Such a complex, twisty-turny story, it’s nearly impossible to summarize it without ruining it. So, I won’t. What I can say? It’s rather brilliant. Every chapter, I think I’ve got my finger on what’s going on, and then I begin to question again. Is she crazy? Is he abusive? Why is she following the new fiancée? Are her intentions good or bad? Who is this early girlfriend? What is with his sister? What really happened in Florida? OMG, WHAT IS HAPPENING?!? And then I finally figured a few things out and thought there were no secrets left to be revealed, but no. Of course not. Where would be the fun in that?

Honestly, I don’t know how to talk about this book without giving something away! It’s the lack of surety that makes the book so great. And it’s so character-driven, I struggle to say anything about any of the main characters that won’t give up the goose.

How about this: I loved Aunt Charlotte. Everyone should have an Aunt Charlotte. Aunt Charlotte is everything she seems to be. She is alone in that. ;)

So, when you pick up this book (and you should), be prepared. It’s topsy-turvy and a bit disorienting. If you feel like you don’t know which end is up, keep reading and enjoy the ride. It isn’t going to be what you expected. It’s better.

Okay, so I have to admit I was a little nervous when I started seeing my fellow reviewers compare The Wife Between Us to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Even though I loved Gone Girl, not many of the novels that have been compared to it since its rise to popularity have lived up to the hype. And boy have there been a lot of them. I’m thrilled to say that not only does The Wife Between Us live up to the comparison, but I enjoyed The Wife Between Us even more than I enjoyed Gone Girl. I think we’re looking at what is going to be one of the must-read books of 2018. I also recently read that there is already a deal in place to make it into a film and I’m really excited about that.

I know this is the part of my review where I would typically describe the book without giving away spoilers. In the case of The Wife Between Us, however, I can’t really do that. To write any kind of description of even the basic plot points and characters would just spoil it. So all I’m going to say is just know based on those Gone Girl comparisons that you’re diving into an addictive psychological thriller filled with twists and turns and complex characters, and that there are also questions regarding narrator reliability. Most importantly, as the synopsis indicates, assume nothing!

LIKES

My favorite part of The Wife Between Us is that it really did keep me guessing from beginning to end. I read the synopsis, which told me to ‘assume nothing’ because everything I assumed would be wrong. And then I proceeded to jump right in and start making assumptions anyway. The book just lends itself to that and no matter how hard I tried to keep an open mind, I continued to make snap judgments about characters and situations, and yes, as the synopsis warned, I was dead wrong every time. And that may sound like it should have been a frustrating reading experience, but I LOVED every page of it. Nothing about the story was predictable and that was just fabulous and refreshing.

There is one plot twist about halfway through that was such a shock to me that it made my head spin. I actually had to backtrack a few pages to make sure I had read what I thought I had read. It was truly mind blowing!

The characters in The Wife Between Us are also so well drawn. They’re complex, flawed, and utterly human, and unlike in many of the Gone Girl-style books, they are actually quite sympathetic in spite of the unreliable narrator issue. I won’t go so far as to say that I liked any of them, but I did feel tremendous sympathy for what at least one of them was going through.

The book also weeds into some dark territory as we navigate the various plot twists -- mental illness, addiction, abuse, jealousy, the struggle to let go and move on after a failed relationship, etc. All of this dark subject matter weaves together seamlessly into an enthralling tale that you won’t be able to walk away from until you know the whole truth behind ‘the wife between us.’

DISLIKES/ISSUES

The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was that the pacing felt a little inconsistent before that huge plot twist vs. after it. There wasn’t a huge difference but just enough that it was noticeable in terms of how quickly I moved through each half of the book.

I also can’t say that I was 100% satisfied with the book’s resolution either. I’ll be curious to see if that is tweaked when it is made into a film.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Wife Between Us is a mesmerizing thrill ride that will keep you guessing from beginning to end. I would definitely say to go into it knowing as little as possible for the most suspenseful reading experience possible. As the synopsis says, ‘Assume Nothing.’

RATING: 4 Stars

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and of course, authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen for allowing me to read and review this book on my blog in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacts my review.

The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks.
This book is a hard one to review as you don't want to give away the storyline that keeps you guessing.
Vanessa was once married to Richard but now they are divorced. Richard is planning on taking on a new wife named Nellie, who is a young Preschools teacher he met. Vanessa is now having to start over by working to gain back what she has lost. Along with that it seems she has taken to drinking more.
There are a lot of things going on in this book that keeps you wondering who is the 'bad guy' here and who is not...or are they all bad. This book will be really hard to put down because you want to see what is next on this domestic thriller storyline.
Exciting Read!!

