The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

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I loved this book! It is a thrilling ride from start to finish and I could not put it down. It’s one of those unique novels where every single character has something to hide and it’s impossible to trust anyone. 

Jane, plain and unassuming, has left her previous life behind her and is looking forward to a fresh start in Alabama. A new job walking the dogs of the city’s wealthiest residents has allowed her to not only have access to their homes, and small personal items that are easily pawned, but also to their gossip and secrets. When she finds herself dating the newly single Eddie Rochester, she discovers that there is much more to his previous wife’s disappearance than anyone is willing to let on. When her old life threatens the safety and comfort of Eddie’s wealth, Jane will stop at nothing to hold on to her new life. 

This is one of those great books where I disliked every single character-and that made the book even better. Everyone, truly everyone, is hiding something. Affairs, money problems, snarkiness, and even some criminal behavior can be found amongst this cast of characters and Jane uses all of this to weasel her way into their lives. She manipulates every situation and person to her benefit from the very beginning and she never once feels guilty about it. She is completely true to herself and incredibly self-aware and while I still didn’t like her, I did respect her and felt she stayed true to character throughout the entire novel. We never get to see inside Eddie’s point of view and I think that was very smartly done. We never get to see his true motivations so he always remains a mystery even while we get to see more from other characters within their inner circle that paint different pictures of Eddie. As we watch Jane manipulate her way into money and comfort, we also learn more about the mystery around Eddie’s first wife and the death of her best friend and again, with everyone hiding something, it’s impossible to trust anyone. 

I loved how fast paced and well written this story was. I was immediately sucked in and couldn’t put it down. If you love mysteries with unreliable characters, with a heavy dose of rich people problems, this one is perfect for you. 

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.