A review by ehmannky
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Fantastic. Fast-paced and creepy and interesting and firmly in the camp of "Jane Eyre [or Belle, in this case] can do better." It's such an inventive play on Jane Eyre (and, blessedly, so much shorter and much more fun to read). I liked all the twists and turns. Like, yes, he has his wife locked upstairs, but there are so many other twists in there. Even knowing that Bea (Bertha) is in the attic, I still felt it was chilling when Jane heard sounds in the house. 

Great overall, and I loved Jane being kind of a bitch. But not a rich bitch, just kind of hard from what life had dealt her. I don't know how die-hard Jane Eyre fans will rate it, but as someone who has always struggled to understand the appeal of the original, I loved this retelling. 
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