This one was good! It is frustrating because you want the best for one of the characters and you know the motives behind the others which are not good! All signs of a good psychological thriller!

There is one twist that we kind of know a little background on but we don't really know who was involved in the event until the very end. At first, it felt kind of random but then I remembered one of the characters mentioning and event and it kind of clicked. I was shocked to find out who was involved and what they tried to do!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review. I enjoyed the storyline of Emerson and Talia. Emerson, the mother of two who has been institutionalized for killing her baby and whose husband left her as a result. Talia, the new girlfriend that is trying very hard to be Leo’s new mother, at whatever cost. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple narrators. I felt that the story line was good but it was a bit slow at times. There were lots of fun twists and turns that kept you on the edge of your seat. I do feel that the ending could have been a little better. It felt a bit like someone said hurry and wrap this up. Overall, it was an enjoyable book that I would recommend to others!

I loved the plot twist, I wasn’t expecting the events to happen and the tables to have turned the way that they did. I like that the main character basically gets a happier ending of sorts because now she knows she’s not crazy!

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

The Wife At The Window
Cara Reinard

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I think this is my first read by this author, but I'm sure it won't be my last!
This was such a complex, driven, psychological thriller that had me completely hooked from start to finish!

We follow the story in the present with some flashbacks to the past events that caused the family to be where it is now.
The husband, Shep, and his new girlfriend. Living together and her, acting Mum to his little boy.
The mother and ex wife, Brynn, just released from an institution following her episodes which seemingly caused the death of their daughter.

The story unfolds gradually as we follow each woman through the events both present and prior. This is done in a way that the details from before are fed into the present day narrative and create new layers on which we can form theories on what might happen.

There's definitely a lot going on and the more we read, the more the storylines interweave around each other.
I'm trying to stay away from the actual plot, because it would take a while and still not really do it justice.
I really liked how the storylines developed around each other though and these all came together perfectly to create an exciting and shocking conclusion.

The characters all had their flaws and secrets and I found it hard to connect with any of them, but my thoughts and feelings swung from one to the other, the more I read and the more information came to light!

This wasn't super fast paced but with all that was being thrown at us, I found that I still raced through it!
There were some great twists and shock moments which all built up the tension and had me on the edge of my seat.

An exciting read which I really enjoyed. Can't wait to read more from this author.



💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

Highly recommend this incredible audiobook that had me on the edge of my seat! The trigger warnings itself and the gripping opening scene had me hooked and on chokehold. The narrators did an awesome job of capturing the tension and bringing each characters to life with their unique voices and emotions, making the tension even more palpable.

What I loved most was every chapter had me eagerly waiting to find out what happens next. It's the kind of audiobook you just can't stop listening to, even when you probably should be doing something else!

If you're into thrillers that grab your attention from the first minute and keep you guessing, this one is definitely worth checking out!

A mentally-disturbed, regretful wife and mother anxious to have her life back...and a desperate woman clamoring to make that life her own...what could go wrong? Both of these represented the dual points of view, which I felt enhanced the plot. This story was a fast-paced, twisty thriller right from the start. I was concerned about a large number of shady characters all packed into one setting, but Reinard makes it work. It seemed easy enough to see where it all was going to lead but definitely a shocking ending with lots of unpredictable details. The dual narrators for this audiobook made the storyline easy to follow.
I will definitely visit the author's other reads and see if they compare to this new gem.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley, Cara Reinard and Bookouture Audio
Narrated by Lauryn Allman, Amelia Sciandra


This story follows two main perspectives, Emerson who after the tragic accident where she lost her daughter, suffered a mental breakdown where she was hospitalised . She, who was Emersons husband employs Talia a co worker who comes on the scene to look after their very young son, Leo. As Emerson slowly gets her life back on track, it becomes very apparent that Talia has taken the role of caregiver and live in girlfriend. Emerson accepts this but wants to talk back the role of Mom to Leo. Talia has different ideas.

I was excited to be accepted for this audio as I was really intrigued by the premise of the book. I really like slow burn plots. Unfortunately, the pacing of this book felt a little off and possibly a little too slow for me plot wise. However, I loved the character building that Cara has done. You get a very real sense of who these people are so they feel very real. the dynamics between Emerson and Talia I really enjoyed and my heart went out for Leo.

I found the narrators Lauryn Allman andAmelia Sciandra did a great job in keeping the 2 main POV alive and very much separate voices of the MC. I did however listen to the book at 1.5 speed as a personal preference.

3 stars for social media sites

4 stars
This was a great little psychological/ domestic thriller.

