The Wife in the Photo had me hooked from the very first page and did not let go. It was full of twists and turns and a completely shocking ending that I did not see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

While I usually love Emily’s writings, this one didn’t do much for me this time. The writing was still really well done but the last little bit was too flip floppy for me to just be wowed by. I know everyone will have their opinions and this one is just mine, so you may love the ending. I still enjoyed most of the twists that happened, the ending just fell so flat. The twists were good as I never figured them out so that was a plus.

The Wife in the Photo by Emily Shiner had such an intriguing premise that I couldn't wait to read it.
Unfortunately it turned out not to be my cup of tea.

First of all it played heavily on the athmosphere, on building suspense and taking the tension go up, however I simply couldn't feel what the author tried to create. It wasn't suspensful nor thrilling for me.

The beginning was quite strong and enticing, but pretty soon it fell flat.
The characters are not that interesting most of the time, some happenings were simply over the top and ridiculous.
Also it took a very long time for real action to start.

𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆, 𝒔𝒐 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏.

Evan, Chief of Police, finds himself a widower after his wife suffers a fall and dies. He is left to raise his teenage daughter Jessica, and he's struggling. His assistant calls in a favor and finds him a housekeeper, Ariel, who shows up to keep the house in order...and investigate Ariel's death. Why would a stranger be in this family's home insinuating herself into a situation that's none of her business?

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, filled with red herrings and secret journals, and then I started having to suspend disbelief more and more until I got to that absolute cluster of an ending...the kids call it "doing too much," and that's how I would describe the ending of this book. It was so unrealistic and so dramatic that it took away my enjoyment of the book overall.

I did read another book by this author that I rated higher, so I think it was just this title that didn't work for me. The title also doesn't really fit the storyline. Regardless, I thank NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an early copy. This book published September 7, 2023.

This story started out pretty solid, of standard. Husband is having an affair and wife dies under questionable circumstances. Obviously as Chief of Police,it makes sense that Evan can push an investigation aside and knows how to have it ruled an accident. He's also obviously grieving, so it makes sense no one on the local force would look too closely. All of that was fine.
I kind of got lost with Ariel. She seemed obsessed with Jessica to the point of mania in some parts. It also worked out too neatly that she and Miram just happened to find each other and they both happen to have a grudge, but I could look past that.
The end is what really got me. It was almost comical when Jessica attacks literally everyone like a rabid animal. And in the middle of all this Miriam has time to complain about her granddaughter to Evan while holding the phone as said granddaughter is being stabbed. The granddaughter was still proclaiming her love to Evan and saying Jessica was the problem as Jessica is going completely psycho.
It was just so overly dramatic, it ruined the rest of the book for me .

The Wife in the Photo is a deliciously dark story about loss and vengeance. Next level domestic suspense!

I was really taken aback at The Wife in the Photo. I don’t really know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. Honestly, I was hovering around the 3-star mark for a lot of the book but the last third of the book made me change my mind and quite frankly shocked me. I had a slight inclination of how it was going to end but the ending that was delivered made me laugh – I love it when someone nasty is outdone, it cracked me up.

Being an avid reader of Thrillers especially of the domestic variety, there isn’t a lot that shocks me, but this genuinely did, it came out of left field and I’m pleasantly pleased. The prologue set the tone and built up what would be an emotive story. It immediately made me want to find out what had led to the wife being pushed to her death.

The story is told in dual perspectives – from the husband, chief of police, Evan Warner, and the housekeeper he hires to get their house in order, Ariel. There is also bonus chapters from the Lola’s diary and the daughter, Jessica’s diary. We first met Ariel when she is watching the Warner’s home with a clear vendetta against Evan. Lola is dead, apparently from an accidental fall, but Ariel isn’t convinced. She witnesses a black mini cooper and wonders how its all connected. Her motive is to protect the daughter but why? What is her connection to the Warner family.

The Wife in the Photo examines the intricacies of family life and the fallout of a partner/parent dying. How things would be affecting the family post loss, the housework building up, relationships breaking down and frustrations mounting. I think that the author did a phenomenal job of highlighting the realism of those issues.

