I enjoyed this twisty mystery/thriller. Full of conniving characters and loads of twists, this was a fun read. Several narrators made the audiobook a great way to read this one.

Running from her past, Jane ends up renting a room in Alabama from one of her fellow previous foster children. With no prospects, she finds herself taking a job as a dog walker in the wealthy subdivision of Thornfield Estates. Jealous of her new employers, Jane begins to pilfer a bracelet here, a trinket there, it’s not as if these people are going to miss a single diamond earring when their jewelry boxes are ripe with more.

One rainy day, Jane has a near miss as Eddie Rochester nearly runs her overcomes close to running her over as he backs out of his driveway. To apologize for the near miss, he invites Jane in for coffee and Jane is immediately captivated by Eddie, his house, and the fact that he is a new widower.

Eddie’s Wife Bea and her best friend had a boating accident and in order to save and run his wife’s business empire, “Southern Manners”, Eddie had no choice but to have Bea declared dead.

After a whirlwind relationship, and to assuage her own insecurities, Jane convinces Eddie to propose. But Bea’s influence is everywhere, in the neighborhood groups, in every knickknack in people’s home and even in the home she shared with Eddie.

One unreliable after another lends their voice to this story but the truth turns out to be none of the tales the narrators have been telling us. When the body of Bea’s best friend, Blanche, is finally recovered, the finger points at someone else entirely.

Secrets and lies, greed and a twisted form of love contribute to the tendrils of this story as it grows, enveloping the house and the people inside of it. Secrets from the pasts and enough extra information to have the reader thinking down paths that end up in dead ends.

The ending wrapped up a little too quickly for me and I didn’t find it to be a satisfying resolution but overall a very good read.

The audiobook really highlighted Jane's internal monologue and motivations as well as her fears and insecurities. I would have appreciated less of the forced laughter sounds, there were just several dozen too many, but that is my only criticism with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hawkins has reimagined a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. This novel is a quick fun read that fans of the classic are sure to enjoy.
Recommended

I've not read anything else from this author, but now I feel a need to! I love a good psychological thriller, especially one that I don't figure out all the twists before they're revealed. Normally I want characters I like but in this case, it was completely fine that none are all that likable. They really do all deserve each other! One of the main characters is sarcastic and the narrator voicing Jane's part does a great job. Good narration can make or break an audiobook and Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne and Lauren Fortgang all did a great job with this one! Apparently this was an update to Jane Eyre but I've honestly never read the original so I went in with no preconceived ideas. I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns in the story as the truth is slowly revealed. Well worth a read or a listen, whichever you prefer!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I requested both the ebook and audio versions of this so this review will be a combination of both!

The Wife Upstairs is a retelling of the classic, Jane Eyre and for the most part, I enjoyed it. Right from the start, I was invested in Jane and her mysterious background. I did find her to be a little frustrating at times but I did like her. But her relationship with Eddie was even more frustrating. Their relationship progressed so quickly that it didn't feel organic. They knew almost nothing about each other and they were engaged within two seconds. If their relationship was flushed out a bit more, I would have bought it.

But I was more interested in Jane and her background and the mysterious Bea, who is missing before the events of the book take place. The tale unfolding throughout the book had my jaw on the floor. This would have been a solid 4 star read if it was not for that ending. I was taken back when Jane's big secret wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. And on top of that, I would have liked more closure on the other events that took place. It left the ending too open and with too many secrets still on the table.

Still a great read and a really great thriller! I look forward to reading more from this author.

For the audiobook - I had to switch to the ebook version halfway because I could not take the robotic-sounding narrator. I do not blame the narrator, I think it is the audiobook player for Netgalley as it seems to be a common problem. So while I did not get the full audiobook experience, I think I would have liked it more if it was less glitchy.

I had not idea that this an update on Jane Eyre. But reading through, Rachel Hawkins uses almost every name from the original story in this retelling. Once I realized that, I was pretty sure where this was all going. It was just fun to watch it unravel after that. Where Jane Eyre covered Jane's life as she grew from child to adult, this story meets Jane (not her real name) as an adult. The reader flashbacks to the tough childhood she had in foster care and the past she was running from when she ended up in Alabama. She isn't terribly likable. Young and selfish and judgmental.