Shep’s wife killed his baby girl when she fell down the stairs holding the baby. She claims an unidentified man pushed her down, but no one ever believed her. She’s been sitting in a mental institution for this claim and is finally being released. She wants nothing more than to see her son, who has been living with Shep and his new girlfriend.

Shep’s girlfriend wants nothing to do with his ex and will do anything she can to keep playing house with her boyfriend and his son.

Narrators- Both were great for this audio. Everything stayed really engaging.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Emmerson Wylie loser her daughter in a tragic accident, she finds herself in a tailspin that lands her in a mental health facility away from her husband & son. Upon her release, she finds that her husband's co-worker, Talia, has become his partner and Leo's caregiver. As Emmerson tries to get her life back in order, Talia works just as hard to make sure Emmerson doesn't succeed and a bitter battle ensues...... one that culminates in situation neither of them could have predicted.

I enjoyed listening to this one and I thought the author did a really good job of taking on a very touchy subject (child loss) with care and compassion. That is an extremely horrific situation, and I was concerned that the subject would be too dark for me, but I love this author and wanted to give it a go. Overall, that subject, while obviously the catalyst for the plot, merely set the scene, it was not the main subject throughout. I loved the dual perspectives and the complex morality issues. I did struggle a bit because not a single character was in any way likable. I guess I was rooting for Emmerson initially, but she makes so many bad decisions it's almost uncanny and it made it hard to continue rooting for her. The end was interesting but came a bit out of nowhere (at least the connection to the other character, hard to say without spoilers but if you read it you know). It's a good story but a in the end a little bit bananas for me. Still highly, highly recommend this author!

The emotional depth of the characters and the raw honesty in their struggles made this audiobook a truly captivating experience. The themes of love, mental health, and redemption were explored with such sensitivity and authenticity that I found myself completely engrossed in the story.

The way the narrators brought each character to life with their distinct voices and emotions added another layer of richness to the storytelling. I felt like I was right there with them, experiencing every moment alongside them.

Overall, this audiobook left a lasting impact on me. It made me reflect on the power of mother's love, the importance of mental health awareness, and the beauty of second chances. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for gripping listen.

Thank you NetGalley for your early ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Cara Reinard's THE WIFE AT THE WINDOW is an edge-of-your-seat twisty domestic suspense thriller!

“A compelling portrait of grief, mental health, and guilt— from a mother's fearless investigation to save her son through the lies, deception, secrets, and the past framing her life.

About...

This dazzling psychological thriller is a love triangle tale (not the norm) of two women with a past and one man.

Emerson-wife/mother
Talia-live-in girlfriend
Shep-husband/boyfriend/father

After the death of a child, a mother is not allowed to see her son due to mental illness. However, no one believes her. Both have dark pasts. The husband's new girlfriend is manipulative and controlling. Plus another storyline from the past rises to the surface. Let the games begin.

The author keeps you in suspense, ratcheting up the tension, when the past and present collide for an explosive finale in this captivating twisty suspense, exploring the unwavering power of motherhood.

One year earlier:

Emerson (an artist and children's book illustrator) is married to Shepherd Kingsley (an architect). They have a beautiful home in Newton and two children, Leo (a son) and Thea (an infant daughter).

Emerson is at home alone with her two children and sees an intruder in her house. She ran to check on her son and to the nursery to check on her baby. The man grabbed her arm as she ran for the steps with the baby, and down they went. When she woke up, the baby was in her arms. She fell. She does not remember. Her baby is dead.

No one believes there was an intruder and says the tragic accident was caused by the mother's fall chasing a dream, and blames it on her mental health and sleep disorder. She then is stripped of her family. Shep, her husband never stood by his wife when she needed him.

Now:

Shep lives in the family home and has a live-in girlfriend, Talia, (delusional) with his son Leo. Talia is obsessed with Shep and Leo—a monster. She will do anything to keep Emerson away from her new family. She even shares custody with Shep. Talia worked her way into Shep's life, knowing he was married with a family. She says she is protecting Leo.

Emerson had been diagnosed with a series of sleep disorders, hallucinations, and night terrors, but she knows this was not a dream, nor was she sleepwalking when the traumatic event occurred. There was a predator in her house. She also has a past with issues as a teen when there was a fire.

However, Emerson has spent time in a mental hospital and under a therapist's care. She is released from the mental hospital, Meadowbrook, and living at a halfway house. She wants nothing more than to reunite with her son. However, Talia is doing everything to keep her away.

Emerson is worried about her son and the destructive influence (rightly so) and stands outside on the street watching at the window.

