ninaprime 's review for:

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

3.0

---

I don't like "Jane Eyre", so I shouldn't be surprised that I didn't love this thriller, but at least the original had a thematic complexity which this shallow take lacked. In particular, the characters were one-dimensional as well as unlikeable - even though Bea/Jane/Eddie went through hardships that should draw the reader's sympathies, their acting as though they were entitled to anything resulted in me caring very little about the outcome of the sordid love triangle they developed. The only character I emphatized with was Adele the prop dog who thankfully was not accidentally roasted due to her owners' self-absorbtion. In addition, despite also copying liberally from "Rebecca" (e.g., the boating accident, the rooms haunted by the first wife's things, rewearing a similar outfit), Hawkins doesn't quite manage to capture any kind of gothic vibe, leaving the overall tone weirdly upbeat for the body count. And finally, regarding the plot - the ending was utterly unbelievable. If you assume they're alive, a duo as greedy and unremorsefully murderous as Eddie and Bea would never allow Jane to just get their money, even in exchange for their freedom. If you assume they're dead, well that's a just comeuppance but boring.