This book felt flat. I wasn’t blown away by the twist and wish there was more going on and more conflict.
For example, from the blurb I thought that Jane was going to try and make something of herself so that she would fit in and feel like an equal to Bea. Instead she just ends up doing nothing and gossiping. Also, there was quite a lot of build up and mystery around Jane’s past - I was disappointed as to how easily that was resolved.
I was definitely not a fan of the ending whatsoever!!! Some things just didn’t make sense for example I was thinking why would this person do that or why would you think this? It was just so unsatisfying and the worst thing is the ending was meant to leave the reader thinking and hanging a little but there weren't enough hints or indications beforehand to make me think "oooh this will happen". Instead I was left thinking this ending is so anticlimactic, suspenseful and disappointing.
This book falls into the guilty pleasures category (like watching trashy tv) where you can just switch off because:
the first 20% of the book was essentially about how much Jane hates rich people,
the too fast and easy romance that develops between Jane and Eddie and
boring fillers about Jane just hanging around with the beautification committee trying to fit in, though there were some hints/gossip around Bea, Balance and Eddie it didn’t add much to the mystery for me.
I wasn’t a fan of the format of the book, there were too many perspectives and jumping timelines. Normally I enjoy this format, like in Gone Girl, it was done so well and what made the twist even better.
Overall this was a quick, easy and enjoyable enough read. The pace was ok and there was just enough in each chapter to keep me interested though I wouldn’t say it was hard to put down.
Even after the twists and reveals this book left me asking, “is that all?”
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The Wife Upstairs Hardcover – 5 January 2021
by
Rachel Hawkins
(Author)
Rachel Hawkins
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Product details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Press (5 January 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250245494
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250245496
- Dimensions : 16.13 x 3.1 x 24.38 cm
-
Best Sellers Rank:
210,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,921 in Gothic Fiction
- 6,420 in Women's Fiction About Domestic Life
- 21,267 in Contemporary Women's Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
Product description
Review
A Southern Gothic twist on Jane Eyre that's full of suspense, twists and turns...the story of this twisted love triangle will have you on the edge of your seat all the way until the end. --CNN
"A delightfully surprising and suspenseful twist on Jane Eyre.--Newsweek Consider us enthralled. --The Skimm "A clever page-turner...this modern Gothic novel proves that creaky houses that harbor big secrets never go out of style." --Oprahmag.com "A delicious thriller that you'll likely want to read in a single sitting." --TimeOut Thesis: Any thriller that has the word wife in the title is going to be good. And proof comes courtesy of Hawkins' modern retelling of Jane Eyre, which is the year's first irresistible page-turner that will keep you up at night. --E! Online What would have happened if Jane Eyre had not been a naïve innocent with a heart of gold? Grab this page-turner and find out. --Vulture "A thrilling, suspenseful tale of will-they-or-won't-they that will keep you on the edge." --Woman's Day "Read to find out whether either of them can ever escape their secrets, or if their forbidden tryst is doomed to failure." --Good Housekeeping With an even darker twist, this novel delivers a one-of-a-kind take on a well-known gothic tale. In addition to the suspenseful story line, the distorted love triangle and the impassivity of the Thornfield residents will have readers feeling simultaneously discombobulated and fulfilled.--Library Journal (starred review) The Wife Upstairs is a thrill ride [and] the pace is hurtling...I felt implicated, dubious, off-kilter as I navigated this elaborate masque of a story. --Southern Review of Books "This compelling retelling of Jane Eyre deftly serves up a delicious mystery with a side of biting social commentary." --Shelf Awareness "An inspired riff on the gothic classic." --Goodreads ...this suspenseful domestic thriller will keep readers turning pages. --Publishers Weekly Hawkins twists together the suspense and storytelling of Jane Eyre with the atmosphere, tension, and odd characters of a Southern-gothic into a tale of a young woman trying to escape her past...an altogether sinister novel that will make readers of Jennifer McMahon, Ruth Ware, and Donna Tartt shudder. --Booklist A feisty Southern charmer that's twisty enough to make dinners late in kitchens everywhere...a modern, rip-roaring thriller best enjoyed on a sandy beach with a tall, salty-rimmed beverage nearby. --Atlantic Journal-Constitution "Expect the forbidden romance you loved in the original tale with all the modern, shiny trimmings." --MarieClaire.com ...chances are you'll fly through 'The Wife Upstairs' both because you're intrigued by the unfolding story itself and because you're putting together all the nods to its inspiration, Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre.'--St. Louis Post-Dispatch Hawkins delivers a sharp, fresh twist on a classic in this darkly funny, suspenseful story of murder, ambition, and love. Creepy and fast-paced, The Wife Upstairs kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the very last. --Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author "I was completely blown away by The Wife Upstairs. This is a compulsive, irresistible retelling of Jane Eyre with a modern, noir twist - and wow, does it work." --Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author "The Wife Upstairs is everything I'd hoped--sharp, smart, tricky and fast-paced. Rachel Hawkins' debut thriller puts you in the steps of an outsider, an insider, and an imposter, but which is which? You won't know til you're up way too late turning the final pages. --Kelly Harms, nationally bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy BylerAbout the Author
RACHEL HAWKINS is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books for young readers, and her work has been translated in over a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama. The Wife Upstairs is her first adult novel.
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Customer reviews
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4.1 out of 5
2,614 global ratings
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Reviewed in Australia on 10 April 2021
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Reviewed in Australia on 11 February 2021
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Okay but a lot like Jane Austen's Jane Eyre!!!
TOP 100 REVIEWER
I like reading retellings because it’s usually fun to see how an old classic would translate into our modern times. Having read and loved Jane Eyre as a youngster (I really must re-read it one of these days!) I was excited to read THE WIFE UPSTAIRS as part of a book buddy group read. And I guess if you’re drawn to easy, popcorn thrillers with a bunch of unlikeable characters who are as nasty as a pit full of scorpions, then this book will be entertaining enough.
Sadly, the story was more miss than hit for me. I thought that all the things that made the original classic so enjoyable didn’t translate well into the modern setting. With Jane Eyre’s atmospheric old English mansion, the constraints of society and gender roles at the time, and even just the gloomy English weather, Charlotte Bronte created a novel that has entertained millions of readers over the last 150 or so years – with good reason. I could easily buy a crazy wife hidden in the attic of an old English manor house, with its multiple wings, dark corners and crevices and servants bustling about, but not in Eddie’s ultra-modern Thornfield Estate home. Even if our modern day Jane was a bit thick, the dog surely would have alarmed at the thumps and bumps coming from upstairs? But most of all, the sheer nastiness of each and every character in Hawkins’ version slowly eroded my enjoyment of the story. All those bitchy, backstabbing, snarky women read like utter stereotypes to me, ones I was only too eager to put out of my mind when the last page had been turned. And when it all came down to it, even those parts of the story that weren’t totally implausible were fairly predictable to me, robbing me of any surprise element that would have redeemed the book for me.
Even though the book totally missed the mark for me, I can see that other readers may enjoy the bunch of dysfunctional characters racing like a doomed train towards its dramatic finale. Personally, I thought that it was all wrong, from the modern American setting to the stereotypical, snarky characters and oh-so-much suspension of disbelief to give the characters the benefit of the doubt for being – frankly – a bit stupid. Never mind, we can’t all love the same things and I do think I need a break from domestic thrillers for a while!
Sadly, the story was more miss than hit for me. I thought that all the things that made the original classic so enjoyable didn’t translate well into the modern setting. With Jane Eyre’s atmospheric old English mansion, the constraints of society and gender roles at the time, and even just the gloomy English weather, Charlotte Bronte created a novel that has entertained millions of readers over the last 150 or so years – with good reason. I could easily buy a crazy wife hidden in the attic of an old English manor house, with its multiple wings, dark corners and crevices and servants bustling about, but not in Eddie’s ultra-modern Thornfield Estate home. Even if our modern day Jane was a bit thick, the dog surely would have alarmed at the thumps and bumps coming from upstairs? But most of all, the sheer nastiness of each and every character in Hawkins’ version slowly eroded my enjoyment of the story. All those bitchy, backstabbing, snarky women read like utter stereotypes to me, ones I was only too eager to put out of my mind when the last page had been turned. And when it all came down to it, even those parts of the story that weren’t totally implausible were fairly predictable to me, robbing me of any surprise element that would have redeemed the book for me.
Even though the book totally missed the mark for me, I can see that other readers may enjoy the bunch of dysfunctional characters racing like a doomed train towards its dramatic finale. Personally, I thought that it was all wrong, from the modern American setting to the stereotypical, snarky characters and oh-so-much suspension of disbelief to give the characters the benefit of the doubt for being – frankly – a bit stupid. Never mind, we can’t all love the same things and I do think I need a break from domestic thrillers for a while!
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Top reviews from other countries