Emerson has been granted visitation with her son; however, Talia cannot allow this. She tries to turn Leo against his mom and convince Shep to protest the court order for visitation. Emerson is trying to get back on her feet to be a good mother and a talented artist, a children's book illustrator. Then, someone keeps her from getting this job.

How far will Talia go to keep Shep and Leo? Something sinister is about Talia and her past.

We also learn about Talia (an assistant to Gus, her boss) at the architectural firm where she and Step work. There is a death at the firm, and Talia manipulates everyone, including Leo's visit with Emerson, and goes on the run. But her plan may backfire.

Enter Kent Bessler, a paranormal researcher based in Connecticut. His stepson went missing at age 10, and he wants to buy her old childhood summer home to film. Is her house cursed? Other secondary characters add to the intrigue and mystery.

Hang in there... a sinister turn when Emerson takes a trip back to her childhood summer home, where a devastating event took place years ago, and the beginning of the night terrors. Then, the hospital administrator drowns suspiciously.

However, is it Emerson or Talia who has a dangerous past? What dark secrets do each hold? Secrets will also come out. Someone wants revenge. Will Leo be collateral damage?

Will Emerson reach her son in time to save him? If she loses another child she will not survive. Never underestimate the power of a mother's love.

From past to present, all the sins of the past are unraveled. Who will win out in the end when nothing is as it appears? Who is the sociopath? The final twist is one you do not see coming!

My thoughts...

THE WIFE AT THE WINDOW is an edge-of-your-seat twisty domestic suspense thriller—from creepy paintings, a haunted house, manipulation, gaslighting, and dark past secrets.

An intense haunting who and whydunit, psychologically deft and full of hairpin turns, twists, and emotions. Will Emerson be able to solve the case of the intruder to prove she was not responsible for her daughter's death?

You think the book is going one way, but the author cleverly takes you in a different direction, keeping you glued to the pages. A tangled web of secrets, lies, and deception.

Fans will root for Emerson all the way. Talia is a piece of work, and Reinard has created an evil, manipulative person with gaslighting at its finest. The author also handles emotionally charged topics of mental health, grief, past trauma, and the death of a child with compassion and sensitivity.

This is my first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more. I enjoyed her writing style. I hope we see more of Leo and Emerson in a future book as he ages.

Audiobook...

I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by the dynamic duo—Amelia Sciandra and Lauryn Allman for an engaging and intense nail-biting performance for all voices.

Recs...

THE WIFE AT THE WINDOW is for fans of love triangles, dual POVs, twisty plots, motherhood, and domestic suspense. It is also for fans of authors Freida McFadden, Miranda Rijks (The Insomniac), A.R. Torre, K.L. Slater, Christina McDonald, B.A. Paris, Daniel Hurst, and Emily Shiner. Thriller and mystery fans should add this twisting tale to their summer list.

Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC for an honest review.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 17, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
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Gripping Thriller! Nothing is what it seems! Captivating. Leaves you guessing till the end! Highly recommend!

I really wanted to love this book/audiobook as the blurb sounded so good.
It also sounded really different to the usual books I chose to listen to/read.
Unfortunately I found it quite hard to get into.
It seems to drag for me and not much seemed to be happening.
By halfway through I found I was speeding up the audiobook narrator to get to some more juicy parts but it didn’t seem to happen.
I then skipped several chapters to get to the end to see how it all panned out.
Although I really appreciate being given the chance to listen to this book it wasn’t for me I’m afraid.
I do like fast paced thrillers usually though and aren’t too keen on slow burn books like this one seemed to be.

This audiobook just took off from the beginning. A heartbreaking story of infant loss ( a trigger warning is give before the book starts), the mom being committed and then having to fight for her rights to see her son. A mother who is recently out of a mental hospital and her ex-husband has already replaced her with a girl friend that is "mom" to her young son. This is her story of battling to do everything that she can to be able to be reunited with her son again despite the girlfriend going out of her way to set up road blocks so she will never have access to the son.. Toward the end of the book there are a bunch of things that happen that shocked me and I was questioning what was happening and where was this going. A very good book especially if you like mystery and being on the edge of your seat.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨ Two timelines , Two POV.
✨Psychological Thriller
✨ Domestic Drama
✨ Slow Paced




✨A drama of 2 women who have a different story to tell. One has a dark past of accidentally killing her infant through home invasion and no one believes her and the new one is the one who’s raising the husband son.
The original wife was release to a the institution and wants to spend her time with there son but the new wife against it because of the past.
✨ Lots of going on… Every chapter there is something happening which is I’m very stunned at some point which is great.
✨ I love how the original wife fight to gain access to her son .
✨ ending was not up to par, that’s the only let down . I have been loving the whole book up until the end, like why?!
Anyway, it’s best to sit the book to 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




Thankyou bookouture for an arc copy of this book for honest review .



