I have tried to read books by this author but for some reason her writing style just doesn’t click with me. One thing that kind of irritated me from the beginning why is we never really understood why she felt this feeling about her brother-in-law and it just continued and I felt like I was very much thrown into the story and it ruined my experience throughout the rest of the story.

I’m concerned with how dark and twisty this author is! Talk about being unlucky in love… at least, Josh keeps giving it the old college try. I think my favorite character is Shelby, but only because we didn’t truly meet Titan! Fuzz and Buzz get honorable mentions…. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Is Elisa’s brother-in-law, Josh, a killer? She thinks so. His wife died ‘accidentally’ and his fiancée is missing. And now he has a new girlfriend. As Elisa starts searching for clues, Josh slowly makes her seem unhinged, and others, including her husband, start questioning her stability.
This started off great for me, but by the middle, I was just waiting to get to the end. It felt predictable and the ending didn’t have the waited for big twist. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a digital copy of this book which releases December 7, 2021.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Elisa is convinced her husband’s brother is a murderer. He has a dead wife and a missing fiance’.

Now, he’s dating someone new and Elisa is terrified this woman will face the same fate.

Elisa becomes consumed with searching for evidence that proves her brother-in-law’s guilt.

But… Elisa suffered a traumatic incident a year ago and now the people around her are making her second guess herself. With her panic attacks coming more frequently, she begins to question her sanity. Is this new woman really in danger? Is her brother-in-law actually innocent? Is she just losing her mind?
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This was a quick, popcorn thriller. Some parts of it were a bit unbelievable, which is fine, it was still entertaining. I didn’t like it as much as Pretty Little Wife, but I love this author and I look forward to her next book!

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Last year's Pretty Little Wife was a great read and I had hoped that this would be on par with it. It was not. It's entertaining in it's own way - fast chapters, easy read, moderately engaging storyline, but a true thrill was missing and the excessive possible unreliable narrator was overdone. In fact, everything about it seemed over the top, most especially the characters, which was annoying at times. I can't say that I felt as though I wasted hours of my life on it and others may find it more engaging than I. However, if you haven't read Pretty Little Wife, I recommend that you start there, then decide for yourself if you want to give this one a go or maybe just wait to see what Kane has up her sleeve next.

This is my second book I have ready by this author. I loved her first one, Pretty Little Wife which was awesome. I liked this book a lot but felt it could have been shortened. It was a little repetitive and went on to long. Other than that, I thought I figured out the ending but much to my surprise I did not see this end coming which for me is a good thing. I also found the narrator of the book Elisa unhinged which was fine. Like unreliable narrators. So if you read the blurb you know Elisa thinks her brother in law Josh is a killer of past wives and girlfriends.The reason she is a bit unhinged is about a year ago a friend of hers, rather a co worker was killed in front of her which left her with much trauma. Her brother in law uses this to gaslight her and make her accusations unreliable. With two dead wives, a missing fiancée and a new girlfriend, Josh looks pretty suspicious of the things Elisa feels. All I all, I enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised with another twist ending I never saw coming.I highly recommend this book for people who like domestic thrillers. I also want to thank Net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book I received for an honest review.

Okay, first I enjoyed the read despite the fact that I found the characters not very believable and second too much of the plot was obvious and predictable except the very end which I really didn’t see coming. I still gave it 3 stars because of the very end.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer, well, you probably were already thinking what I was very early on in reading this book. If you haven’t seen the movie, and you should, the movie is a step by step example how to not only make someone crazy but convincing everyone else they are, including the victim themselves.

Since I’ve just given away a huge plot point I guess my entire review is really a big spoiler because most of the story could be called “How to make your sister-in-law crazy so you can get away with murder.” Not being sarcastic here just telling it like it’s written.

It was hard to believe that Elisa and Harris were both so dumb. Okay, Elisa had someone messing with her meds but no excuse for Harris being so dense through out the story. It evidently ran in the family because Josh was pretty thick besides everything else he was. I can’t figure out why I actually enjoyed the book because it kept annoying me no end and I just kept hearing “stupid” over and over in my brain. Maybe the book was making me a little crazy! LOL

Thank you to Scene of The Crime, HarperCollins Publishers and the author Darby Kane.

The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane is a mind-twisting roller coaster that makes you question everything you are reading. Elisa has been through a traumatic experience at work, while also dealing with the disappearance of her good friend, and future sister-in-law, Abby. Her mind starts to suspect her brother-in-law. Josh, as a suspect in Abby’s disappearance and Elisa becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Abby and how Josh is involved. Then Josh shows up with a new girlfriend. Weird things start happening and Elisa doesn’t know who she can trust and what’s real and what’s not—leading to marital tension and threats of taking her away from their son. Will Elisa figure out what Josh has done before she completely unravels? Can she get her husband to believe her?