Evan is a dodgy character. You can clearly see that he is covering up for something. His wife’s death was no accident but was it him and how far does the rabbit hole go? He’s had an affair with a very young work colleague and has to immediately call it off after his wife dies. Life is getting on top of him and his daughter Jessica, so when his assistant, Miriam recommends a woman to cook, clean and get their lives back on track he jumps at the proposition.

Ariel is a mysterious woman. She obviously has an ulterior motive for working for the Warner’s but just what is it and why in particular does she want to keep Jessica safe? She witnesses some very odd behaviour from Evan but also from Jessica herself. Will she gather the evidence she needs before Evan gets onto her?

What a brilliant book. From the first page I was hooked. A great story very tense. It kept me guessing all the way through. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is by far one of the BEST books I have read in a while (that wasn’t smutty). If you are considering reading this boo, just do it! You will not regret it. Thank you #NetGalley for letting me read this!

Wowza!!! What an ending!!! Not going to ruin my review with spoilers but will say my head was spinning!

I did find some of the writing repetitive and felt there could have been a little better editing on that perspective. Solid storyline, relatable developed characters, made me want to keep reading and had to know what happened. Overall 4 stars and would definitely read more by this author!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

REVIEW// The Wife In The Photo

Let me start out by saying The Wife In The Photo screams LifeTime movie- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was a good book while reading, just a bit unmemorable once finished.
I loved how the chapters were short and we also got diary entries to get another side of the story.

Thank you @bookouture, @netgalley, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Lola Warner dies in a horrific accident – she falls down the stairs.

She leaves behind her husband, the Chief of the police, Evan, and their 14-year-old daughter, Jessica.

The Warners don’t realise that their house is being watched…

When Evan is looking for a housekeeper, he finds a perfect candidate: Ariel.

She makes their life much easier by cooking and cleaning, but there’s something familiar about her that Evan can’t put his finger on.

Ariel feels she needs to protect Jessica at all costs. Why? Who is she and what are her motivations?

I loved this tense psychological thriller. Written from the points of view of Evan, Ariel, and Lola in the form of her diary.

It was clear from the start that Lola didn’t just fall down the stairs, she was pushed, and Ariel was going to uncover the truth.

I guessed Ariel’s identity fairly easily, but there were a couple of twists that I didn’t expect.

I loved reading Lola’s diary, it offered a glimpse into the Warners’ family life, which wasn’t an overly happy one.

Overall, it’s a great story. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.

Thank you to Bookouture for my NetGalley widget.

My Review: Emily tells this story from differing perspectives, including diary entries. It's set in Virginia and is a real page turner. You really want to find out whats in the next twist and turn. 3 weeks after the death of his wife Lola, Evan hires a housekeeper to keep things in ship shape so his daughter, Jessica isn't too disrupted whilst grieving her mother. Ariel isn't just interested in being the housekeeper though, and Evan has a level of guilt on his shoulders. Nothings as it seems. To find out more, you'll have to buy the book x

My first book by Emily Shiner and definitely not my last. Very much deserved 4*

Police Chief Evan and his daughter Jessica were devasted when Lola, Evan’s wife and Jessica’s mother, accidently falls down the stairs of the deck in front of their house and died. Three and a half weeks later Evan realises he and Jessica need some help, the house is dirty, they are eating rubbish and they are barely functioning due to their grief. Miriam, Evan’s assistant looks for a housekeeper and finds Ariel. Ariel seems perfect and initially Evan is very pleased to have someone take the load off him although Jessica takes a little more convincing. However, when Ariel starts to act suspiciously Evan wonders whether it was a good idea to employ her and when she starts to try and bond with Jessica Evan realises, he has made a very very bad mistake. The family have lies and secrets which both Evan and Jessica want to remain buried but Ariel seems determined to uncover them. How is Ariel connected to the family and will the Warners secrets stay buried?!

This was a very good story, I was intrigued and curious very early on and I felt that Emily Shiner really knew how to build the tension throughout the story. I have to admit I had figured the twist half way through the story however it didn’t spoil the story for me and if anything I may have guessed it just because I read a lot of psychological thrillers. I did have a gasp at around 73% I did NOT see that coming which is great! I also did not see the “streaming” coming either- clever! I thought that the main protagonist was despicable and didn’t know who to trust until right at the very end so great job Emily Shiner.