🫶🏼shaye.reads

I have such mixed feelings about this book. The audiobook was engaging and Cara’s writing was easy to follow, gripping, and creative. However, unfortunately, the ending felt incomplete and it did not feel like it had the resolution the book built up for, buuut if you don’t mind more of an open-ended last chapter.. then it might not bother you too much.

What I loved ♥️
- The dual female POV of two very different ladies
- Cara’s description, she effectively builds up tension and sets up the atmosphere
- I always love me an unreliable narrator ;)
- the psychological aspect of the book
- hardcore Mom fighting for her son
- audiobook reading was amazing!

What I did not love 💔
- The ending :(
- The overall story reminded me a bit too much of ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willinghan IYKYK 👀
- Shep 🫠 are you for reaaaaal

With all that said, this book is for fans of THE NIGHT SHE DISSAPPEARED by Lisa Jewell, THE BREAKDOWN by B.A Parris, or THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC 🫶


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6570623954

Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

I believe this was my first book by the author, but the summary sounded interesting, and I decided to give it a try. I don't always enjoy these newer domestic phycological thriller/suspense novels. Many times there's just an unbelievable amount of drama in them and I just end up shouting that the book "Just talk to each other for crying out loud!"

Fortunately, this one didn't create that feeling in me. The characters seemed fairly well developed and the story was engaging enough. There were some slow points that felt very repetitive and in need of a good editor. But overall the story was enjoyable and the narration was pleasant to listen to.

3 stars for "I liked it"

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a crazy thriller and DEFINITELY not predictable (Which is a good thing!) Seriously, I couldn't predict the ending even though I thought I knew what was going to happen. I was SHOCKED. This book was so crazy and twisted. I finished it in just under 24 hours. If you enjoy Shari Lapena and Liv Constantine, I can almost guarantee you will like this book. However, the characters aren't necessarily likeable. This bok is narrated by Lauryn Allman and Amelia Sciandra. I am pretty sure I have listened to one other book narrated by Lauryn, but I was not familiar with Amelia. Both narrators did a great job. If you are looking for an audiobook to keep you up all night, I totally recommend this book! Please check your trigger warnings though!

—


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


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This book is a solid 3.5 stars.

Freshly out of the hospital, Emerson is determined to do everything she can to get her son back. But her ex-husband Shep has a new girlfriend who is determined to do everything in her power to keep that from happening. Just how far is Talia willing to go to make sure she stays as Leo's mother and Emerson is gone forever?

**The following may have spoilers, so proceed with caution.**

Five things I enjoyed about the book:
1. Emerson's struggles with life after the incident was written (mostly) well. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows; she had good days and bad days. And she didn't always make the best choices, but she owned her flaws. It was refreshing to not have a generically perfect woman as the female main character.
2. Some twists were twisty. I figured out the main twist earlier on, but the journey was satisfying enough.
3. The moment Talia realized she had made the wrong decision was SO satisfying. She thought she was better and she knew best, but really, she's the one who caused all the harm.
4. Emerson telling off Shep in the end. SO SATISFYING. He is a fuckwit, honestly.
5. Brooks and Emerson's friendship. It was a bit odd and he's definitely shifty, but it was nice seeing her have someone who was 100000000% in her corner.

Five things I didn't enjoy about the book:
1. Talia. Do I need to say more? She was a horrendous character from her first page. I don't know what Shep saw in her. Her weird obsession with wanting Shep and Leo to be *hers* was so weird. There should've at least been a reason for it, but she just *wanted* them. BUT WHY? Also, I can't get behind a woman who knowingly goes after a married man.
2. There were a lot of times throughout the book where it was soooo slow. Mainly in Talia's POV, especially in the beginning. The book didn't pick up, from her POV, until at least 70%.
3. The ending felt rushed. The bad person's reasons for everything felt flimsy, especially after all this time. How did they get where they did? Some things didn't add up.
4. The hospital scene at the very end was nothing but an info dump. We got explanations for everything and told everything in a matter of a few pages, but we didn't get to see the resolution of these revelations. The book just... ends. It feels unfinished.
5. We didn't get to see Emerson's HEA. I needed to see her reunited with Leo. That was the entire point of the book, and we didn't even get to see it. I felt cheated.

The narration of the book was great. Lauryn Allman and Amelia Sciandra really brought Emerson and Talia to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an audio ARC of this title.

There were several twist that I didn’t expect and it was a good listen. The story was written well. It was easy to follow along and flowed well.