The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen #BookReview

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

It’s about a jealous wife, obsessed with her replacement.

It’s about a younger woman set to marry the man she loves.

The first wife seems like a disaster; her replacement is the perfect woman.

You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.

You will be wrong.

The Wife Between Us is the first collaboration between Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen; a gripping thriller with film rights sold to the creators of The Girl On the Train.

 

What an exhilirating read! I’ve read some quotes telling me this novel is in the vein of The Girl on the Train but it’s nothing of the sort as far as I can see. This is not to be compared and doesn’t need any comparison to other novels. I even predict that future novels will be compared to this one. I really hope that is the case because I really want more of this!

The story starts off with Vanessa’s & Nellie’s story and their perception of the man they love or loved. I know lots of people would like to know a bit more about the actual story and I’m telling you that the budding romance of Nellie and at the same time the discarded feelings of Vanessa regarding Richard will certainly have you turning the pages.

Vanessa is living with her aunt after her husband left her for a younger model. She had to take a job at Saks selling clothing to get by. An old acquaintance runs into her and informs her her ex is getting married again. That is the last thing she wants to happen so she’ll do anything to stop him from marrying again. She already knew everything about ‘the other woman’, where she works, lives.. but a marriage wasn’t something she was anticipating.

Nellie teaches her little cubs at the LearningLadder and is a waitress. She tried to escape her past, fleeing from Florida after graduation so she’s pretty much on her own. She knows nothing of the world and is completely smitten with Richard.

Of course I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was on high alert but alas, I was deceived as well. This initial, first twist in the story came much sooner than I thought and I think it might be the one I even enjoyed most of all.

When I recovered and I got back on my feet it was time to find out more about the reasons why Richard left Vanessa.. he seems so attentive, considerate, you know someone who wouldn’t even look at other women (or pretend not to). I couldn’t wait to find out the reasons for their divorce. What could have been so bad that he didn’t want her anymore? Well I wasn’t prepared for this but it certainly had me gripped.

I liked Nellie from the start but I really grew to like Vanessa as well and aunt Charlotte was so sweet, everyone would love to have an aunt like that! I didn’t like snob Richard or Richard’s sister Maureen from the start though, and I’m wondering if I’m the only one with weird thoughts but there was this unsettling vibe when I read about their sibling interactions. She was supposedly a bit of a little mother for Richard but it just didn’t feel enough like motherly love to me. Neither of Richard’s girlfriends picked up on that througout the story so it might only be my too twisted mind this time.

Just when I thought I finally heard Vanessa’s full story and every stone was turned and every secret unearthed, and the game was finally over, a final brilliant reveal is lobbed at you in the end. I’m very satisfied with the way the story ended. This was a gripping read with a whole lot of character that was pretty addictive to me and I’m very curious about the movie already! This is definitely a five-star read on Goodreads and Amazon :-).

I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion. 

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