vivalahayley 's review for:

Happy Wife: A Novel by Meredith Lavender, Kendall Shores

5.0

emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Wow—this ended up being a 5-star read for me! It took about 50% of the book for me to be fully hooked, but once I was in, it became completely unputdownable. For perspective: I took about four days to get through the first half, and only a day and a half to devour the second half—and that was during a busy stretch of family events, so that’s really saying something. There came a point where I simply had to have my answers. 

 

I really enjoyed the quick chapters and the dual timelines of past and present. Each timeline added depth and perspective to the other until they perfectly converged into a bittersweet, satisfying, and emotionally touching ending. I thought the plot was tight and clever—no filler, nothing that felt unnecessary. Every scene served a purpose, and I found the author’s writing style to be witty, readable, and incredibly balanced—sometimes funny or scathing, other times deeply emotional and heartfelt. 

 

This book is classified as a mystery/thriller/suspense, which it absolutely is, but I want to highlight the other layers that were such a happy surprise. Underneath the murder mystery is a deeply relatable, incredibly human narrator: Nora. She’s 28, from a blue-collar background, and married to a wealthy, older, successful lawyer in a community full of, as Tay would say, “vipers dressed in empaths’ clothing.” She’s relatable because she’s flawed. Nora loves her husband—you feel that—but the relationship is written so realistically. It’s not all romance and happiness. They have issues. Her feelings are complicated. Their behavior is real: sometimes heartwarming, sometimes painful, sometimes funny, sometimes suspect. The full range of emotions is there, just like life, just like real people. 

 

My heart broke for Nora, but my heart also soared for Nora. 

 

In terms of the thriller element—this fully delivered. I was never 100% sure who my main suspect should be. I felt guilty for suspecting some characters, while others seemed too obvious to actually be guilty. I was kept guessing, doubting, theorizing, and suspicious of everyone until the very end. 

This was a great mystery with a nuanced, well-crafted plot and a satisfying ending—but it was also more than that. It was a reflection on marriage, grief, wealth, and the quiet tragedies we all carry. I recommend it to any reader, regardless of genre preferences. 

SPOILERS BELOW 

“I’ll miss you forever, hot lawyer man” sent me spiraling. Like, full sobbing. Will deserved so much better. It was so hard to read about how he and Nora had finally made it through such a rough patch, reconciling with this hopeful, loving outlook for the future—only for that to happen to him that same night. Heartbreaking. Nora had just been wondering where life would take them next on that last boat ride, and now she’ll never know. Now she has to find herself alone. I felt her grief through the pages. 

 

Some quotes I loved:
“God, I remember when I first learned ‘bimini’ meant ‘boat awning.’ The glossary of terms I have had to download just to keep up in this town. Rich people are crazy. So is DNA evidence, it turns out.”
🔥 BURN! 

 

“The club wasn’t my favorite place to eat. It was teeming with a little Lily Pulitzer mafia of women who all disapproved of me.”
 A literal nightmare. And I passionately hate Lily Pulitzer, so this really hit for me. 

 

“Are you in this? Did something happen? Are we talking about a murder weapon buried somewhere that we need to go make disappear? Maybe it was all just an accident. Something went too far in a heated moment? Just tell me and I’ll get a shovel and a convertible and we’ll ride off into the sunset and no one has to know.”
 This is one of many moments where I felt so guilty for suspecting Este!! And can I just say: the best friend being named Este has got to be a nod to “No Body, No Crime” by Taylor Swift. Especially with all the boating references in this book. I’m choosing to believe the parallels were intentional. Este? Boats? Murder? Cheating husbands? Hello! 

 

Fritz – what an asshole. Easily hated from the start. 

 

Final thoughts: That epilogue wrecked me. Nora realizing that Will pretended the phone call was about Mia’s hoodie—rather than Gianna and the real danger—in order to avoid spoiling their night and risking a fight? And doing it just to keep the peace because they had finally made it to a good place, because he wanted a “happy wife, happy life”? Absolutely gut-wrenching. We know he meant well, but it ultimately cost him his life and left Nora to pick up the pieces. The way she aches, wishing he’d told her—wishing she could’ve gone with him, had one last fight, changed something—is devastating. Those “if onlys” of life will haunt you. And I loved Nora’s theory that Will planted evidence on his own body so justice would be served. I’m choosing to believe that’s exactly what he did—and I will not be taking alternate interpretations at this time.