Cat Ellington’s Review of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Date read: January 2018

"A fool will lose tomorrow reaching back for yesterday."
—I'll Never Love This Way Again (1979)
Format: Sound Recording
Vocalist: Dionne Warwick
Songwriters: Kerr (Richard) and Jennings (Will)

A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION.

One might assume that having considerable monetary riches and vast material wealth would account for a life of blissful happiness and serene peace. And that's easy to understand because practically every aspect of society conditions us to believe such an illusion and to settle it in our minds as the gospel truth. But is verifiable happiness genuinely dependent upon how "obese" any person's piggy bank is? And does the gift of peace reserve itself exclusively for those whose residential environs, garages, walk-in closets, shoe storage shelves, handbag organizers, and watch cases (or cabinets) contain only the most opulent of fineries?

What constitutes authentic happiness? What constitutes true peace? Do vast riches? Does having great wealth?

Can anyone—regardless of the monetary or material things that he or she may possess—honestly obtain the dynamic duo of authentic happiness along with true peace if they have not spiritual edification? That's a good question, isn't it? No one can obtain true peace and happiness without spiritual edification - first and foremost - because we all have a common enemy troubling our minds in an effort to cause confusion.

If one were to ask the manic Vanessa Thompson, star of the immensely complex psychological thriller currently under review, any of those thought-provoking questions, her answer to that someone would undoubtedly be, 'Absolutely not!'

THE SETUP.

Imagine, if you will, being courted and swept off the soles of your feet by the Prince Charming of your wildest and most erotic fantasies. He's tall, athletic, breathtakingly handsome, upstanding, and outrageously rich and wealthy. He also treats you royally, and to you, that is an added plus. Nothing is too good for you, his future princess. Not the five-star restaurants, or the wines imported from the most renowned wine regions in the world, or the coveted ready-to-wear from only the top-tiered designers, or the exotic, first-class vacations, or even the top-rated luxury vehicles according to the Kelly Blue Book. He has it all. And he spoils you with it all. The crystal glass slipper that he holds fits your foot perfectly. And he has chosen to take you, and only you, to wife. Of course, you're elated. What woman wouldn't be? So you gladly—no, frantically—accept prince charming's marriage proposal, internally bidding farewell to all of life's financial woes and slave freight basket struggles. The two of you are a match made in Earthly heaven.

Not only do you wear the glass slipper that he has so delicately slipped onto your foot but also the exquisite diamond ring (Tiffany and Co., eat your heart out!) that he has slipped onto your eagerly awaiting finger. He treats all of your closest friends and family members well, providing everything for them, including all-expense-paid (first-class) trips. Your Prince Charming is the perfect gentleman. That is, until he makes you his own, legally bound by the sanctity of marriage. You soon come to realize, with time, that you've married into a nightmare. You soon come to realize that you've married "Martin Burney."

In this mind-boggling thriller, reminiscent of Sleeping with the Enemy, we meet a woman who is swept clean off the soles of her feet by a too-good-to-be-true delusion.

THE EVALUATION.

A novel presented by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, the dark and quietly chaotic The Wife Between Us tells the troubling story of Vanessa Thompson and those in her life, including her new husband, Richard Thompson, his sister Maureen, a woman named Nellie, a woman named Emma, and Charlotte, Vanessa's aunt and only surviving relative. The tale haunts, interweaving their lives between the gloomy locales of New York City and Florida.

Vanessa Thompson apprises her heavily neurotic witness as a woman who desperately struggles to cling to a disturbing past long dissolved into a forgotten eternity. Married for several years to Richard, a wealthy New York hedge fund executive, Vanessa's hellish account of their so-called happy marriage sheds light on the façade that it had been. And she details the constant pain and suffering imposed upon her by the passive/aggressive "Prince Richard" whenever she fell prey to his devious wrath.
Plagued by a mass of bloodthirsty demons vying to obtain complete control over her already tormented mind, the crestfallen Vanessa becomes a hunted and haunted soul: her dreadful past haunts her, her inability to conceive a child haunts her, the memory of her late mother—demented as she had been—haunts her, her father's sudden death haunts her, and memories of her ghastly marriage to Richard haunt her. As her appalling witness continues, Vanessa delineates how she had been a woman beaten into submission by the man she thought she loved. A man whom she, too, thought loved her - before he discarded her compliant sentiments for the surrendering vulva of her doppelgänger, Nellie.