So at first I thought that I really disliked the characters in this book…but then the more I thought about it, I realized that it isn’t that I disliked them but rather I didn’t know who I could trust either! Darby Kane totally had me questioning if Josh really did something to Abby or if Elisa was having like a mental breakdown. I spent the whole book going, “Ugh I hate this guy! He’s such a tool bag!…but wait, what if he didn’t really do it? What if Elisa is like hallucinating? Or somehow involved herself?” Which I guess means that this was a great thriller, with so many twists and turns I couldn’t guess how it would end. If you like books with spouses and family that can’t be trusted, this is a good read!

I unfortunately had to DNF the first book by this author so I was super nervous going into this one; however, this one caught my attention with the story and plot. It was a fun thriller!

Is Josh severely unlucky in love? Or is he a lady killer?

His sister-in-law, Elisa, thinks the ladder. Josh has a dead wife and a missing fiance. On top of that, he now has a new girlfriend. His missing fiance, Abby, is one of Elisa’s best friends, and she’s certain there’s no way Abby would leave town without saying anything to her.

So Elisa hunts for clues, while dealing with PTSD for something traumatic that happened to her a year prior. She becomes friendly with Josh’s current girlfriend, Rachel, as the rest of her life seems to implode. Is she imagining the worst in Josh...causing herself to have panic attacks over nothing? Or is someone trying to drive her over the edge?

This was a mostly entertaining read with short chapters and an interesting premise, but it is definitely not on par with Pretty Little Wife. the debut novel written under Kane’s pseudonym. In fact, I can’t even believe it’s the same author. Pretty Little Wife was one of my favorite reads last year, and this does NOT compare in the slightest.

Almost all (okay, actually all) of the characters were annoying and highly unlikable. In addition, the trope of possibly unreliable narrator is taken to the extreme. I don’t mind the trope, but this was a bit much. There’s also a fair amount of gaslighting going on, and it’s unbelievable to me that only one character is aware of it. Apparently, ignorance is bliss. Round that out with corny dialogue (a pet peeve of mine) and a lackluster ending.

And yet, as previously stated, I was entertained and eager enough to know how the story would wrap up. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one, but I’m still highly anticipating Kane’s next release.

2.5 stars.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 12/28/21.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

So, I am kicking myself for not reading Kane's other book that came out last year now because WOW, this book was great.

The first 50% of this book is nonstop twist and action. I couldn't put it down. I kept going oh my goodness not another one!! It did slow down after 50% for a little bit but it wasn't boring necessarily.

And that ending good! This book is kind of predictable but I don't think at any point it isnt supposed to be.

I will definitely be picking up more from Darby Kane!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this eARC!

What the heck did I just read? My brain is still spinning trying to figure it all out-in the best way! Darby Kane has done it again! An Action packed, gaslighting, manipulations and schemes filled ride that never let’s go from page 1 to the end! I plowed through this in one sitting because I needed to know what the heck happened! Housework? What housework? I don’t always love an unreliable narrator but it worked because it really ramped up the tension and stress of the story. Brilliant!
Eloise is a survivor of trauma and is working on recovering and putting it past her. She lives with a husband she adores and her wild child, Nathan. She still suffers from panic attacks as a result of her trauma, which forces her to contain her world pretty much to her home. But when her best friend, who happened to be her husband’s brother’s girlfriend goes missing, it’s too much for her to bear. She has suspicions that Josh was involved in what happened, but no one will believe her. Her husband tried to be supportive, but as her world crumbles around her making her look more and more unstable, even he begins to question her, as Harris has always been super protective of his brother ever since their parents died when they were young, leaving Harris to be a father figure to Josh.
Josh, on the other hand, hasn’t made the best choices in his life. He’s acted immaturely and gone through a stream of women, including Eloise’s best friend Abby, who left Josh without a trace and left Eloise wondering what really happened. She knows she wouldn’t have left her without saying goodbye, but no one can find anything that proves she’s right. When Josh comes around with yet another girlfriend, it proves to be too much for Eloise and she decides to dig into Abby’s disappearance in case the new girl is in danger too. That only ends up making things worse for everyone, including her.
This was fast paced and the characters were well written. It was a quick read and although the ending was some what predictable, the twists and spins and flips to get you there were surely not.
Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

This was another fast paced thriller that I finished in a day! Darby Kane is now a must read author for me!!!