High expectations can ruin a book. I think most of us have experienced that before. I can happily say that this is definitely not the case with this book. It lived up to the hype and delivered multiple twists with good character development.
This book was marketed very well. The lack of information given in the synopsis is clever and I did make assumptions (most of which were false).
The book is split up into three parts. Each leaving you wanting more. This is a page-turner. Make sure you don't have any pressing matters as you'll want to devote all your time to this book.

*My review has been posted on goodreads and will be posted on Instagram on 12/18*

The Wife Between Us

Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen


THE WIFE BETWEEN Us is filled with twists and turns you will never see coming. Just when the reader thinks they have it all figured out, forget it! They are totally wrong! Haha don't you love when an author does that to you?


My review for THE WIFE BETWEEN US is going to be very short. I'm afraid I'm going to give something away or spoil it for someone. Basically here it is, Vanessa is the ex wife. Nellie is the fiancé of Vanessa's ex husband. Vanessa can not stand the fact that Richard might be getting married again and decides she has to stop that from happening. Hang on people! You aren't going to believe your mind as you are reading! There is so much more to the story, but as I said, I'm afraid of giving too much information. There is nothing worse than having someone ruin a book for you right?


While reading THE WIFE BETWEEN US remember, not everything is as it seems. Appearances can be very deceiving and we all know, you should never judge a book by its cover! I can easily see this story becoming a movie. Once you start reading, you will have a hard time putting THE WIFE BETWEEN US down. It is filled with lies, infidelities, and betrayals that are going to blow you away.

OMG, what just happened? This is going to be THE book of 2018. Forget the “Girl” books and bring on the “Wife”. I am not even going to say what this book is about except to say this - don’t read anything about it, just go buy it. I am telling everyone I know to read this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me a free digital copy of 'The Wife Between Us' in exchange for my honest review.
The Wife Between Us is a very clever physiological domestic thriller that dissects a marriage and its undoing. With lots of twists and turns, it is a very entertaining read. The reader is constantly being put to the test: just when you think you know who the bad seed is, the perspective changes and you realize you were wrong. Vanessa is now divorced from Richard, a successful business man and a doting husband. Now he is remarrying someone new and Vanessa will do anything to stop the wedding, but not for the reasons you might think. It's hard to say more without giving away too much, but just know that as stories from Vanessa and Richard's past mix with what is happening in the present, you will constantly be guessing and what is really going on. In The Wife Between Us, nothing is as it seems.
I rate this one 3.5 out of 5 stars. I did enjoy reading this book and found myself thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I really wanted to find out the truth but there were parts that seemed to drag on a little bit. The perception of the characters kept whipping back and forth and well was done in my opinion. I found this very smart and clever, the misdirection always made the reader wonder who was really the one who ruined the marriage. However, I couldn't help but find parts of the story a little depressing: a lot of mental and physical abuse was going on and that may be a trigger to some people. Mental abuse can sometimes be one of the worst kinds because no one outside of the abuse knows its even happening. As more truth about Vanessa and Richard started to be revealed, instead of feeling thrilling, it felt sad to me. I would say that this was a well done book, but for someone who has strong feelings about abuse, I couldn't fully love this novel.

The Wife Between Us.... do not assume that you know anybody.. do not asaume that you know what is happening.

Twist after twist makes this a fast paced read. I really enjoyed this book.. after hearing so much about it I was hoping that it would not disappoint... it did not!

Thanks to St Martins Press via Netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review.

No, I didn't read this book. I read to my required 30% then dumped it. First off, it took me weeks just to get that far. Second I lived the first part of this story with my ex. Minus the money. I know controlling behavior when see it. How this book ended up is just something I don't care about. Maybe the women turned the tables. Maybe he wasn't such a control freak. Don't know. Don't care. Couldn't stomach the stupidity. My marriage ended because someone thought they could control what I did and who I could be friends with. Right...Homey don't play dat! Sorry, but this is one story I feel fine passing on.

I knew I had to read this book when I first saw the cover! I immediately thought to myself "I have to get my hands on this book!" And I'm so glad I did!

Hmmm... Who is the wife in between? You think you know Nellie, you think you know Vanessa but you have no idea. Nothing is as it seems.

The Wife Between Us was everything I want in a mystery/thriller. It has a fast pace, plot twists, flashbacks, characters that can't be trusted and so much more. I could not get enough of this book. It was very hard to put down.

That first plot twist came out of nowhere. Then again at the end, I was totally blindsided and I loved it!

There's a lot of hype surrounding this novel right now and it's for good reason. I was not disappointed at all. This book gets 5 stars from me.