In the wake of their unsweetened divorce, this narrative's "Prince Charming," who is Richard Thompson, has taken his glass slipper to the next village to search for Vanessa's replacement. And he finds both that woman and her dainty foot in a young, fair-haired, curvy, and vibrant Nellie, a twenty-eight-year-old educator who adoringly refers to her three-year-old students at the Learning Ladder preschool of Manhattan as her "Cubs." The spitting image of Vanessa, Nellie is enthusiastic about marrying the rich and powerful Richard. And she's in the happy process of making her wedding day arrangements when her embittered predecessor intercedes.

Unable to move on after her bitter divorce from Richard, Vanessa is in a tailspin. Her job at Saks is on the line, and she's even depriving her body of the proper nourishment and rest it so eagerly craves. Indeed, Vanessa is a woman hanging by a string.

THE INSANITY BEGINS TO BUILD.

Vanessa can't eat or sleep. She also can't allow Richard to marry another woman. Nellie. She must get rid of Nellie. She must do so. She must see her up close and personal. She must stalk her. She must mimic her. She must stop the "royal wedding" from ever taking place.

While reduced to living with her Aunt Charlotte—a self-employed artist with health woes to spare—in a grizzled New York apartment near Eighty-sixth Street and Central Park West, Vanessa sinks deeper into her pitch-black well of demonic warfare: depression, self-hatred, self-pity, drunkenness, fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, envy, jealousy, paranoia, and denial are all wreaking havoc on her mind in a concentrated endeavor to destroy her - both body and soul.

Yes, the regretful Vanessa is a soul haunted by the madness of her culpable conscience. And this same culpable conscience despairingly tells her that she cannot allow the beautiful, young, curvy, fair-haired, and devoutly attentive Emma to marry Richard.

She must preoccupy her conflicted mind with enemy-centered thoughts about Emma. It is imperative. Emma must become her new stalkee. It is imperative. She must confront Emma. It is imperative. She must prevent Emma from marrying Richard. It is imperative.

The insanity steadily builds.

IS HE PRINCE CHARMING? OR A TOAD?

Richard Thompson—who traded in the sagging bust line of his loyal wife in exchange for the youthful, perky bosom of another woman—may or may not be his own miserable and tumultuous soul. As the rattling skeletal remains of long-dead and buried secrets angrily threaten to emerge from the darkened confines of his expensively-attired proverbial closet, Richard Thompson is a man who is on edge. He appears stable, yes, but is he? With his only living relative being an older sister named Maureen—to whom Richard is "peculiarly" close, I might add—Richard Thompson is a problematic individual of an utmost borderline personality.

Having monetary means, Richard Thompson can easily fund the two homes he so arrogantly holds down: one a luxurious apartment in Manhattan; the other, a mansion—er, castle—of sorts in Westchester. The cultured one-percenter lives very well and nurtures an insatiable penchant for only the most grandiose afforded to those of his financial hierarchy: leisurely, high-class travels around the world, upper-crust cocktail parties flowing with Raveneau and shucked brine oysters on the half shell, Alvin Ailey galas, dates to the Philharmonic, extravagant ballets, sporting events, live shows on Broadway, and countless other sumptuous enjoyments of equal ranking.

To his many well-heeled friends and business associates, Richard Thompson has it all together on the surface. But that which lies beneath the knightly exterior—lurking in Richard Thompson's innermost soul—is an eternities-old and rabid spiritual predator, threatening to claw its way out. And he is not an immortal predator that intends to spare his host or any other equivalent for that matter. His purpose, for the most part, is to ingest his mortal prey whole.

Richard Thompson's inner predator so critically needs to carnage. It is imperative.