All in all, a great psychological thriller that I wouldn’t hesitate to fans who enjoy that genre. I will defo read more of Emily Shiners books and look forward to what she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture my advanced reading copy. Out now.

This is a wonderful, twisty book. Told in the point of views of Miriam and Evan, with some of Jessica’s diary entries, this book will keep you on your toes and keep you up late at night just so you can finish the book. When you think that you know what’s going on, I guarantee that you don’t! Shiner definitely tricked me a time or two in this one!

The ending is equally as shocking and it leaves it so that there could be a sequel but there doesn’t have to be. Though, if I had it my way, I want the sequel! I want to know how things play out (that’s all I can say without giving anything away).

The writing is easy to read and not bogged down. This is fast paced so you can easily read it in one sitting (or at least in under a day like I did!) I really enjoyed this author’s writing style so I will continue to read her books!

This is the second book in a row that was a wild ride. This might be the ultimate popcorn thriller. Again this starts as a regular psychological thriller, but the more I read, the more I was drawn in, then surprised where this one kept going. I suspected one of the twists, then doubted it, then suspected it again… But ultimately this had a heck of a twist that I did not suspect. And I’d say pulling one over on me was not easy, but it seems I am either slipping or the authors are getting better at hiding what is coming.

Deep multi-layered characters that are grieving the loss of their wife and mother. I wasn’t really sure I liked anyone nor whether I could trust anyone. All of them gave off an unreliable vibe, but that is also the norm for this type of book.

If you are a fan of twisty, keep you guessing books, this one has to be on your TBR. It stays at a nice even pace, but when I finished I was left contemplating what I had just read. I think Emily Shiner is one I will need to add to my list of reliable popcorn thrillers authors along with Freida McFadden and Daniel Hurst. Always wickedly fun to read and pushing the boundaries of where I think it is heading.

I both listened and read this one and can’t decide which version I liked more. Todd Kramer and Kate Handford’s narration let the story shine and kept me engaged and wanting more along with the plot. I am becoming such a fan of dual narration for dual POVs. The two of them did a fantastic job.

If you need a book to start off your spooky season, you should pick this one up. Because what could be scarier than people themselves.

Lola discovers her husband is having an affair, but an accident leads to her death. However, not everyone feels it is an accident and when Evan employs a housekeeper her reasons to be there are more than to just get the house in order.

From the first chapter this novel is sinister and you know will be a page-turner.

Shiner tells us this narrative from multiple points of view allowing us to see every angle of what is happening. I could not put this novel down, it had twists I didn’t see coming and was filled with suspense. I did guess a small part of it, but it did not take away from this novel which any psychological thriller love with want to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Evan and his daughter Jessica are caught in a whirlwind when Lola (Evan’s wife & Jessica’s mom) falls down the stairs and is killed. Some people think it’s an accident and some people are questioning the situation. It’s also tricky when Evan is the chief of police.

The last quarter of the book went by so quickly and I really enjoyed that part but the beginning was pretty slow.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC.

#booksbyashleynicole

Whilst I'd worked certain bits out quite early on, I had absolutely no idea of the carnage that it was about to descend into!

The Wife In the Photo is such a well plotted book with some cleverly written, duplicitous characters who definitely aren't all they seem, until the big reveals at the end.

I flew through the pages and it quickly turned into a one sitting book for me.

A twisty thriller full of suspense, secrets and THAT showdown!

The book starts at Warner's house, where Lola falls from the stairs and dead.
Lola left a husband, Evan, and a daughter, Jessica, and both of them are struggling to manage their day to day life in the house.
With recommendation from Evan's assistant at the office, they hire a housekeeper, Ariel.
But, Ariel isn't just a housekeeper, she has motive, she hides something, the same as Evan hides a dark secret.
After just a few chapters, I got hooked and couldn't put it down - just a big question of who's this Ariel? What these characters' deep secrets? Who done it?

Just one little thing that I feel the story is a bit too rush and I wish there's more background story of each of the characters. The story is great, kept me intrigued, yet the characters feel bit under developed and the ending is bit underwhelming.

While I was able to figure out who was responsible for Lola's death early on, the book was still enjoyable so I finished it. The characters were interesting and the story moves quickly. I would recommend this to those who enjoy fast paced thrillers. Special Thank You to Emily Shiner, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.