⋙ Read Free The Wife Between Us A Novel Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 9781250130921 Books

The Wife Between Us A Novel Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 9781250130921 Books

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The Wife Between Us A Novel Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 9781250130921 Books

This is why I don’t write very many mystery or suspense reviews, y’all. It’s so hard not to give anything away! This book definitely falls into the suspense category, as there isn’t a mystery to be solved, just a twisty, turny story that makes you say “Wait, what?” several times and go back to reread pages at a time to make sure you had read them correctly.

What we know going in – basically nothing. The blurb tells us all of the things we will think while we’re reading this book and that we shouldn’t believe any of them. I really wish the blurb had been more vague; I don’t like being told ahead of time that there will be twists in a book. I end up spending more time looking for them and trying to figure out what they could be than actually enjoying the book.

What we figure out pretty quickly – A wife has been thrown over for a younger woman. She’s not handling it well, and there’s something in the way she recites her tale that tells us we’re not getting the whole story. She’s drowning her sorrows in wine that she hides from the aunt that took her in after her marriage fell apart, failing miserably at her new job, and obsessing about the new woman. It’s uncomfortable to read, especially because the writing has you feeling off-kilter about the entire situation. She’s shocked out of her malaise by the news, cattily delivered by an ex-friend, that Richard, her ex-husband, is engaged to her replacement. Finding out that piece of information sends her over the deep end. Or does it?

Part of the reason for the middle of the road rating is the story itself. Hendricks and Pekkanen try to convolute what is at its heart, a story we’ve read hundreds of times before. There wasn’t anything new here; it’s all well-tread territory. They try to make the story fresh by adding in several twists and turns, but most of them come across as entirely too elaborate, too purposely done, if that makes sense. Several of the unexpected reveals showed the work behind them. I’ll tell you, though, there’s a reveal right around the halfway mark that took me by complete surprise. And I don’t say that often. Unfortunately, the rest of the book fell a little flat.

Once we get a better handle on exactly what’s happening, this book turns into a pretty standard unreliable-narrator book, much in the tradition of Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, and all of the other books this one is being compared to. I don’t know if those comparisons are really warranted, though. It takes more than the potential for an unreliable narrator to warrant the “next major phenomenon” raves that we are constantly getting, and The Wife Between Us doesn’t quite get there.


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The Wife Between Us A Novel Greer Hendricks Sarah Pekkanen 9781250130921 Books Reviews

If I could rate this book negative 10 stars, I would. Boring, confusing, and convoluted story line.

It just drags, the authors felt compelled to provide minute details on every activity, place, object, and thought.

The story made no sense, and kept lulling, you to sleep, while at the same time, leaving you perplexed.....total waste of money. Do not waste your money. Borrow, this one from the library, if you need a cure for insomnia.
I didn’t like the book at all. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but it never did. A waste of money!!!!
This is an escapist novel, with a mysterious tone which largely fails to captivate. The characters lacked depth, & a hinted nefarious act fails to materialize. The plot was repetitive, & the characters were stereotyped. If a reader wants a novel to,pass time, this might do,the trick, but it lacked "staying power," & the surprise ending seemed trite & motionless.
3.5 Stars

Usually after I finish a book, I write my review immediately while everything is still fresh in my head. This one, I had to stew about overnight while I decided how I wanted to rate it. I won't go into the premise of the book since this novel has been out for quite awhile now and there are plenty of other reviews that do.

The Wife Between Us is advertised as having twists that you won't see coming. For me, this was partially true. There is a major twist around the midway point of the book that I did see coming, however, I didn't know how the book was going to end until the final page. I thought the ending was unexpected, good, but also confusing. I must admit, I had to go back and read the epilogue a second time to "get it".

For the most part, I think this book was pretty well done. Rarely does a novel keep me guessing until the end, so it earns bonus points for me just for that. I did find my mind wandering at some points and I thought it was perhaps a tad too long and repetitive. This has been a popular book for quite a long time, however, I'm glad I found it out sale. It's certainly worth a read, but not at full price.
First, it must be said that this book is not “Gone Girl” and the comparison mentioned on the book jacket is utterly ludicrous. This book is not written so much as it is constructed and orchestrated. It is heavily plot-driven, but the plot is not riveting or absorbing. The intrepid reader keeps turning pages in hopes that the book will gain momentum or that the writing quality will improve, but the promises of the novel never materialize. The characters seem trite, wooden, one-dimensional and Harlequin-romance-inspired. Nellie is flaky, flighty, ditzy and hesitant. It takes her over 200 pages to grow a backbone. Prior to that, she has subsumed her every thought and desire, in an effort to please and placate her wealthy, mercurial husband, whom she decides to get to know better “after” her marriage??? There is no discernible chemistry, compatibility or believable bond between them. Richard is the solicitous (read controlling) spouse who alternately dotes on, and gradually terrorizes, his often-clueless wife. If the reader can tolerate this drivel, a mystery then ensues amid all the cheesy domestic drama. Conceivably, it is supposed to be a heart-stopping, twisty, page-turner with shocking revelations, but the book misses the mark on so many levels. It is not well-written. None of the characters are particularly likable, save for Samantha and Duke. The reader is told about the characters, but never shown. The characters lack depth and sufficient backstories. The pace moves swiftly enough, but the action is contrived and formulaic. Plot twists at the expense of actual content. This book is light, escapism that tries too hard to be more than it is. It jumps on the psychological thriller bandwagon like so many others, but the true accolades belong solely to its predecessors.
This is why I don’t write very many mystery or suspense reviews, y’all. It’s so hard not to give anything away! This book definitely falls into the suspense category, as there isn’t a mystery to be solved, just a twisty, turny story that makes you say “Wait, what?” several times and go back to reread pages at a time to make sure you had read them correctly.

What we know going in – basically nothing. The blurb tells us all of the things we will think while we’re reading this book and that we shouldn’t believe any of them. I really wish the blurb had been more vague; I don’t like being told ahead of time that there will be twists in a book. I end up spending more time looking for them and trying to figure out what they could be than actually enjoying the book.

What we figure out pretty quickly – A wife has been thrown over for a younger woman. She’s not handling it well, and there’s something in the way she recites her tale that tells us we’re not getting the whole story. She’s drowning her sorrows in wine that she hides from the aunt that took her in after her marriage fell apart, failing miserably at her new job, and obsessing about the new woman. It’s uncomfortable to read, especially because the writing has you feeling off-kilter about the entire situation. She’s shocked out of her malaise by the news, cattily delivered by an ex-friend, that Richard, her ex-husband, is engaged to her replacement. Finding out that piece of information sends her over the deep end. Or does it?

Part of the reason for the middle of the road rating is the story itself. Hendricks and Pekkanen try to convolute what is at its heart, a story we’ve read hundreds of times before. There wasn’t anything new here; it’s all well-tread territory. They try to make the story fresh by adding in several twists and turns, but most of them come across as entirely too elaborate, too purposely done, if that makes sense. Several of the unexpected reveals showed the work behind them. I’ll tell you, though, there’s a reveal right around the halfway mark that took me by complete surprise. And I don’t say that often. Unfortunately, the rest of the book fell a little flat.

Once we get a better handle on exactly what’s happening, this book turns into a pretty standard unreliable-narrator book, much in the tradition of Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, and all of the other books this one is being compared to. I don’t know if those comparisons are really warranted, though. It takes more than the potential for an unreliable narrator to warrant the “next major phenomenon” raves that we are constantly getting, and The Wife Between Us doesn’t quite get there.