THE INSANITY INTENSIFIES.

As the insanity intensifies—courtesy of Mankind's enemy—plaguing thoughts of Vanessa's chilling past make time to disturb her defeated mind: Are you crazy? Of course, you are! You got it from your loony mother! Where's your best friend, Samantha? Hmm? You lost her, didn't you? Daniel! Maggie needed you! Where did you go? 'You can't leave me!' Maggie had whined. 'You can't leave me!'
Common to man are many wicked thoughts of fear: Will you survive? How will you make it? Where is your strength? You stupid, weak, mortal human! Do you believe that you can beat me?

Vanessa Thompson is damned if she doesn't at least try.

THE SUMMATION.

Full of obsession and terror, The Wife Between Us exposes the truth about the consequences of spiritual warfare going unrebuked. And Hendricks, along with Pekkanen, outdo themselves with its revelation. In essence, spiritual warfare is prevalent to all humankind. And not even one of us who is existent in this three-dimensional physical realm is immune to it. No, not even one of us.
Our spiritual enemy's meticulous and systematic method: destroy the human mind, destroy the human body. Once the human mind becomes corrupted, the rest of the body is sure to follow. And in the troubled lives of our top-billed cast, the two talented novelists—Hendricks and Pekkanen, respectively—capture this Hadean enrapture pristinely.

In all of my years as a reader of prose literature, The Wife Between Us is the very first co-authored effort that I've ever perused over that full extent of time. And I am inclined to admit that I was originally-biased towards the co-composition, what prejudging that such a collaboration (in any literary work of fiction) couldn't possibly produce the same result as a traditional novel written by a single author. But I was wrong. It turned out to be a wonderful reading experience.
While I thought the story was taking too long to arrive at its point, I had to keep in mind that the script maneuvered around two individual visions. Nevertheless, they managed to keep me intrigued with the turning of each page. And for that, they deserve kudos. I stand corrected.

Overall, is The Wife Between Us a psychological thriller that I would avidly recommend to those innumerable pundits of the admirable and fabled subgenre? It most definitely is.

Five psychosis-affected stars.


REVIEWER’S NOTE: It is my kind pleasure to thank St. Martin's Press, as well as NetGalley, for the advanced review copy (ARC) of The Wife Between Us in exchange for my honest review.

Analysis of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is courtesy of Reviews by Cat Ellington

Date of Review: Monday, January 08, 2018

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

This is the first title Hendricks and Pekkanen authored together but the second one I have read.

Nellie is going through a divorce. Her husband has left her for a younger version. It's the typical story. Except maybe it isn't. Nellie has taken to following her husband's new fiance and trying to warn her off of him.

I really can't say much more about the book than that without dipping my toes into spoilers. Hendricks and Pekkanen like to play with your mind. They clearly enjoy a good mindfuck. (Which is the same word I used when discussing their second title, which I read first.) But after reading two of their books I see that their storylines, and maybe even characters to a certain extent, follow a formula and two books of their formula is enough for me. I don't feel a need to read more from them, I don't want to read more from them because it will be the same basic psychological mind games, same kind of characters, just a different way to deliver it. I've read Pekkanen before, her solo authored books, and have really liked them so I think I'll bid farewell to the writing duo of Hendricks and Pekkanen and return to reading books authored by just Pekkanen.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. I really struggled to get into it and struggled with the format.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a twisted thriller that readers won't want to put down. I went into this book with few assumptions and I was pleasantly surprised at the shocks uncovered in the plot.

Vanessa is divorced and smarting over the loss of her husband. She has been replaced by another woman. A new version of her. Maybe this new woman will give her ex the child he wanted when she failed. Maybe she will be the perfect woman for him. All she knows is it is her responsibility to open this woman's eyes as to who her husband really is.

Nellie is in love, she is engaged to Michael the man of her dreams. He's a bit older than her and so successful. He showers her with affection, gifts and so much love. She is excited to marry him and start a family with this man. But sometimes she believes she is being followed. Michael refuses to tell her much about his ex. But Nellie is dying to know who this woman was and why they broke up. Michael is perfect, sometimes he's a little jealous or shows up unannounced but that's only because he loves her, right?