Elisa lives a idyllic life with her husband, son, and brother-in-law Josh, until Josh's fiance disappears and Elisa's doubts start creeping in. Elisa and Abby were friends and Abby disappeared without a warning. Elisa thought that was odd but after finding questionable messages on Abby's computer, Elisa starts to think Josh had something to do with the disappearance.
This story has numerous twists as there is a lot going on in the dynamic of this family. Is Elisa suffering from PTSD from her own trauma or is she on the right path? Is Josh a good guy or is he evil? How does Rachel fit in to the mix? This story asks all these questions and more as you try to figure out what exactly is going on in this family.
Darby Kane has written another excellent book. This book keeps you interested from the first page to the last. I'm looking forward to more books from Darby Kane.
Thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and the Scene of the Crime Early Reads for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Here we have a tale of Elisa, our unreliable pill popping narrator with PTSD from a past trauma, as she tries to convince anyone that will listen to her that her brother-in-law, Josh, is a murderer.

Of course no believes her including her husband, Harris, who just happens to be Josh's brother.

I'll admit I was entertained and didn't ever feel like putting this down but it never really wowed me either. While I felt for Elisa's situation I never really grew to care for her. I, personally, didn't think there were any shocking reveals. The most shocking thing was the reasoning behind the motive. I couldn't imagine anybody doing all of this for the reason that was given. In the end this book blends in with so many other books in this genre that I will likely forget all about this story in a few days. I have a feeling that new readers of psychological thrillers will get many more thrills than I did. 3.5 stars!

Thank you to Scene of the Crime, NetGalley, and William Morrow for my complimentary copy.

This is one of those books that asks the question - how many wives is too many wives, when the previous ones are either dead or have disappeared? Is this someone who you would like to start a relationship with and become a future wife? Elisa and her husband, Harris, have a good life, a loving relationship, a young son. But her brother-in-law, Josh, is a different story. It seems women around him tend to die or disappear, so Elisa starts to worry that there may be more to the story. As she starts to investigate the disappearance of her friend, and Josh's most recent fiancee, that leads her to Josh's first wife who died. And then more women come out of the woodwork. As Elisa starts to put the pieces together, and gets closer to Josh's current girlfriend, Rachel, some strange things start to happen, and Elisa is led to question if what she learns is real or imagined. This was a twisty thrill ride full of family drama, relationships, and some murder. Definitely worth a read if you enjoy a psychological thriller.

Darby Kane (author of Pretty Little Wife) is back with another domestic suspense novel that explores the relationships between extended family members, and the question of loyalty. Does the family always deserve the benefit of the doubt when one member displays behavior that is downright suspicious, and perhaps murderous? Elisa Wright struggles with this dilemma because her brother-in-law, Josh, now has a dead wife, a missing fiancee, and has begun dating another woman. Elisa was very close with Josh's fiancee before she disappeared and cannot believe he would give up the search, and in fact, move on. It is unthinkable. So, despite her husband's incredulity and continued defense of his brother, Elisa begins investigating. What she finds brings even more questions, and others are beginning to question Elisa's own stability. As she battles the pushback from her husband and Josh, and also an increasingly worrisome illness, the truth remains tantalizingly out of reach. Is the new girlfriend in danger, and is her own family at risk?

VERDICT: Kane delivers another fast-paced domestic thriller that's sure to please fans of psychological suspense and family drama. Recommended.

The Replacement Wife is another fast-paced thriller from Darby Kane. I devoured this one in a day! I like that even though we know many of the secrets upfront, the story continues to unfold all the way to the very end. This is very much a psychological thriller and includes mental illness, gaslighting, and domestic violence. I am looking forward to reading more books by Kane. 4.5 stars

This was one of my most anticipated books and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read this one ahead of the gang. While I didn't love this one quite as much as Kane's last book, I was still fully enthralled in the story. At no point did I want to put this one down, there was always something happening to keep me at the edge of my seat.

I'm all for any book with an unreliable narrator and this one definitely fit the bill! While I did in my mind figure out what was actually going on, there were still surprising parts and parts that I wasn't 100% on, But the way Kane keeps throwing the punches and miss directions is really the key ingredient to this story.

The characters were great! I loved the "backstories", the current happenings and how crazy all of them seemed. The only character I really didn't love was the husband, though I can understand SOME of his reasoning and worry, I also hated him for always blaming Elisa.

Josh is in every way unlikable and I was here for it. I despised him, but in a good way. He's the epitamy of a character you love to hate and he played the perfect role the entire time. Rachel, Josh's current love interest keeps you on your toes as well, though she was less of mystery to me for most of it. I did like all the up and down with her, through the story you can't really tell who's side she's really on.

Though not quite up to par with Pretty Little Wife, this one still rates high in my book and has made Kane an auto_-buy author for me!