A review by minimicropup
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

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

4.0

🇺🇸 Set in an affluent neighbourhood of small-town Alabama, USA 
POV: The perspectives are intertwined between the lives of a dog walker striving for stability and the complex history of a client’s previous spouse. The multi-layered narrative weaves first-person perspectives from our dog-walker and diary entries from the spouse, along with third-person accounts of the spouse’s past from former friends. 
 
Mood Reading Match Up: 
-A twist on the ‘I’m gonna steal your life’ trope with multi-perspective intrigue. 
-Psychological thriller full of lies, morally grey characters, and deceptive appearances. 
-Playing-hard-to-get, whirlwind, manipulative romantic suspense 
 
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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕 
✏️ Writing: The writing style was fluid and easy to follow, balancing simple storytelling with strategic repetition to build suspense, which drew me back in before setting up the unexpected twists. 
 
🫥 Characters: Jane, the protagonist, is a blend of street smarts and naivete. Her chapters were engaging enough to keep me from skimming, revealing a character shaped by her past yet hopeful for a better future. 
 
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The setting isn’t overly descriptive but is brought to life with small, significant details. The luxurious yet generic rich environment is peppered with enough specifics to make scenes vivid for imaginative readers without overwhelming those who prefer more straightforward descriptions. 
 
🔥 Fuel: The narrative is driven by Jane’s manipulative undertones, so I was often questioning her motives and past. A twist early in the book added depth to the story, revealing complexities in the characters’ lives and relationships. 
 
🐢🐇 Pacing: Steady and well-timed, the story’s pace kept me engaged, with perspective shifts and reveals occurring just as my interest was starting to wane. 
 
🎬 Scenes: The use of italics for Bea’s past perspective added a dreamlike quality to those sections, enhancing the overall atmosphere and plot development. There is an open-ended conclusion so prepare to interpret the outcome in your own way. 
 
🤔  Random Thoughts: I like how the author effectively used diary entries and different perspectives to delve deeper into each character. I think it was a skillfully crafted thriller that offered a neat twist on what has become a classic (possibly even overdone) domestic suspense trope. 
 
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Content Heads-Up: Loss of a spouse. Confinement. Possible false accusations. Financial insecurity. Building fire/fire injury. Manipulation and back-stabbing. Infidelity. Alcohol use/alcoholism (self-medicating). 
Rep: Features White American and ambiguously described characters. 
 
Format: Paperback 
 
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