoilers, a widow now lives in the perfect house her hubby bought for her, one day 17 year old triplets turn up ( all 3 vile ) and declare they used to live there and can they look around for old times sake, their Mum is dying of cancer in a Swiss hospital, the widow welcomes them with open arms, believes every word they say and after a short time invites them
to live there, with her, seemingly without a care or notion that this is odd, then the worm turns and the reason they are really there is made known, as a reader you will have guessed after 10 seconds, the main characters gullibility was astounding tbh and she deserved everything that happened and plenty of things were to happen, most predictable
But as say if you can accept all that and ignore it then it’s a book that’s easy to read

For me though it was a

3/10
2 Stars

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What a creepy, full of tension slow-burn thriller! 🤓

This is a story about women who live alone in magnificent and isolated property on the edge of the clifftop. She grieves her husband’s death, keeps secrets, and self-destructs while drinking alcohol and eating a bunch of pills. As she attempts to put her life back together, she begins to feel like she is being watched. She receives several worrying messages, however, it changes when she meets and connects with young adults (triplets) that live nearby. With a new hope to fill her life with kids that she never had, her life changes forever.

This book kept me on my toes all the time. From the first page, I got this “it is all wrong” vibe, and could not shake it for the entire book. Several times I got super frustrated and wanted to scream “what are you doing?”. I enjoyed how twisted the story was. It kept me guessing how it will end. For a long time, I could not figure out who is the worst in this story, because they all were horrible! I ended up guessing the ending just right, however, I did not expect it to happen in full speed action movie style.

Only at the end of the book, I noticed that in none of the pages I read, I got to learn the heroine's name. 🧐

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Richmond’s latest offering took me by surprise and an enjoyable one at that. I didn’t get hooked on The Wife's House instantly, but a quarter of the way into this challenging psychological suspense, there was no stopping me. Richmonde chose not to name the protagonist, adding mystery to her story, and the first-person perspective evoked all my senses. The reader gets to learn all of the narrator’s emotions; her highs, lows, how she feels about past and present happenings, she leaves nothing out. Mind you, she’s in no hurry to reveal what I yearned to know, so the guessing game began. Even before reaching halfway, I was messaging a book buddy who’d already read the book with my theories, but she wouldn’t say a dicky bird! And I’m glad she didn’t because oh boy, was it worth the wait!

“How many people get to live in a place like this? Not even one in a million. It’s a dream home.”

The descriptive writing is captivating. I felt as if I were there, living in this luxurious house, contemplating the views from the clifftop. The rugged surroundings, the beauty of the coastline, sunsets and the crashing waves embraced me. But it is by no means as pretty as the picture I am painting. Herein lies a hornet’s nest of treachery. When a haven becomes toxic territory because of one’s own doing, there are two solutions. Run or face the music—unless, of course, you have neither option which, in my opinion, is a recipe for disaster.

‘Sometimes in life you are offered opportunities and gifts. But you can’t dither. Dithering is the enemy of progress.’

I got incredibly exasperated with her. Too trusting for a person of her status, I rolled my eyes when she admitted her gullibility. Her insecurities have to take second place because by now we’re getting somewhere, she’s aware that something doesn’t ring true. And from there on in, it’s like a negative domino effect. Lies abound and on her part, she’s not very good at it. Her guests, for a better word, have her nailed. They also have secrets, but what shocked me was their youth. Is it possible these young people could be so kind one minute only to morph into sinister individuals the next? Understandably, there’s not so much dialogue as the book is driven forward with inner thoughts, but through her eyes and ears, she and I learnt what they were determined to achieve. Is there remorse? You’ll only find out by reading the book.

‘Where were my priorities? Being in control? Or being loved?’

Wow, I virtually skim-read the last quarter of the book only to go back and reread what I found so shocking! The twist. I’d like to think that I can figure out most outcomes and even the consequences they bring, yet I never saw this one coming. Was I satisfied with the result? Well, the dramatic ending was undoubtedly jaw-dropping. And I have to say the performance of all the characters was brilliant.

‘Little did I know back then I’d have my very own crime scenario to deal with.’

The cleverly thought-out plot kept me on my toes, Richmonde’s prose fluid and expressive. Film references and idioms mentioned fitted her leading player's persona perfectly, too. My first thought after finishing the book was what a marvelous movie or series this would make. Richmonde hit the spot. Bravo!

Advanced copy received from Bookouture through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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I enjoyed this well-paced book. I did find it slow in parts but I thought that only added to the sense of suspense. This book is set in Bug Sur California and the house is one of the main characters in the book. The story follows one woman whose husband is killed in a car crash and she starts to feel that she is being watched as she gets messages that make her think this is the case. I thought a few of the characters in this book were untrustworthy and I was not sure their motives/ intentions.
I found this book a bit creepy at times and enjoyed the twist and the last part of the book.
Overall I enjoyed this book, Its a great thriller and had me at times on the edge of my seat.
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

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I started reading this book and after a few chapters I was getting bored and felt like giving up. However I continued on with it and I am so glad that I did. The second half of the book was so much better and I really enjoyed it.