As soon as Jane gets a chance, she wants to suddenly belong to this group of southern rich women. The backstabbing southern charm is really my favorite part of this book. Have you been to Alabama or anywhere in the south? You will recognize some of these characters in at least some of the women you've met there if you have.

Eddie is written to be mistrusted and you don't get to see the story through his eyes until far in the end. You get Jane's side. You get Bea's side. Eddie is kept a mystery until the end. Jane doesn't know if she can trust him.

Once I noticed them, I loved looking for the connections to the original work. The dog names Adele. The exchange between Jane and Eddie about how he has never been good looking. It was like little Easter eggs for the reader. And the ending was just a bunch of craziness.

I really enjoyed the narrators on this one. There were three in this book. Jane's narrator had to grow on me, but I enjoyed her take on the character as well as her differentiation between Jane's outer and inner voices. Bea's voice was exactly as I heard it in my head when I was reading the digital version. Eddie's voice was a needed change from the two female narrators when it chimed in. Both the digital ARC and the audio version were enjoyable to read. I'd like to thank Rachel Hawkins, Netgalley, and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. You can see this review as well as my others on my blog at: https://readeotw.wordpress.com

I received an ARC audiobook from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to at the beginning. Jane is a unlikeable yet very likeable character. Her secret was not as crazy as I thought it was going to be. There were several twists in this story. Very Gone Girl-esc but not SOOO twisted. Maybe it is because Rachel Hawkins has done young adult mostly and I liked her books in the past but I enjoyed this. It was easy to listen to. In fact I binged half of it today to finish it when I had originally planned on finishing it tomorrow. The narrators were good. I enjoyed that there were different voices so I could tell who was the point of view at the time. Only downside to the audiobook side is I couldn't reference the dates in the two main points of view. Man remind me not to meet a Bea in my life.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was a modern day throw back on the classic story of Jane Eyre but so much better. I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne and Lauren Fortgang. This was the first book that I have read by Rachel Hawkins. I was impressed with the way Rachel Hawkins managed to keep the plot suspenseful and was able to add twists at all the right moments. I can’t wait to read more books by her. The characters in The Wife Upstairs were well developed but not particularly endearing. They were perfect for this book, though. I was drawn into this mystery thriller right from the beginning and had trouble turning the audiobook off. It was fast paced and held my attention from beginning to end. I had been unable to predict the ending. I did not see it coming and it was so good.

Jane was a twenty-three year old woman who had spent most of her childhood in the foster care system. Those experiences had helped her become good at reading situations and judging people. Jane was wise beyond her years but not in a good place financially. She had recently arrived in Birmingham, Alabama from Arizona. Jane carried a secret around with her. She avoided friendships and personal involvement as a result. When she arrived in Alabama Jane found a job as a dog walker in a wealthy neighborhood. Thornfield Estates was an affluent gated community with lots of identical looking McMansions. Soon she built up a pretty good business. It wasn’t that these housewives couldn’t walk their own dogs it was just that they could afford to have a dog walker. Over the years, Jane had gotten good at spying things of value that would not be missed. Jane used those skills to take things from the homes of her dog walking clients. These small trinkets, that Jane was able to slip out of the houses of her unsuspecting clients, supplemented her income. One rainy day, Jane was out walking one of her client’s dogs when she nearly collided with a very handsome man pulling out of his driveway. This was how Jane met the notoriously handsome Eddie Rochester. Jane was smitten as soon as she glanced into his green eyes and was met by his charismatic smile. Over time, Jane and Eddie became involved with each other and Jane moved into his beautiful home. They eventually became engaged. Eddie held secrets close to him, too. What really happened to his wife and her best friend? Only Eddie knew for sure but he kept that secret hidden from all.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was truly a suspenseful mystery thriller. I was so glad to have had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook published by Macmillan Audio through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I loved that it was inspired by Jane Eyre, but not at all Jane Eyre. The pacing was a little off for me and at time Jane's action didn't match up with her normal character in this book. I would love to read more in the future by this author.

