When The Wife Between Us first came out in January, I didn’t know what to expect from it. It’s written by two writers, and honestly, at the time I thought it might end up being a bit of a disaster with their writing styles clashing and so forth. Because of it, I decided to skip reading it then. But when glowing reviews started flooding in, I had to give it a go, and as far as writing collaborations go, I think this turned out to be pretty decent.
The Wife Between Us opens with Vanessa checking out her ex-husband Richard’s new fiancée from far. In the beginning, we aren’t privy to the particulars of Vanessa’s failed marriage. All we know is that Vanessa had given her best years to Richard who in turn had replaced Vanessa with a younger version of herself, and made sure Vanessa got nothing in the divorce settlement! So now Vanessa, who once lived a life of luxury, is forced to live with her aunt and work as a sales assistant to make ends meet.
All these things about Vanessa should technically elicit empathy, but we can sense she is really broken the way she drowns her sorrows and obsesses about putting an end to Richard’s engagement. Is Vanessa acting out of jealousy? Sad that her fairy tale has ended, and Richard is moving on before her? Or is it something more than that? Readers will be taken on a roller-coaster ride while the writers peel back the layers of deceit in Vanessa’s marriage to Richard.
In her blurb, Anita Shreve calls The Wife Between Us “a fiendishly clever thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.” Readers who have read both those thrillers will easily recognize familiar styles. Part I of The Wife Between Us which mimics Gone Girl is outstandingly well written. It is captivating and addictive making it unputdownable and rewards readers for their patience with a big dramatic twist. But then when it gets to Part II, which kind of mirrors The Girl on the Train, things begin to deteriorate. To me, the story became predictable from that point onward!
After Part I of the book I was contemplating a possible 4-star rating, but now I think I’ll settle for 3.5 stars. The Wife Between Us is so much better than The Girl on the Train, although I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Gone Girl. Still, I recommend The Wife Between Us to readers who enjoy domestic suspense novels.
The Wife Between Us opens with Vanessa checking out her ex-husband Richard’s new fiancée from far. In the beginning, we aren’t privy to the particulars of Vanessa’s failed marriage. All we know is that Vanessa had given her best years to Richard who in turn had replaced Vanessa with a younger version of herself, and made sure Vanessa got nothing in the divorce settlement! So now Vanessa, who once lived a life of luxury, is forced to live with her aunt and work as a sales assistant to make ends meet.
All these things about Vanessa should technically elicit empathy, but we can sense she is really broken the way she drowns her sorrows and obsesses about putting an end to Richard’s engagement. Is Vanessa acting out of jealousy? Sad that her fairy tale has ended, and Richard is moving on before her? Or is it something more than that? Readers will be taken on a roller-coaster ride while the writers peel back the layers of deceit in Vanessa’s marriage to Richard.
In her blurb, Anita Shreve calls The Wife Between Us “a fiendishly clever thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.” Readers who have read both those thrillers will easily recognize familiar styles. Part I of The Wife Between Us which mimics Gone Girl is outstandingly well written. It is captivating and addictive making it unputdownable and rewards readers for their patience with a big dramatic twist. But then when it gets to Part II, which kind of mirrors The Girl on the Train, things begin to deteriorate. To me, the story became predictable from that point onward!
After Part I of the book I was contemplating a possible 4-star rating, but now I think I’ll settle for 3.5 stars. The Wife Between Us is so much better than The Girl on the Train, although I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Gone Girl. Still, I recommend The Wife Between Us to readers who enjoy domestic suspense novels.