This book will shock readers. Just when they think they have things figured out, there is so much more deviousness that is hidden between these pages. An absolute page turner of a book that is a roller coaster ride until the end.

This was a very interesting read. I still know the twist but I had a hard time trusting the main character because of the writing style which was intentional but it still made me wary of her. Some of her actions in the beginning made it hard for me to trust her words and judgement. I was surprised by the twists and turns in this book. Overall I liked it and would read more from these authors.

I love this book! I am typically a fan of psychological suspense novels. The way the characters were written was excellent. The first wife seems truly like a desperate woman just trying to get rid of her replacement. I did not see the twist coming.

Highly recommend.

Copy furnished for free by NetGalley and the publishers

I thought this book was vastly entertaining and the twists were well fleshed out. I found the book to be face paced and it gripped me enough to keep the pages turning. I enjoy Hendricks and Pekkanen writing styles and have enjoyed each one of their co-authored books.

While this story did have some twists and turns, for me it lacked depth. The characters were shallow and I couldn't really connect in any way with them.

The Wife Between Us is recommended for this who enjoyed Gone Girl or Girl on the Train. Vanessa, the main protagonist appears to be an unreliable narrator when we first meet her. She's a newly divorcee who lives with her aunt. She works in a department store and drinks too much wine. She's very bitter that her husband cheated on her and threw her away for a much younger woman. Vanessa wants revenge, but against who? Her husband or his fiancé? Or does she want to save his fiancé from making the worst decision of her life?

There are so many twists and turns here and their is a dual narration, which is from Vanessa's POV. We go into her past as what looks to be a happy marriage with a loving husband who make a lot of money. But as things are revealed Vanessa's marriage is far from happy. Loss of identity is a big theme here, which happens to Vanessa, that is until she gets her divorce, which she may or may not have planned.

The Wife Between Us has a big thriller vibe where Vanessa's ex-husband may want to harm her. But Vanessa knows him oh so well, and wants him to hurt and suffer like she did during, and after her marriage.

The first half of the book is gripping, but things falter during the last 1/4 of the story. There at many confusing plot points and actions that jumps into the past and the converges with Vanessa and the other woman. The final chapters will have you scratching your head because the outcome is something that needs to be slowly dissected. This is the type of book you may have to re-read to understand everything that has happened. It reads more like literary fiction in a way that each layer must be peeled away in order for the reader to have their "ah, ah!" moment.

The Wife Between Us has a solid premise with many dimensions and layers, but Vanessa is one character that may not evoked enough sympathy as she tries to move on from a life with a man who sucked her dry, and may just suck another woman's will to live dry also.

I enjoyed all the twists and turns in this book. I will be recommending it to all my patrons who love books with a twist.

A thriller about Nellie, Vanessa and Emma, and how they cross paths and compete for the love of one man - Richard. Who should we believe about who each really is, and Richard’s true personality? I didn’t realize which way was up until it was nearly the end!

Thanks to @netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
#netgalley #bookreviews #thewifebetweenus

So many twists and turns! This author duo is absolutely fantastic. I was kept on the edge of my seat for the entire story. With a book like this you do not want to include any spoilers in the review, but if you like suspense, intrigue, and a thrill this is a great read.

This book is best if you go in to it with absolutely no expectations and know very little of the backstory. What you think is happening is likely not what's happening and the guessing made reading this all the more delicious!

This is the first book that Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen wrote as a duo and I have to applaud them for their seamless narrative. It's difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. Their writing is spot on!

With a breathtaking plot, mysterious characters, and a stunning conclusion, this novel is a must read for fans of psychological fiction!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book. There were a few minor things I thought could have been done better-which is why I gave it 4 starts instead of 5-but do not take that to mean it is not a good read. I have recommended this several people, all of whom also loved it.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything, but this book has one of the best twists I have read in a very long time. I almost wish I could un-read it so that I could be shocked reading it all over again.

