Thanks, #NetGalley @MacmillanAudio @Macillan.Audio for a complimentary e ARC of #TheWifeUpstairs for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A twisty, slow-burn, domestic suspense story inspired by Jane Eyre.

Plain but street smart Jane has aged out of the foster care system and is struggling to make it on her own in a small suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. After a brief stint in a coffee shop, she becomes a dog walker in the upscale, gated community of Thornfield Estates. She supplements her income by stealing jewelry and other small items from her clients. One day while walking through the estates, she meets Eddie Rochester, a rich widower, whose wife recently died in a boating accident. Their insta attraction is complicated because Jane is running from her past and Eddie has secrets of his own.

The Wife Upstairs is described as a twisty retelling of Jane Eyre with southern charm.  I didn't experience typical southern charm in the book (southern, yes; charm, no) and if you pick it up with charm in mind, you might be disappointed.  Retellings are tricky. From my viewpoint, it's a very loose retelling. A few names, a parent-less girl, and a wife that's hidden away (title) are the main tie-ins with Jane Eyre (at least from what I can remember from reading it years and years ago). It's also described as a fast-paced thriller. My reading experience is that it was a slow burn with a some suspense near the end. All in all, I think I would categorize it as domestic suspense inspired by Jane Eyre.

(this paragraph may contain spoilers)
I admit, I like at least one likeable character in my stories. Told from three perspectives (Jane, Bea, and Eddie), The Wife Upstairs doesn't have one likable character. From what I remember of Jane Eyre, she was somewhat likable. I think the author does a good job in developing complex characters with good and bad sides. I could understand Jane's and Eddie's motivations for their actions, but I could not understand Bea and my feelings about her changed significantly from the beginning to the end of the story. You will like this if you love unlikable characters!

R for Language. While The Wife Upstairs doesn't have graphic depictions of murder, open-door sexual encounters, or nightmare-inducing scary moments, the story does include a significant amount of profanity. It seems like every other sentence contains an F-bomb. This may have been more pronounced since I listened on audio and my eyes can skim over offensive language more easily than my ears. Excessive profanity may not offend other readers, but it bothered me to the point that I wondered if the author lacked alternative vocabulary in her writing toolbag. If excessive profanity doesn't bother you, you might experience this story quite differently than I did. Honestly, many other reviewers haven't even mentioned this, so a distaste for profanity-laden prose is definitely a personal preference. If you don't appreciate the profanity but still want to read the book, I suggest the print version where it's easier to skim words.

I am usually annoyed when an author inserts her/his own political opinions/agenda into a story. There is at least one instance of this at about the 80% mark: "Tripp is many ugly things--a drunk, a lech, a Republican--but a murderer still doesn't fit him." In a year of a contentious election and widespread division, I don't see any value in including this hateful remark about republicans. I see hate all over social media (from both parties) and I don't need this type of statement to pop up in my escapist reads. The profanity and the political agenda affected my rating for this story.

Overall: In consideration of the thriller genre, I feel this was very mild which is just my speed! If it weren't for the profanity, I might have bumped up my rating. The Wife Upstairs has received other very favorable ratings and I would encourage you to read more reviews. I consider myself an outlier with my opinion.

Jane is a new dog walker for a wealthy southern neighborhood. She's also a former foster kid running from her upbringing and shady past. One day her luck turns when she meets the good looking, wealthy, and recently widowed Eddie. It doesn't take long before Jane goes from the dog walker to the young, fit fiance, with plenty of time and money on her hands. As it turns out, Eddie is also running from some problems of his own. Throw in a dead wife, with her own secrets, and you have an engrossing domestic thriller with lots of twists and turns.

By: Rachel Hawkins
Narrated by: Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne, Lauren Fortgang

This is a good listen, with enough craziness to brighten the most dreary of winter's days. I always appreciate when each character has a different narrator, rather than one narrator with different voices. I found all three narrators to be easy to digest without over compensating for the story or voice.

Available Now!

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read Jane Eyre at the end of 2020 to get ready for this retelling. It was an interesting take. Similar character names and a couple of similar plot points. Jane Eyre as a mystery/thriller was pretty good. I was guessing all the way to the end. The ending was a little anticlimactic. Given everything that happened during the book, I was expecting a bigger twist for the ending. Still very enjoyable!

Wow!! Crazy great read! I loved it! It literally opens and feels free to pull the reader all the way in without letting go! Loved the premise, characters and the way the story fell right into place. This one calls to ALL psychological thriller lovers! Well done Rachel Hawkins.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

4 1/2 stars...

Yes! What a fun and clever book! The Wife Upstairs is such an enjoyable read. It ticked many of my boxes. There are characters that you dislike one minute and are intrigued by the next. I has a plot line that takes a few fun twists and turns. Truly, it's difficult to truly like any of these characters. There are things to love and hate about them all. The amusing thing is that none of them are "good people" - - but yet no one else realizes it.

I read the book and listened to the audio. Let me just say, the narration was excellent and made the story even more enjoyable. Of course, being from the South myself, I loved the Alabama setting. It was all I could do to not "bless the heart" of each corrupted character in this novel. So much fun!!

