"The Wife at the Window" follows a woman determined to reclaim her life after a tragedy tears her family apart and the woman who was there to pick up the pieces. The glimpse into her fractured mental state and the suspicious activity she witnesses build suspense. While the story is entertaining and suspenseful, it falls short of being groundbreaking. If you enjoy domestic thrillers with unreliable narrators, this might be a decent choice, but readers seeking a truly unique and twisty plot might want to look elsewhere.

3.5 Stars - A Gripping Read with a Disappointing Finish

Ok.. WOW! This book had me hooked from the very first page. I was so sure it was a solid 5+ star read all the way through. The suspense, the twists, the characters – everything was on point. It kept building up the tension and the excitement to this huge event that I was dying to see play out.

But then came the last chapter, and I felt like I hit a brick wall. The ending just fell flat and left me completely unsatisfied. It lacked the finality and conclusion that the story deserved. It's like the author just stopped writing right before the climax.

Don't get me wrong, the journey was amazing, but that destination... it really let me down. If you don't mind an open-ended conclusion, you might still love it. For me, though, it dropped the rating down to 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this audiobook narration overall. However, one narrator spoke significantly faster than the other. I had to bump my speed up but then the faster speaker was too fast. It threw me off.

This book had entertaining aspects of a thriller but ultimately fell a bit flat.

I would recommend it for someone looking for fast paced thrillers that are easy to fly through.

I did not enjoy the decade long revenge plots and how this story just felt like it had so many components all going on at once. The middle lost more for a bit and I was bored wanting it to end.

The last 10% really picked up and had my attention. The twists felt a little far fetched for my usual thriller tastes but overall, an easy enjoyable story.

The wife at the window was surprisingly good, it started off well and got better as I listened and the story progressed, I won’t say to much so as not to give any spoilers but the writer Cara Reinhard really knows how to write some spiteful characters. A great summer read/listen for your holidays.

This high quality audio continues the pov trend focusing on the mother and the acting mother. The narration us spot on and I was able to distinguish characters.
The story itself had me gripped as I fed enough about the characters to care what happen. The very elaborate subplots added to it on a bizarre way. I loved every second of it. My only criticism was I wanted more for the ending as I felt there was lots of loose ending. I would highly recommend this to anyone. It was a binge lusten.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author and narrator.

The characters are just so well written and realistic, the tension is built so effectively and you really do have no idea where the storyline is going or what the outcome is going to be! It has the twist, turns and surprises that you'd expect and the plot is constantly moving forward which I loved!

The Wife at the Window is an absolute page-turner!!! Between the possessive (seemingly without reason) new girlfriend, the protective dad, and the unreliable and seemingly unstable ex-wife, you will not be able to put this book down.

The dual POV between the ex-wife (mom) and the new woman kept me guessing, I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone in the book. I never saw the reveal at the end coming!

This psychological thriller reminds me of The Inmate by Freida McFadden and The Woman on the Train. Definitely pick this one up if you like complicated families, psychological thrillers, and undertones of jealousy.

I listened to this ALC thanks to NetGalley. Pub date is June 17, 2024.

As someone new to the Audiobook scene this one was a great one to start off with.

It was gripping and intriguing right from the start and moved at a steady pace being neither too slow or fast for me.

The lady narrating has a very captivating voice and made me want to continue listening whilst following the story along.

Overall I think the story was interesting and definitely has opened me up to listening to more audiobooks (something I never thought I would say)

4 stars overall x

I really enjoyed this book. It had a slow start for me at first, but once it picked up, I couldn't stop listening to it. It had me guessing and wanting to know what was going to happen with Emerson and Talia. All my guesses were wrong, but wow, it kept me on the edge of my seat, and I didn't see any of the twists coming at all. I will be recommending this book to anyone who wants a good thriller with a plot that will keep them guessing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#wifeatthewindow #netgally #carareinardauthor
I really enjoyed this book, It follows a mom who was in a mental hospital and got out and just trying to get back into her sons life, kept me on the edge of my seat though!! I listened to it in a day and half. Would recommend this book to anyone who loves to be kept guessing!

Finished this audiobook in less than a day. Once I got used to the narrators, I couldn’t stop listening! I was rooting for Emerson the entire time and don’t even get me started on Talia! Lots of twists and turns! I will absolutely read more by this new to me author! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC.

Content warning, and an explanation of a condition 👏👏 We need so much more of this!