I liked this modern, Southern iteration of Jane Eyre, how the main female character wasn't as innocent as the original character she was based upon was, and especially the changes, updates, and twists this author implemented, creating a familiar yet interesting interpretation of the classic Gothic novel.

I requested this audio on netgalley with curiosity after seeing it as BOTM and also seeing it all over instagram from other fellow readers. This was my second audiobook and it was SO GOOD! I was very impressed with this audio and felt like I could follow along very easily. The characters were perfectly developed and the plot was hooking. I felt myself thinking about this audio book when I was not even listening haha. I feel bad for the main character Jane and everything she was put through. There was so much backstory with Eddy and B throughout the story. In the end it all came together and I was impressed because there were so many plot twists after plots twists. I would definitely recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants a good thriller!! Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for letting me have the chance to listen and review this audiobook!

Here’s something you should know about The Wife Upstairs and then quickly forget. It’s a modern twist on Jane Eyre.

Why forget it? Because these are not Bronte’s characters, and this is not her story. Consider her classic the spark that lights the fuse of this 2021 thriller, and then just sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

The Wife Upstairs is the exact opposite of whatever a slow-burn novel is. The action never drags and almost moves so quickly that it flies fairly close to insta-love territory. Our main character Jane (natch) is a dog walker in a gated Alabama McMansion community. Her means and looks are simple, though she aspires to live a life of more glitz, glamour, and gold. Fortunately she meets Eddie Rochester (wink) and the sparks fly although he recently lost his rich entrepreneurial wife to mysterious circumstances.

Despite the publisher’s description, I found the atmosphere to be more Bravo TV than gothic. No complaints there, just a management of expectations. The audiobook has a multiple narrator format, which I always enjoy. If I have one quibble, it would be that the female voices are fairly similar and indistinct from one another. With a setting in Alabama, you’d expect at least one of them to have a drippy southern drawl, but there really isn’t a twang to be heard.

While it seems I’m slightly less enthusiastic than some other early readers, I’d still recommend this book to suspense/thriller fans. 3.5 stars rounded up for the pacing and surprises.

I purchase this book as my December Book of the Month selection (as an early release pick) but I also was given the audiobook arc from Netgalley. Thank you so much for the opportunity to review the multi-narrator audiobook. It was a lot of fun!

The fact that this was a Jane Eyre inspired story really intrigued me! I could not wait to dive in and I read the physical book while listening to the audio for a very well rounded and entertaining time! I do recommend this one, as of ALL the reimagining or inspired stories, this is definitely a fun one!

If you haven’t read Jane Eyre I would definitely encourage you to give this a go! You do not need prior knowledge or even general understanding of it. You don’t need to like one to like the other and I would argue that you may even like it more going in with a fresh perspective, as it is a mystery novel.

The Pros:
-It was different enough from the original classic novel to keep me intrigued by the mystery.
-It was dramatic! A lot is happening. There are a ton of secrets and gossip in this rich little neighborhood.
-FULL of unlikeable characters from the oblivious and self important rich people, to the bitter “have-nots” and the exploitive outliers. I love reading a book about people like that! At times our main character Jane is so snarky and judge mental, other times extremely hypocritical and other times you feel for her because she has had a rough time of it... but you still kind of want to shake her, ya know.
-The author paid homage to a few iconic lines and I did find that to be cute and clever.

If there is one thing I can implore you to do, don’t take this too seriously. It isn’t suppose to BE Jane Eyre. It’s a mystery/thriller and it succeeds at that so well.

The Cons:
-Mostly, the pacing issues bothered me. Something pretty important to character development would happen and it would b sort of skipped by.
-At times, mostly with Jane, I found myself confused by her actions. They didn’t line up with the rest of her personality.

Those bits took me out of the story a little but it definitely did not slow me down or make me have less of a good time. This is Rachel Hawkins’ first adult novel, I believe and I am really excited to read more adult books from her, in the future.