The only reason this isn't a solid five star rating for me is that I needed more at the end of the book. It just felt like something was missing at the end. Otherwise, it was a great and enjoyable book.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and audio ARC. I chose to review these items voluntarily. The opinions contained within my review are my own.

I am a big fan of Jane Eyre so was excited about this new modern retelling of the classic gothic novel as a thriller. Jane works as a dog walker in a ritzy Birmingham, Alabama gated community. Only her real name isn't Jane, she changed her name to escape something in her past. One day while walking the dogs, Jane meets the handsome widower Eddie Rochester. He gets a dog so that she can start walking it (oh, what a move. :p) and they strike up a relationship. Jane learns more about Eddie's wife, Bea, who was in an boating accident and is now missing and presumed dead. Bea's best friend also perished in the same accident. Jane is broke but goes after what she wants, wiggling her way into Eddie's life. She molds herself as an innocent young woman but is really planning how she wants things to go and how to fit into this neighborhood.

The story alternates between Jane's perspective and diary entries written by Bea. As we learn more about Jane, we also learn about Bea and what really happened. Jane is fascinated by the mystery and enigma of Bea and wants to learn more. At the same time, she doesn't want to push Eddie into thinking too much of his lost wife. This retelling had more of a feminist angle than the original and it felt modern and fresh. Jane and Bea are both women who go after what they want in life and don't stick to a submissive role.

I listened to this on audio and liked the different styles of narration between the different character perspectives. It was well done and worth a listen.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Narrated by: Emily Shaffer; Kirby Heyborne; Lauren Fortgang
Publication Date: January 5, 2021
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Description from NetGalley...
“Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @macmillan.audio for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books, so I was curious to listen to a re-telling/re-imagining of the book. The narration was okay, it distracted me at times when the character sounded too young for certain musings or dialogues. Overall, the story line was suspenseful enough, and a good psychological thriller that was fast-paced and had enough twists and turns to have kept me interested. The ending was rushed but curious. It felt like a cliff-hanger.

The Wife Upstairs is a compulsively readable mystery set in a wealthy suburb of Birmingham AL loosely based on Jane Eyre. Jane is a woman in her early 20s with a mysterious past that is employed as a dog walker. While working, she meets Eddie Rochester, an older neighbor whose wife and her best friend have died in an accident six months before. They begin a relationship, but there is uncertainty surrounding Eddie's and Jane's pasts. We learn more about Jane, Eddie, and the wife and friend who disappeared, propelling the mystery. The novel is well plotted and evenly paced with the right amount of action. I listened to the audiobook, which was exceptionally narrated. The characters sound as I imagined and southern accents seemed accurate and enjoyable. Overall, The Wife Upstairs is a fun and intriguing mystery!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

**4.5-stars**

This audiobook was very enjoyable. The story is fast-paced and fun. I also received an e-ARC of this book and will post my full review through that link.

I did really enjoy this, listening to it on 1.75x speed on the NetGalley shelf app.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this to listen to. It was great!

I love a good thriller! I'm not typically one to listen to fiction on audiobooks but I loved the opportunity to listen to this one.

Love the plot, the twists, and also the characters were very realistic.

I haven't actually read Jane Eyre before but after reading this, I might have to go read it!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is perfect for fans of femnoir and Gone Girl, and the Real Housewives series.

Not quite a grifter or a con artist Jane is not who she seems. All she knows is that Eddie Rochester is her ticket out, and into a better life.

She doesnt know really what happened with his missing wife and her murdered best friend, all she knows is that even though she was the dog-walker when she met him, it won't be that way for long. In a calculated chain of events she goes from dog-walker to girl friend, to live-in girlfriend... and the housewives notice. Jane forgets that this isn't just about acceptance, it's about the community coming to terms with the loss of 2 of their own - and they gossip at Olympic levels.

Eddie isn't the golden boy he seems to be either. What darkness lies beneath the surface? And what will he do when Jane finds out his darkest secret? How will he fare when his world comes burning down around him?

An engaging and gripping read (beautifully narrated, if you get the audiobook)

I listened to the audiobook and all I can say is wow! The narrator did a great job bringing these characters to life. This book had so many surprises in it. It was fast paced and great to listen to.

I've never read Jane Eyre, but all I've seen is that this is a retelling with a twist. This is a story told from three perspectives. Jane, a dog walker turned socialite. Bea, a wife that seems to have come back from the dead. Finally, there's Eddie, who is a widow that moves on quickly and seems mysterious. All three share something in common, they ALL have secrets with a dark past. This story gripped my attention from the beginning. I didn't have a true point of reference for the storyline, but I am impressed with some of the twists of the story. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

This book is retelling of the classic Jane Eyre, which is one of my favorite books of all time and I reread once a year. This story set in Alabama in present time. Jane is a dog walker in Thornfield Estates, escaping a past she wants nobody to find out.

When she meets Eddie Rochester, and they fall in love, she thinks all of her dreams have come true. But like the classic, this tale unravels with many secrets that slowly come out.

I very much enjoyed this story. I felt Rachel Hawkins really kept the entire essence of the story. It was fun to see all the parallels to the original work. This book feels a little more mystery/thriller which really worked for this version.