Emerson is the wife left behind in a mental hospital, after a night terror caused Emerson to be running down stairs away from the man who haunts her dreams and falling with infant Thea, the fall killed the baby.
Approaching her release, she starts to visit her old home, desperate to catch a glimpse of her son Leo, she spots the new step mom Talia shouting at the child that she loves so dearly, but she dare not approach the house, it’ll jeopardise her access to her son when she’s released.

Talia is a real piece of work, on the surface she loves the child, and she’ll do anything to keep Emerson away from him, quite literally anything, but all she really wants is to keep a firm grip on Shep, Shep is placid and keen Emerson to rekindle the bond with their son. Talia can’t let that happen, and she definitely can’t lose Shep, she pulls some nasty tricks to get in the way. I despised Talia, for every single second of the story.

After Emerson is released she must meet with a therapist and prove that she’s been 30 days episode free before she can have supervised access to her son, when the order goes through Talia ramps up evil bitch mode to a whole new level, and everything takes a sinister turn, it also takes Emerson on a trip back to her childhood summer house where a devastating event started the night terrors.
I don’t love the mental health trope that seems to play out in a lot of psychological thrillers, however as I mentioned at the start, there is a trigger warning, but the author also goes into a great explanation of night terrors,
we learn that it’s normally a childhood disorder, there are links to some mental health issues, but no scientific proof as such, she gives a clear explanation of sleep stages and the points where night terrors normally present. This probably earned the novel an extra star for me.

Some of the content is distressing in the novel, but it’s been carefully crafted in my opinion and I feel it could easily sit somewhere between, thriller/psychological thriller and horror/paranormal.

The dual narration by Lauryn Allman and Amelia Sciandra was really well performed and definitely added to the tension and drama.

I couldn’t find anything not to like, it had me invested so it’s an easy 5 🌟

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this alc.

All the stars 🌟
#Jorecommends

This was a great psychological thriller until the last 10% which soured the entire novel for me. I loved the premise and was anxious to see which “mother” won or how far would either of them go and felt sideswiped by the turn of events.

I hate long winded confessionals and this book was littered with them… but what I loathe more are decades long plots of revenge. This could have been a great book if Genivive hadn’t popped up.

I read this as an Ebook and it just did not work for me. I did like it more as an audiobook. The narrators did amazing.
I hated Tahlia. I just do not get doing all of that to gain the affection of a man. They haven't even been together a year and she is doing way too much. Or maybe it has been a year but barely. Anyway Emma has been in hospital for a year and in that time Shep moves in a new woman (Tahlia) and has her doing all parenting. Tahlia has been saying terrible things about Emma to her child.
She is also super judgemental of other mothers and her own work friends. She is just horrible. Also they aren't even married!

Emma has a good friend and I am so happy for her. Things are bad but she isn't alone.
The ending was interesting.

This is a fast-paced, high stakes domestic thriller!

Premise: two women want the same life and they're willing to kill to get it... there's the (possibly deranged) mother who lost custody of her child after (maybe) murdering her infant daughter vs. the mistress-turned-wicked stepmother. With custody in flux, the women are willing to do anything to end up with the family of their dreams.

This was so up my alley! It has:
* high, but accessible, stakes
* SO much scheming
* characters you love to hate
* twists I didn't see coming
* red herrings galore (but not in a dishonest way)
* a conversational style that makes it easy to devour chapter after chapter

The reason this isn't a 5 for me is Nev - I just didn't find her character believable <spoiler> especially the twist (if she's that level of messy/out of control, I don't buy she could have made it as far in her career with the reputation she had).

I look forward to reading more from Cara Reinard

Thanks, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Wife at the Window is advertised by the publisher as being perfect for fans of Freida McFadden and A.R. Torre, and they were correct. On audio, this was a fast paced, intriguing domestic thriller which kept me guessing throughout.

Not in love with the typical premise of mental health as a tool used for the female main character, but, alas, that's our new normal. Mom, Emerson, recently released from an institution watches from the wings as ex-husband Shep is building a new life with his girlfriend, Talia, and Emerson's son. Author Cara Reinard keeps us in suspense as the story unfolds and we know another child has died, which led to Emerson's institutionalization.

I loved how slowly the secrets are revealed, and characters developed. Emerson attends grief support groups and the reader gets gut punched at the trauma some experience. If trigger warnings are important, please do be aware child death and mental health are both HUGE in this book. It can be uncomfortable.

I loved the narration, the ending and the surprises.