I'm honest I'm always skeptical of retellings of classics, especially a classic like Jane Eyre that's been revisited so many times. Hawkins however actually delivers a fresh new take while paying complete homage to the original text and characters. In this Thornfield we're visiting the housewives of the rich and Mr Rochester meets Jane the neighborhood dog-walker after almost hitting her with a car. Like the original, the quickly fall in love but there's an even higher level of suspicion and suspense since the former Mrs Rochester disappeared on a boat outing with her best friend and murder might be the explanation to their vanishing. Narrators Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne, Lauren Fortgang do a wonderful job capturing each character as they spiral around each other with their dark secrets slowly closing them all in. Not to be a spoiler, but I can definitely get down with this ending and less passive Jane.

“You never know what secrets are hiding behind closed doors...” - cover tag line.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the audiobook edition of ‘The Wife Upstairs’ by Rachel Hawkins in exchange for an honest review. It was narrated by Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne, and Lauren Fortgang and has a running time of 8 hours, 40 minutes at 1x speed.

Years ago I enjoyed Rachel Hawkins’ Hex Hall YA series and so was intrigued to read her first novel for adults. It is a modern retelling of ‘Jane Eyre’ though with some unexpected twists.

Jane had grown up in the foster system and recently moved to Alabama. At the opening of the novel she has been walking dogs on the posh Thornfields Estate for a month. She’s not a very likeable character though pretends to be all sweetness and light. As a narrator she is quite upfront about the envy that she feels towards her clients and happily helps herself to small items when in their houses to keep as souvenirs or to discreetly pawn.

Then one day while walking one of the dogs she meets the dishy Eddie Rochester and her eyes bug out in delight, especially when she learns that he is not only wealthy but a widower. Ka-ching! When they first meet he doesn’t have a dog, but he quickly adopts a rescue and employs Jane to walk her. Score!

Jane learns that Bea Rochester and her best friend had died in a boating accident, their bodies never recovered. While Jane’s dreams appear to be coming true there are niggles like her ex-flatmate threatening to reveal information to Eddie about her past. Then a body is found ....

I won’t say more in order to avoid spoilers though the title and link to ‘Jane Eyre’ is somewhat revealing. Still, Hawkins did have plenty of surprises to reveal.

Jane is clearly a survivor and her calculating behaviour in order to win Eddie and to be accepted by the desperate housewives of Thornfields was linked to this. Her snarky inner dialogue wickedly subverted the tropes of the passive heroine of the classic romantic suspense novel. Aside from ‘Jane Eyre’, elements of the plot did also bring ‘Rebecca’ to mind, though again Jane is no demure unnamed narrator in the shadow of her predecessor.

In terms of the audiobook, its three narrators voiced the chapters assigned to Jane, Bea, and Eddie. I am not that familiar with the work of these particular voice actors though I felt that both Emily Shaffer and Lauren Fortgang at times were reading quite quickly. It may just be due to their being American.

Still when Emily Shaffer is speaking as one of what Jane describes as “this crew of Stepford Wives”, she perfectly captures the higher register of their little-girl-like voices.

Overall, I found ‘The Wife Upstairs’ a fresh retelling of a Gothic classic that I couldn’t put down, completing it easily in a day.

As an advance reader, I look forward to seeing how others respond to it as well as recommending it to friends.

This book had my mind going through so many different scenarios trying to figure out what happened to B. Is B alive? Did Eddie kill her? Did she kill her friend and leave? I honestly could not figure out what happened. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen I was shocked at what did happen. This whole book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I was able to finish this in two days and I didn't figure out the ending until right before.

Jane is not who you think she is. Everyone in this community that she inserted herself into as a dog walker thinks that she is Jane. However, she has a dark past that she is running away from. By stealing from her clients and living with John, who she met in foster care she is hoping to save up and change her life and leave everything behind. That is when she meets Eddie. Jane sees this as an opening to finally change her life for the better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for allowing me to listen to this and give my honest review.

This is already one of my 2021 favorites. I was on the fence about this book in the beginning but once it took off, it really took off! I stayed up for hours reading this because I could not put it down. I had no clue what would happen next and was pleasantly anticipating every twist and turn. I really hope Rachel Hawkins continues to write adult thrillers because she is now an auto-read author for me. The narrators also did a phenomenal job of bringing this story to life.