It’s a little late now—will all the pages having been turned—but my initial decision to skip this one way back when was the right one.

I was pretty darn adamant about sticking to my guns—bypassing this book entirely—until I wasn’t. Some "anonymous girl" convinced me I *had* to know who the wife was getting between people.

Thank goodness for small favors though. Had I not been a hype avoider last year, no doubt, I would have succumbed to the almighty and powerful Fear Of Missing Out and snatched up The Wife Between Us. My discontent with this obvious and exhausting storyline (aside from Part 1), would have stopped me from experiencing all the thrills and chills An Anonymous Girl unleashed with her psychological study participation. Now that would have been an incredible shame. To date—keep in mind, as I write this review it's only early February—AAG is the only book I’ve awarded a 5-star rating in 2019. In my opinion, TWBU is nowhere near as riveting or original as the writing duo’s sophomore offering. The masses are divided on this front though, which makes perusing the reviews quite fun.

With this debut—as both co-writers and suspense storytellers—Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks introduce readers to two very different women, Vanessa and Nellie. The one person that connects them, a wealthy, successful, cardboard cutout of the perfect man, otherwise known as Richard. Vanessa is a drunk, down on her luck, barely surviving hot mess whose idiosyncrasies drive her to stalk unsuspecting Nellie. Naturally, as Richard’s former wife, Vanessa’s a bit salty that he’s moved on so quickly and poised to exchange vows with her much younger replacement. A (crazy?) sliver of my own psyche almost couldn’t blame her without having all the facts—like who left who and why? Well, wonder away, until you read the book for yourself. You’re not going to get any answers from me in regards to plot details. Much else would ruin what becomes a predictable trajectory.

I’ll shout it loud and proud all day, Part 1 of 3 owned me in its entirety. I feverishly turned those 162-ish pages, DEVOURING that slice of the pie in one sitting. I was obsessed with finding out how Veronica’s mission was going to play out. Part 2, on the other hand, led the descent into disappointed reader territory. The thought reverberating in my mind: "really, that uninspired twist was the BIG reveal?" The authors pretty much destroyed everything that made the book so compulsively readable. To say I was over it by Part 3 is all too accurate. The culmination of the so-called surprises, entirely TOO LONG trek (50 pages could have been cut from the final draft easily), and overdone ending, found me eager to move on.

To clarify, there was one aspect of the ending that I thought was clever and worked to tie everything together, but another that cheapened things.

We all like what we like and can’t force it or even explain it sometimes; that’s just life. Trying to predict what your own experience might be, based on my gibberish alone probably isn’t fair. So, if something about this one sparks your interest, I’d say go for it. You never know what might happen.

Whoa! Slow down, what was that? You're looking fastball; well here's a curve ball! None out, runners at first & third. I suggest you hold your bets! All that but one helluva lot more clever and exciting. The perfect read for these "social distancing" times, you'll spend the day wrapped in this. Now; get back to work!!

I enjoyed the twists and turns in the book. Though, one or two reveals left me with more questions than answers. But overall, it was a good story.

The wife between us is a phycological suspense novel, my favourite genre. It is so twisty and complex that it just keeps you wanting more. It's has everything you want Betrayal, Obsession, Manipulation the list goes on... I found this novel to be very addictive and fast paced, with never a dull moment and managed to peak my interest from beginning to end. I cannot wait to read your next great book

Lately I've been trying new authors to me and I have been excited and surprised by so many excellent books. Stepping out of my comfort zone is a good thing! Right? LOL

Twisty after twisty makes The Wife Between Us a fast paced ride. I really enjoyed this after I dig deeper in to it. I had heard so much hype about it I was hoping that it would not disappoint and it didn’t! It was a chilly, intense read filled with unexpected wow moments that kept me guessing right until the surprise ending!

The flow of the story was good and the characters were on point. I’ll admit that I did have a pick it up-put it down for a while, but eventually stuck with it and I’m glad I did. Mainly because I kept getting distracted by real life. I highly recommend this for fans of suspense!