Kat
3.0 out of 5 stars
quick, fun and easy read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2021Verified Purchase
“The Wife Upstairs” was a quick, fun and easy read by the new to me author Rachel Hawkins and I had a great time with it.
The story starts with Jane, a dog-walker in a fancy, rich neighbourhood, when she meets a widower Eddie Rochester and her luck takes a turn for a better. Or so she thinks.
It’s one of those books you can devour in one sitting. The pace is incredibly fast and you just need to know what is going to happen next. The sequence of events or characters' choices sometimes made me raise my eyebrows but the writing was engaging enough to keep me interested in the story.
The book is not a shocking thriller by any means. I found the plot to be predictable and twist easy to work out (for someone like me who never read "Jane Eyre"). I would also prefer the the writing and candidates to have a little bit more depth and development but overall it was a good book.
I would highly recommend it especially for readers new to the thriller genre.
The story starts with Jane, a dog-walker in a fancy, rich neighbourhood, when she meets a widower Eddie Rochester and her luck takes a turn for a better. Or so she thinks.
It’s one of those books you can devour in one sitting. The pace is incredibly fast and you just need to know what is going to happen next. The sequence of events or characters' choices sometimes made me raise my eyebrows but the writing was engaging enough to keep me interested in the story.
The book is not a shocking thriller by any means. I found the plot to be predictable and twist easy to work out (for someone like me who never read "Jane Eyre"). I would also prefer the the writing and candidates to have a little bit more depth and development but overall it was a good book.
I would highly recommend it especially for readers new to the thriller genre.
One person found this helpful
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Bristol Book Blogger 📚📖📓
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 March 2021Verified Purchase
A predictable story told so exceedingly well I didn't care that I'd guessed it. A modern Jane Eyre with a exceptionally talented modern twist. Loved it!

Sophia
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2021Verified Purchase
This was a great read, no one could have warned me of the twist! I definitely wasn’t expecting it at all, really did enjoy this read.

Claire Brownett
4.0 out of 5 stars
A twisty tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2021Verified Purchase
The plot of this book is great and the small clues and irrelevant hunts really add to the depth of the story telling. The only reason I have this 4 stars was due to me, personally, not being a fan of all the different points of view and did find it a little confusing at times. Overall a great book.

Flossy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Did not see that coming...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 April 2021Verified Purchase
Totally could not put this book down. Lots of twists and turns
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