This book surprised me. I have read a lot of books with titles including the words “wife” or “upstairs” this year, but NONE have won me over… until now!

THE WIFE UPSTAIRS is apparently a retelling of Jane Eyre (sorry to say something I know nothing about), so if that means something to you great! For me it was all about the rags to riches story with multi layered mysteries throughout. At the center is Jane, a cunning dog walker and aspiring rich housewife. Amongst her pursuits Jane finds herself amidst sticky community drama and a police investigation.

As the star of this book, Jane demonstrates a different level of perception and intelligence that can only be learned from a rocky and traumatic childhood. She picks up on the slightest of details others overlook that give her a silent advantage over those who try to control (or harm) her. Witnessing this level of awareness propelled me straight to the blockbuster conclusion!

Normally I think thrillers are better suited in their physical form, but let me tell you this audiobook had me scrubbing the toilets just to have a reason to keep listening. It is easy to follow and the variety of narrators are excellent!

I am giving this a 4/5 SOS rating (scale of surprise)! Normally I consider myself to be quite the expert at guessing endings, but I was so wrapped up that I never even tried to guess the ending!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was an entertaining yet frustrating book. It was entertaining because it had lots of mystery, secrets and twists yet frustrating because I could not find a single character that I liked or even one that I wished well. They were all jaded, selfish, and frankly downright mean. I can't say for sure if this was intentional or not; but as a result, I was not sympathetic towards any of the rich and nosy millionaires or even the more down to earth low lifes. If this was intentional, it was masterfully executed. 

Everyone in this book had a secret to keep, motivation to keep it , and many had the means to do so. Parts of the story were too predictable (especially if you've read the classic Jane Eyre) but there were a few unique twists that I thought were clever. I felt like the characters were only superficially developed and the relationship between Jane and Eddie was forced, lacking depth and chemistry. 

For a quick thriller and a retelling of the classic Jane Eyre, this story will entertain you. 

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book for review.

In this thriller inspired by Jane Eyre, poor, plain Jane meets rich, handsome Eddie and they fall in love. But is Eddie everything he seems to be? He might know more than he’s letting on about the tragic disappearances of his wife and her best friend.

I have this huge internal conflict almost every time I finish a thriller lately. One part of my brain argues that I should avoid thrillers for awhile; that I’ve reached an authentic level of suspense burnout. Another part is well-aware of my stack of enticing thrillers waiting to be read and optimistically believes the next one will be the one that rocks my world completely.

It’s even harder when good friends and reading buddies love something that just doesn’t work for me.

So I come to you, hanging my head in shame, to say that I thought this book was just okay. You should absolutely look at all the rave reviews on it. I’m so often the outlier on these popular reads - just one unpopular opinion in a sea of so much praise.

Let’s start with the positives:

I thought this book was well-written and engaging. Some of Jane’s observations and her feelings behind them made sense to me and, at times, were even relatable. It was also fun to see a modern spin on some classic characters.

One of my issues may simply be that I’ve been exposed to mysteries since I was a little girl and I am finding it difficult to discover new stories that genuinely shock me. I figured out what was going on here early enough and, as usual, hoped I was wrong. I was disappointed to learn that I wasn’t. Aside from the retelling aspect, I didn’t feel this book did anything new or different within the thriller genre.

While I can handle a cast of abhorrent characters, I really struggled with how unlikeable Jane was. Perhaps if she hadn’t been based on Miss Eyre, I wouldn’t have found this so bothersome. So, despite finding some of her thoughts and feelings relatable, I was more often annoyed with her. I wanted to root for Jane, but I ended up not caring about what happened to her.

The ending could have brought this to another level, but I thought the conclusion was too convenient and anticlimactic. This final factor solidified my rating at three stars.

There you have it. For me, this was a run-of-the-mill thriller. If you choose to read it, maybe it will be an over-the-top one for you. I truly hope that it is.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my audio review copy. All opinions are my own.