As the synopsis says, I suggest going into this book assuming nothing. Although the synopsis is fairly vague, you pretty quickly get an idea about what this book is about. Or what you think it is about. This book is hard to review because I don't want to give away any spoilers. It is certainly one of my favorite suspense/thriller books that I have read this year.

The book is divided into three parts, the first part bis narrated by Nellie and Vanessa and alternates between the two. I thought I knew exactly what was going on and then I started part two and you have one of those moments in a book where you are so shocked by the twist that you say, "What?!" And then re-read the last few sentences to make sure you read it correctly. The ending of this book also gives you another twist that I certainly did not see coming. One of the plot aspects I sort of figured out half way through the book, but all the others I did not see coming. The authors did a fantastic job with this book and it is definitely one I found myself thinking about and wanting to get back to reading.

I don't want to say too much, as I don't want to give anything away. Part of the reason this book is great, it because you don't really get a synopsis going into it, except you know it is in the thriller/suspense genre. Although most readers will spend the entire time trying to figure things out and I also believe most won't, I certainly didn't. Like I said earlier, this is definitely one of my favorite suspense books I have read this year and will recommend to all my thriller loving book friends. The authors did an excellent job with this book and I can't wait to read more from them in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for sending me an ARC of this book

I couldn't put this book down!!! Every time I had it figured out there was another twist. This was a marriage gone wrong and a wife that refused to let go..but for a different reason then you would think. Great storyline and the book keeps you guessing till the very end.

I’m being a trifle severe about this one; the reader for whom “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming!” is the highest accolade, for whom the word “reveal” isn’t a verb or employed as a noun doesn’t connote yesterday’s warmed over roast of young calf (see illustration above for “a reveal”), might actually enjoy The Wife between Us. But readers with high artistic standards who expect surprising twists to integrate seemly disparate elements of plot and character into harmony will be annoyed by the authors’ using the backstory as a magical hat full of rabbits to produce whenever the story starts to lag. Even in the epilogue. Perhaps joint authorship is responsible. This book keeps changing its mind about what it wants to be & who the characters are. We start with some confusion over the identities of Nellie & Venessa, & get about four different versions of Emma before we finish running the range from ingenue innocent victim to cunning schemer. The main character offers a very unlikely backstory: I doubted she would have been unaware that the professor with whom she has a college affair was married, & I am certain that a sorority hazing incident involving ETOH that resulted in a pledge drowning would have led to an officer from the national arriving to revoke the chapter’s charter even before the college kicked them off campus. (The authors owe the Chi Omegas an apology. Fraternity brothers might exhibit such stupidity, but not sorority sisters.) I doubt the pledge’s family would be mollified by donations to an animal shelter. They would probably have sued the college & the sorority & the main character. Reader’s of “psychological thrillers” will be used to Richard, our standard garden variety sociopath, wealthy generous but an extremely controlling & jealous husband. The chronology is cloudy as well. In the story Vanessa has to be married to him for several years, & her backstory requires her to be 15 years out of college, tho’ immature for a woman in her mid-thirties. I am grateful to the publishers & to NetGalley for a gratis review copy, but this time I am going cold turkey with NetGalley, at least with authors I’ve not read & enjoyed before.

This is the story of a marriage gone wrong and a wife who just won’t let go. Actually, that’s far from what this book is all about.

What a wild, crazy ride this book is. This is an extremely difficult book to write about as I don’t want to give anything away. I’m not one to give out spoilers. The best way to enjoy this book is to simply sit down and read it.

However, nothing is simple and this book certainly isn’t simple. I had to actually go back and re-read some sections to make sure of what I was reading. I was both confused and intriqued by the premise of this book. I found myself scratching my head a few times.

The authors put together a clever plot with a fascinating cast of characters. It’s the type of book you cannot put down nor can you wait for the conclusion. Readers will be anxious to know how this all is wrapped up. This book is a wonderful rollercoaster ride and I’m so happy I went on it.

She could not let him get married again. She was determined to not let this happen. It became her obsession; her ex-husband Richard, consumed her and she couldn’t let him go. Then, suddenly the string broke, her fervor switched and now she is focused on Nellie, the woman that Richard is planning on marrying. I didn’t know what to think of this divorcee as her passion and her feelings ate up the hours of her day. It wasn’t until she started to talk about her past that I finally began to understand where the trouble existed. She’s trying to warn Nellie about Richard, she is doing everything she possibly can, her determination is relentless. Their reactions typical but troubling to her. The more she reveals about her past, the more I am wondering where this is all headed and why she cares so much. If she scares off Nellie, where will that leave her? Is there something about Richard that neither of the woman know?

