This is a slow burner of a story that peels away at the layers of deceit and deception. Told form the viewpoint of 3 characters, it delves into their lives, showing nothing is ever quite as it seems! A great, solid read.

A tangle of lies, deceival and marital abuse. Two women with similar destinies, whose lives were brought together and partly destroyed by a professional liar. The Other Wife by Claire McGowan is a complex thriller of deceival and revenge, which explores the deep secrets of the angry brain. 

Suzi, heavily pregnant and Eleanor/Nora a sad widow are new neighbours in the middle of the nowhere English countryside. A simple friendship which evoles to something else. More complex and unexpected. Both of them met a man that meant something to them. A man that apparently died and took with him part of those women' lives. But what actually do they know about this man?

Step by step, the novel is delving into revealing snapshots of secrets that were hidden. In both women lives there are secrets, deadly in some cases. The reality proves to be completely different and the truth is always hidden. When it comes out, it's a corpse left behind. 

I've been fascinated by the technique of building the narrative, with unexpected turns and dramatic developments. All characters do have issues and bloody secrets they are easily living with and this is a pretty scary view on human nature. It might be, as one of the police officer said at a certain point that most crimes are committed by a person you know, but this dark side of humanity is terrifying. Maybe this is how it is, maybe not.

From the literary point of view, I've had often the feeling that the narrative is disbalanced as the main interest is on the characters. It's like the writer is so keen to share so much about the dark sides of them that sometimes the proper development of the plot is somewhere lost in between the cross-stories shared by different viewpoints. 

The Other Wife by Claire McGowan is a chilling novel, you hardly leave it until it is finished, with a maigre touch of feminism - as both women are victims of manipulative men. A story that makes you think and pessimistically encourage you to suspect any couple you might see happily holding hands on the street. Something to think about later on.

The story starts off being told from 3 points of view: Suzi, Nora and Elle.

Suzi recently moved to the country side where she spends her days alone and lonely. She is pregnant and married to her man who definitely does not treat her well, an example of what her husband Nick would say to her:
"I'd prefer you focused on the house, actually cooking a decent dinner, that kind of thing."
Suzi's chapters are all written to another man (not her husband), as if she is telling him a story, she yearns for him, even after it becomes clear he does not deserve her love and devotion.

Nora is Suzi's new neighbor and she is up to something. It takes a while before we find out what exactly and why she is spying on Suzi... but it gets more and more interesting.

Elle seems like a timid woman. She constantly hears her mother's disapproving voice in her head.
"As if anyone could ever love you."
She's married, but not secure in her marriage. She spends her days at home, waiting for her husband to come home, trying to be the perfect wife based on a 1950s idea of a perfect wife. She seems mentally and emotionally rather unstable and completely dependent on her husband.

Throughout the story we get to know these women more and more. In my opinion, Elle was weak and just not really living her life. Suzi was not the smartest girl, she could have gotten herself out of her mess a lot sooner, rather than waiting for it to escalate. Nora seems smarter, but not the kindest person. So basically there was not one person that I loved or related to in this story, but I still enjoyed it and followed every twist and turn that got thrown at me.

It's funny how one of the women sums up what happens in this book as:
"The plot sounded so elaborate. Like something you'd read in one of those trashy thrillers...

and yes, I agree... the story wasn't fully believable, but it was still good.

This is the 2nd book by the author and after the 1st book I couldn't wait to read another one. The Other Wife was so good and kept me hooked from start to finish. Claire McGowan is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. The Other Wife, has everything I look for in a good mystery novel. Mystery, complex characters, not a lot of romance, and lots of drama.

The plot was intense, powerful and thrilling and held me captive all the way through! The characters fairly leapt off the page, and the tension was palpable. If you are looking for a book that you just CAN’T put down, then this is DEFINITELY the book for you!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Bookouture in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.

#TheOtherWife #NetGalley

I was absolutely captivated by this book. .It was compelling as the story evolved and changed,there were so many twists and changes.Although Suzi had made mistakes she totally had my empathy and I wanted a happy ending for her! Buy this book,its the best book I have read for ages, you won't be disappointed!!

The Other Wife is a well written psychological thriller.  I was sucked in from the start and kept engaged throughout.

This is the perfect psychological thriller. There’s lots of twists and turns throughout that you won’t see coming. Claire McGowan is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and I’ve loved everything that I’ve read of hers recently. I’d strongly recommend this book.

Suzi made some mistakes. Now she's stuck in a bad situation. Things start looking up when Nora moves into the only other house nearby. Things are not as they appear and Suzi is not the only one with a secret...