I was lucky enough to get an Audio copy early and I loved this narration. With three narrators, Jane, Eddie and Bea (the wife upstairs), they had me trying to find every spare minute to listen to this wonderful story. If you love Jane Eyre, I think you will love this one. If you have never read the classic, this is still a great book, and maybe a great starting point to get you into wantingt to read the original work.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one part mystery, one part thriller, one part chick lit. It’s a story vaguely based on the plot twist in Jane Eyre. I haven’t read Jane Eyre, but I know enough to appreciate that the names of neighborhoods and characters were all nods to the original novel. The fact that it was set in Birmingham was also personally fun to read! (And sometimes disorienting - I didn’t realize Alabamians pronounced “Orange Beach”, “Center Point”, and “Mountain Brook” with a certain inflection until hearing someone pronounce them ‘correctly’.)

The way this story was told, you know a big part of the plot from the beginning (how can you keep it secret when it’s based on Jane Eyre?), but Hawkins still throws curve balls and makes this a new adventure.

I went in with high expectations when I shouldn’t. Creepy, psycho man meets manipulative, lying woman… they both deserved one another and I was rooting for their toxic relationship to implode and take out both of them. It fits in well with all the other fast-paced, sardonically toned thrillers that are popular now. I also really enjoyed the audiobook that made this an even faster and entertaining read.

This one started as a 3 star, but was suuuuper close to a 4 for me by the end of it.

I was given this audiobook as an advanced copy from NetGalley. Rachel Hawkins has written a book that threw me a curve. At some point in the story I felt sorry for each of the three main characters. I think she did a good job of showing the good and bad sides to each of them. Jane could be anyone and at one point I thought she was just opportunistic but then I felt like she was just collateral damage. I thought the ending was kind of rushed and could have been taken a little further. I do look forward to reading her next book.

What a great book! I read this book in one day because I HAD to find out how it ended ASAP. I loved the twist the end and was not expecting it. Even though mystery/thrillers can sometimes be predictable, this one was not! I loved it and can't wait for more books from Rachel Hawkins.

The Wife Upstairs was my last read of 2020 and man was it a doozy (in a great way!) I thought I would casually read like 30 minutes a day, because it’s not my typical genre. BUT I started this book yesterday and finished today - it’s that good. The characters were amazingly written and the plot really kept me on my toes. I don’t want to give away too much with this one!

The audio version was fantastic. All of the voice actors were perfectly cast and gave the best accents and dialect for these characters! Thank you to Macmillan Audio & netgalley for the advanced copy.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. Jane, a young woman with secrets of her own, is working in as a dog Walker in Thornfield Estates, an upscale neighborhood in Birmingham, Al. She soon becomes romantically involved with the dashing Edward Rochester. His wife and her best friend had mysteriously disappeared several months earlier. As Jane moves into Eddie’s home, she is haunted by the shadow of his wife- what happened to her and what secrets lurk in Thornfield Estates?

I listened to this book on audiobook and it was really well narrated. The book was compelling and fast paced and it was hard to stop listening to it. I loved the allusions to Jane Eyre but I also liked that it veered from the original enough to make it fresh. I also loved the Birmingham setting. I lived there at one time so I enjoyed hearing about all the familiar places. I also think the South and gothic literature are a natural combination. This reads much more as a traditional gothic than a southern gothic and I appreciate that.

As a thriller it is effective. I loved the fast pace and the twists and turns it takes. None of the characters were particularly likeable or sympathetic which made the ending a little less effective in my opinion. Still, this is a really good thriller that is hard to put down.

I did not expect to like this as much as I did!

The Wife Upstairs is a southern gothic thriller inspired by Jane Eyre and centers around Jane, a girl with a mysterious past, who catches the eye of Eddie, her wealthy widower employer. As time goes on, both Jane and Eddie's skeleton start peeking their way out of the closet. What happened to Bea, Eddie's wife, the self-made millionaire? Who is Jane? How did Bea and her best friend Blanche die?

TLDR Tropes:

- Multi POV
- Toxic codependency
- Domestic thriller
- Villain protagonists
- Slow thriller

Starting off, none of the characters are traditionally likable. Jane is a pathological liar, a thief, and holds everyone around her with a sense of contempt. Eddie is clearly sleazy and hiding something. As we even get to know Bea through flashbacks, her perfect southern wife facade starts to fade away. Get ready for an eyeful of villain protagonists twisting each other up in their secrets.

The Wife Upstairs moves quickly, but with a sense of dread. It's less a linear plot, and more about experiencing the anxieties of these characters as they go through their everyday life. The Wife Upstairs has a true Gothic charm about it and digs its hooks into you right away. I was really excited to watch the plot unfold, even as I guessed some of the beats.

I listened to this on audiobook and absolutely loved it. It has three voice actors- all of whom perfectly capture the tone and personality of the characters. Jane's actress specifically really does a good job portraying an extra sense of smugness and anger to her- which makes her POV much juicier as she gets involved with this high society lifestyle. I strongly recommend the audiobook if you can pick it up.