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Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC. This was a slow thriller that picked up speed toward the ending. The plot was somewhat predictable and far fetched. Many parts throughout the book had me screaming at the main character’s gullibility. My biggest problem with the story was the excruciatingly slow beginning. The fast paced conclusion bumped up my rating to 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

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I have mixed feelings about The Wife’s House. It’s billed as a pulse racing psychological thriller however I just didn’t get that. I felt that for a lot of the book nothing really happened, the last quarter was when it got interesting for me. Having said that I found that I couldn’t put it down and read it in less than a day so I’m definitely on the fence with this one. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

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The best bit about this book was its cover. The actual story felt rushed and poorly executed. There were big shifts in plot that happened suddenly and with little explanation. The story was largely unbelievable with too many outlandish occurrences happening within pages of one another. I wanted to love it. I was promised it would keep me up all night and remind me of Gone Girl. The only thing that kept me up all night was thinking about my next book, not burning the midnight oil relishing this one.⁣

Weeks after buying his wife a beautiful, glass home on a cliff in Big Sur, California, Juan is in a horrible car crash that claims his life. His wife retreats into their home, as she holds on to all she has left him. As she attempts to put her life back together, she begins to feel like she is being watched. That the family home that she once felt so secure in, may not be all that safe after all. ⁣

This book is being published on August 24. The reviews on Goodreads are more flattering than mine, so I may just be a tough critic. The book had potential. It just had SO much going on – there were a few AH HA moments throughout, but they were not developed once they were revealed. It felt like a box was checked and then the book moved on to the next big reveal. I think if the book would have focused on one, done a slow build and fleshed it apart a bit more, it could have been brilliant.⁣

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Perfect beach read to pass the time. Nothing truly new here but for fans of this genre, it fits the bill.

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I wanted to like this - I really did, but it just wasn’t for me! I think it may be a play on people who live in glass houses - but it was slow, hard to follow and had done very annoying characters!

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I found the blurb for this to be very intriguing when I first read it. Sadly, the story did not work out for me.

Mainly, I found the plot to be predictable. I correctly guessed many major plot twists and those that I did not guess, I wasn't very surprised by them. I had an inkling that it might happen with the way the story was progressing.

There were limited characters in the story and for most of them, I guessed right off the bat that they were up to no good.

I did not like the protagonist. She was written with the hopes that she will be someone who faces all kinds of adversities with strength and overcomes all difficulties. However, to me, she just came across as a naive, helpless person who is used to depend on others for everything. She is constantly undervaluing herself and thinks low about herself and this makes her spiral into depression and she then turns to alcohol for comfort leading to addiction problems. If someone makes even a tiny, minor comment about her, she takes it to heart and starts thinking extremely degrading things about herself. She is very happy to let others take control of her life. She came across as a big-time pushover to me. I thought that her character would improve as the story progresses, but no, there is no character development for her.

The pacing was a bit off for me. Things happen very slowly in the beginning and towards the end, everything happens suddenly. Also, I felt that this book could have been shorter, especially the parts in the first half of the book where there is not much happening.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture publishers for making the ebook available for me. The above words reflect my honest opinion. I have linked this review to my Goodreads account. I will put a post for this book on my Bookstagram account in the week of its release, the link for which has been provided here.

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I love a good creepy thriller! The Wife’s House is definitely creepy, full of suspense and tension.

I must say the first quarter is slow but it’s setting the scene perfectly for what comes next! Lots of atmosphere throughout and the little twist at the end made this for me! I’ve had The Wife’s House on my reading list for some time and I regret not reading sooner! You’ll regret it as well.

Highly recommended! A strong 4/5.

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Juan shows his wife a house on cliff overlooking the beach. She falls in love with it immediately. He buys it for her, then he suddenly dies. Now, a widow, she is all alone in her big house on the cliff. The house is made of glass and stone. No curtains. Then she starts to get messages, I AM WATCHING YOU.
Now she has befriended a set of (adult) triplets. They invade what little privacy she has in a house made of glass. She lies to them, they lie to her. This is really 3 books in one, an adult fiction, a thriller and then a action. The adult fiction part, the first probably half of the book is about the main character’s love for her husband, love for her house and her insecurities. Then ¾ of the way through is the thriller. And finally the last quarter is the action. Nature takes its toll on the area.
This wasn’t a bad book, I just felt like I needed something MORE within the first half.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Arianne Richmonde for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This book started off very slow and I found it to be a bit far fetched. A good twist at the end which made it a good read

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Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the arc of The Wife's House by Arianne Richmonde.

This follows the wife whom is a widow greiving for her husband Juan, she is lonely but likes to keep herself to herself, she only has a few friends but are estranged from her parents back in the UK. Some other events occur which makes her more vunerable and feel as if she is being watched by someone......

4 stars- very enjoyable and a quick read i read within 1 day and i loved how it was written and structured i love what you did with this book well done!

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V readable although a little far-fetched at times and personally I found the main character a little vapid. Good twist at the end though.

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The Wife's House
by Arianne Richmonde
Bookouture
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 24 Aug 2020 | Archive Date 24 Aug 2020

Kind of a slow burn for me. I really wanted to like this book! I love mystery and thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Just not the book for me.

3 star

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