I enjoyed this thriller novel. I did predict the plot twists (one very early on), but the book kept me interested for the most part. There were some slow moments that could have been shortened. I appreciated the multiple points of view and found the ending to be very satisfying. I had hoped for a bit more character development, and I think I would have liked the protagonists much more if they had shown some more growth. This was a solid domestic thriller that offered some scary, suspenseful moments and a whole lot of revenge.

Two strangers but are they? How do they connect together? One of them did something unforgivable and now it’s slowly catching up.

A gripping thriller with many twists and turns, maybe a little long in places but it didn’t ruin the read. 

The ending was super 🤩 

Highly recommend to any thriller lovers.

I received a free copy of this book from Net  Gallery in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great psychological thriller.
Suzi did something bad and she is paying for it.
She is almost tempted to tell her friend Nora about it.
Elle spends her days in her perfect home  and keeps her secrets to herself.
A shocking event occurs and it brings all three women together
A fascinating book

A women who can't help but have an affair moves to  a very isolated place. with her husband. Months later a women moves into a cottage next door. And so the story begins and we get to know the characters. I feel like if I explained anymore it would spoil the story.. This was a very Intriguing , entertaining book. One I couldn't put down. The author did a great job keeping me entertained and wanting to know whats going to happen next. Even though I guessed at a couple things happening in the story it did not wreck the story in any way. Many twists and turns in the book I never expected and kept me wanting more..

Twists that I didnt see coming people you get to care about and route for. Very well written and a very good read.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book even though I figured out who connected to who and how the stories of the women intertwined. I think that there was almost too much foreshadowing that when it was supposed to be the reveal, I wasn't really gasping or really having any emotion. However, I couldn't put it down regardless because I had to know the ending. I don't think I was entirely shocked with the ending except for where the child ended up.

3 Stars

This was a tough one for me. I had to really push through most of the book. I found the characters unlikeable.

The Other Wife by Claire McGowan is a book written from multiple points of view which sometimes doesn’t work but in this case, it does.  If you are like me, a HUGE fan of mysteries and thrillers, you will want to read this novel. I cannot get enough of books like this one that keeps you biting your nails in fear!

Suzi did a bad thing. She’s paying for it now, pregnant, scared, and living in an isolated cottage with her jealous husband, Nick.

When Nora moves into the only house nearby, Suzi is delighted to have a friend. So much so that she’s almost tempted to tell Nora her terrible secret. But there’s more to Nora than meets the eye. It’s impossible—does she already know what Suzi did?

Meanwhile, Elle spends her days in her perfect home, fixated on keeping up appearances. But when her husband betrays her, it unravels a secret going all the way back to her childhood. She’ll do whatever it takes to hold on to him, even if that means murder. After all, she’s done it before…

Caught up in their own secrets and lies, these strangers will soon realise they have more in common than they could ever have imagined. When a shocking event brings them together, their lives will never be the same again.

Many questions, secrets, and lies that I was kept guessing throughout. Highly recommended!

This book comes out on October 24! Pre-order now.

A domestic thriller with unlikeable-but-interesting characters that keeps you on your toes. It was slow to start (at least in my opinion— there are plenty of reviews saying otherwise) and the ending felt really chaotic in a forced way. There were definitely moments that were harder to believe than others, but once you learned to ignore that feeling it was overall quite enjoyable.

I would've preferred tighter writing and a shorter book in order to keep that urgent, panicked feeling, but it wasn't bad at all. I'll definitely consider reading Claire McGowan's other work.

3 stars
I feel very conflicted by this book, The Other Wife by Claire McGowan. The story is told from the perspective of multiple people. I loved the vast majority of the book. I was instantly sucked into the plot and couldn’t wait to see how the whole plotline played out. And then when the end came, it was an utter disappointment. 
300 pages of suspense building up to an incredible ending and then a complete failure. It was almost like the author just got tired of writing and just decided to wrap it up. Why? This book deserves a different ending and another 50 pages or so. What was the point of the very tiny subplot of Allison and her partner? It absolutely made no sense. 
This book could have easily been a 5-star book with an alternate finale. But instead, I give it a 3.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.

A psychological thriller told by the two main characters suzi and Nora. 
Suzi and her husband nick move to an isolated cottage in the middle of nowhere, nick goes to work all day leaving pregnant suzi and a puppy alone all day with no car or money she has secrets to hide but feels isolated and has a sense that she is going mad all curtesy of her husband nick.
Nora a widow moves in next to them  and somehow seems to know all about suzi as they become friends! The way these two women are linked and by whom gradually becomes apparent and the links and ties that bind them, a sobering thought that with today’s technology how we can be controlled and how easy it is to delve for information that is freely available! A thought provoking read.
Thank you net galley for this early read.

Great twists   You are on the edge of your seat reading The Other Wife.  Suzi  and her husband Nick move to a secluded area. They have one neighbor named Elle  Unbeknownst to Suzi, Elle is watching her. Secrets and lies