The Wife Upstairs

The Wife Upstairs 

The Wife Upstairs from author Rachel Hawkins is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list that never seems to stop growing. Anybody else have a to be read list that is a mile long? I really hope I’m not the only one! 

The Wife Upstairs is a novel that has been sitting on my shelf for far too long, just staring at me, waiting for me to finally pick it up and read it. Well, I’m happy to say that I finally did! 

This post contains affiliate links

Have you read The Wife Upstairs yet? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

About The Wife Upstairs 

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for. 

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending? 

Thoughts on The Wife Upstairs 

“I don’t tell him that it’s not even my real name, but the name of a dead girl I knew in a dead life. My real name is equally boring, but it’s one he might hear more often than Jane.” 

Rachel Hawkins, The Wife Upstairs

I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately, finding that some of the books I’ve picked and had really high expectations for just fell flat and I was disappointed. When that happens, I tend to get bored with reading and find it hard to want to keep reading. 

Thankfully that’s when I decided to pick up The Wife Upstairs and start reading it! It sucked me right in from the very beginning, and that made me very happy. It is a relatively short read, at less than three hundred pages, but it is such a great book. I appreciate that there is no extra filler just to make it longer. 

“There’s a trick to spinning lies. You have to embed the truth in there, just a glimmer of it. That’s the part that will catch people, and what makes the rest of your lies sound like truth, too.” 

Rachel Hawkins, The Wife Upstairs

I love the pace of this novel, because it kept me wanting to read more. If you’re in a reading slump and need something exciting to kickstart your love of reading all over again, this would be my recommendation! 

I read The Wife Upstairs in just one day, and was not disappointed. It started out well, and kept that same pace through the entire thing. 

Final Thoughts on The Wife Upstairs 

Two things irritated me with this book. One, I had to put it down to sleep in the middle of reading it, when I really just wanted to stay up and binge the entire thing from start to finish in a single sitting. Two, I hadn’t picked this book up sooner. I bought it right after it was released, and it took me over a year to actually find time to read it. 

The Wife Upstairs is the first novel from Rachel Hawkins that I’ve read, but it will certainly not be the last! Now I want to read everything she’s written, and hope she keeps writing so I can continue to enjoy her books. 

Discussion 

Have you read The Wife Upstairs or any other writing from author Rachel Hawkins? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author 

Rachel Hawkins was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama, and is currently at work on the third book in the Hex Hall series. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree…. 

Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated in over a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University.  

Purchasing The Wife Upstairs 

If you are interested in buying the paperback version of The Wife Upstairs, click here.

For the hardcover version, click here. 

Click here for the Kindle version.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

More From Rachel Hawkins 

Did you enjoy my review of The Wife Upstairs? Need another great Rachel Hawkins novel? Here are my favorites!  

Reckless Girls 

The Villa 

Amazon Notice 

The Reading Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, at no added cost to you.