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A review by ddrosche
The Wife Before Me by Laura Elliot
4.0
To be honest, this book was a total 4 stars for me until about the middle when it dropped to 3 stars. However, the last bit of the book completely turned me around and bumped me back up to 4 stars.
The Wife Before Me has several personalities and I was truly surprised ad how many different facets it has. For me it began as a gothic style novel that reminded me very much of Rebecca. A newly-wed haunted by the previous wife, mysterious new husband, large house with hidden secrets. I was totally fine with this. Yet, without giving away too many details, it changed into a domestic abuse/psychological thriller. Then, just as I was coming to terms with that it changed again and introduced a supernatural element toward the end. For me, this subtle yet stark change kept me interested when the book (as it did at times) seemed to slow a bit. Overall the book did seem longer than it actually was, but this may also be seen as a slow-burn type element. For me though at times the action stalled, specifically during the middle.
Another aspect that I enjoyed was the division of the book into two different parts, telling the story of two different narrators; again something I was not expecting. Add a few past/present time jumps into the mix and it was enough to keep you on your toes and paying attention. The ending, with a twist I did not see coming until it was upon me, won me over and the book redeemed itself. I enjoyed the ending and thought Elliot wrapped the story up nicely and quickly in a brief epilogue which, although predictable, was needed after the ending. A great read though and I am now interested in reading more of Laura Elliot's works. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy. Grab a copy once the book is published on 8/24/18!
The Wife Before Me has several personalities and I was truly surprised ad how many different facets it has. For me it began as a gothic style novel that reminded me very much of Rebecca. A newly-wed haunted by the previous wife, mysterious new husband, large house with hidden secrets. I was totally fine with this. Yet, without giving away too many details, it changed into a domestic abuse/psychological thriller. Then, just as I was coming to terms with that it changed again and introduced a supernatural element toward the end. For me, this subtle yet stark change kept me interested when the book (as it did at times) seemed to slow a bit. Overall the book did seem longer than it actually was, but this may also be seen as a slow-burn type element. For me though at times the action stalled, specifically during the middle.
Another aspect that I enjoyed was the division of the book into two different parts, telling the story of two different narrators; again something I was not expecting. Add a few past/present time jumps into the mix and it was enough to keep you on your toes and paying attention. The ending, with a twist I did not see coming until it was upon me, won me over and the book redeemed itself. I enjoyed the ending and thought Elliot wrapped the story up nicely and quickly in a brief epilogue which, although predictable, was needed after the ending. A great read though and I am now interested in reading more of Laura Elliot's works. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy. Grab a copy once the book is published on 8/24/18!