I got so tired of Richard’s psycho talk. He used it to belittle the individual he was aiming his remark at and it was just one of his ways that he used to take control of the situation. Richard was an individual who always had to be in control. They say that love is blind and Richard had their eyes covered and they loved it. I loved how this novel kept building and building until the end when the author just lets go with the unexpected. It’s one of those endings where I want to go back and reread the novel, Richard didn’t have my eyes covered, the author did. Just like the book jacket states, “You will assume………You will assume…….…You will assume……..Assume nothing. Read between the lines.” I made assumptions. I highly recommend this novel.

I received a copy of this novel from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
#thewifebetweenus

The Wife Between Us was an intense, beautifully written thriller. It kept my engaged, guessing, and in the end shocked me with brilliant twists. This was an amazing read!

The Wife Between Us will keep you on the edge of your seat, until the very end. My mouth flew open when I got to the epilogue, and was like OMG! I don't want to say too much, but if you love mind screws, roller coaster of events, and fast paced books. Then TWBU is definitely for you. The characters are well written and twisted. You'll be wondering who is actually telling the truth. Get ready to be up all night trying to piece together this book.

I received an advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Don't walk but run to buy this book. 2018 is shaping up to be one of the best year in books and this book absolutely must be on that list. Every time I thought I had the story figured out it changed so it kept you flipping pages desperate to know what happens next. Engrossing and engaging are weak pronouns for how amazing this book was. Make sure to leave a chunk of time to read this because once you start it you will not put it down until the last page. You will loose all track of time. Happy reading,!

“Assume nothing.”

The Wife Between Us warns us on the very cover to assume nothing. It tells us explicitly to expect a ride where we can’t see the road ahead. It tells us, and still, the assumptions came. Still I tried to see.

There are three people involved in this book: Richard, his ex-wife and his current fiancé. Throughout the book though, we only get the perspective of the two women. Richard is the thing that ties them together, but this book is about the women.

We are taken down a road of perceptions. How we perceive ourselves, how other people perceive us, how we perceive those perceptions. And the writers have taken it a step further and involved the reader into these impressions. They rely on how we understand and predict characters, plot, twists. This novel is fiction, but it is also interactive. We are part of the twists, whether we like it or not.

The subtlety in the writing is stunning. Hendricks and Pekkanen lull us into the very assumptions they warn us against. They woo us into believing that the warning is a hype, that there can’t possibly be another angle we haven’t thought about. Until the first twist hits you.

But unlike a roller coaster, where you can see the escalation and prepare for it, the first twist hits you like a car crash. Sudden. Abrupt. Unseen. Unexpected. I sat up in bed, my brain demanding that I stop and reevaluate everything I had read up until that point. And this isn’t happening at the end of the book, this is merely a third of the way in.

Even after the hit, once again, the authors take us down a calmer road. They once again woo us into trusting our own beliefs. They convince us that we can’t possibly be surprised again, now that we know their game, we can anticipate the next move. Except we can’t.

Again and again, this novel slams into you. Taking everything you think you know and using it against you. It is brilliant and shocking and such a fantastic ride!

It’s difficult to write this review, since there is so much written within the narrative that you simply have to experience yourself. It isn’t a book I can’t tell you about without taking away from your own ride. Just know, that it is fantastic. The psychology both in the writing of the characters and in how the writers use the readers own natural assumptions is breathtaking.

This book will be compared to many novels that have swept through the literary world. But those comparisons don’t do the novel justice. This book IS the next big thing. This is the book that thrillers will be compared to and held up to. This is the book that you will talk about and recommend and obsess over.

I know that this review is very vague. I find myself struggling with how to write a review that captures the essence of what I read. Listing every synonym to fantastic, stunning, phenomenal, etc doesn’t seem to be appropriate, yet I hesitate to put in any details. To give away any hints would be criminal.

I said before that this book is interactive. The reader is submersed into the characters in a way that I’ve never experienced before. When the narrators are unnerved, so are we. And the way we are lulled into trust and complacency is the same way that the women involved in the book are. They think they know what’s happening. We think we know what’s happening. They want to believe it will never happen again. We want to believe it will never happen again.

Over and over, the twists hit us as they hit the characters, and the visceral reactions you will feel are spectacular in their execution.

The dark themes of abuse, mental illness, power and control are chilling, in both their accuracy and their understated abundance. These themes are hard to decipher in real life, and the authors have ensured that they are hard to decipher within these pages as well. This is a book that deserves to be analyzed and examined and discussed. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever experienced in a novel.

The Wife Between Us comes out January 9, and if there’s one book you need to get, it’s this one.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for sending me an early copy to read and review!