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Summary and Reviews of The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen

The Wife Between Us

by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
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  • Critics' Consensus:
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  • First Published:
  • Jan 9, 2018, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2018, 416 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

A novel of suspense that explores the complexities of marriage and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.

CHAPTER
ONE

NELLIE COULDN'T SAY what woke her. But when she opened her eyes, a woman wearing her white, lacy wedding gown stood by the foot of her bed, looking down at her.

Nellie's throat closed around a scream, and she lunged for the baseball bat leaning against her nightstand. Then her vision adjusted to the grainy dawn light and the pounding of her heart softened.

She let out a tight laugh as she realized she was safe. The illusion was merely her wedding dress, ensconced in plastic, hanging on the back of her closet door, where she'd placed it yesterday after picking it up from the bridal shop. The bodice and full skirt were stuffed with crumpled tissue to maintain the shape. Nellie collapsed back onto her pillow. When her breathing steadied, she checked the blocky blue numbers on her nightstand clock. Too early, again.

She stretched her arms overhead and reached with her left hand to turn off the alarm before it could blare, the diamond engagement ring Richard ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. On page 7, Samantha asks Nellie one of the defining questions of the novel: "Ever think he's too good to be true?" At what point did you start to think that Sam might be right, and Richard might actually be too good to be true?
  2. What do you think is the significance of Vanessa's new job at an upscale clothing store? How might it affect her to still be in the upper class world she once occupied, but in a much different role? Compare and contrast her experience there to her previous job as a teacher.
  3. Throughout the novel, Aunt Charlotte and Vanessa have an extremely close relationship, even when Vanessa struggles to be honest with her aunt. How do you see this relationship affecting the choices Vanessa makes? Is ...
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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

Fans of Paula Hawkins' The Girl On the Train and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will recognize these authors' devices in The Wife Between Us. Like the former book, this novel is narrated by a woman in crisis who is undeniably an alcoholic, and like the latter, there are unexpected plot twists that change the reader's perception of what's actually going on. However, it felt as if they were overtly copying others' styles and consequently, the plot comes across as somewhat contrived...continued

Full Review Members Only (564 words)

(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).

Media Reviews

Library Journal
Starred Review. Readers who were enthralled by B.A. Paris's Behind Closed Doors and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will love the skewed psychology and shifting perspectives of this domestic thriller.

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [A] jaw-dropping psychological thriller. This is not another eye-rolling story about the jealous ex-wife stalking her replacement...Unforgettable twists lead to shocking revelations all the way through the epilogue.

Kirkus
Easy to read, smoothly put together. A good airport book.

Author Blurb Anita Shreve, New York Times bestselling author of The Stars are Fire
A fiendishly clever romantic thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. This one will keep you guessing.

Author Blurb Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew
The Wife Between Us delivers a whip smart, twisty plot in a taut, pacy narrative. It's terrific and troubling. This is one scary love triangle where you won't know who to trust. I loved it.

Author Blurb Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of The Kept Woman
A clever thriller with masterful twists.

Author Blurb Lauren Weisberger, New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada
A twisty, mind-bending novel about marriage and betrayal. A gripping plot and fascinating characters; this book will keep you turning the pages and guessing until the very end. A must-read!

Reader Reviews

Mary Challis

WOO HOOO! BRILLIANT
OMG!!! This book is fantastic!! Part One is a page turner, but as soon as you read the last page of that section and start Part Two you MUST give up life as you know It and dedicate it to this book!! The authors wrote it so well I was surprised, but ...   Read More
Jess

A-MAZ-ING!
Holy cow! This book is why I read psychological thrillers! It puts the maze in amazing! When I say I had to go back and reread certain parts just to be sure I didn't misread something or just miss a part altogether, I don't mean it in a bad way...I ...   Read More
lani

Assume Nothing
When a book makes you literally gasp midway, you can bet that you have your hands on a winner. The twists and turns in this novel were totally unpredictable and enthralling. Vanessa Thompson's ex is about to be married to another woman. She has been ...   Read More
Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews

The Wife Between Us
Don't marry Richard...you don't know what you are getting yourself into. Vanessa was Richard's first wife and wanted to warn her replacement to not marry Richard. Vanessa also had some mental issues or maybe she didn’t and was made to think she ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

At one point in The Wife Between Us, the main character claims to have experienced Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. She states, "It's when you become aware of something—the name of an obscure band, say, or a new type of pasta—and it seems to suddenly appear everywhere."

The phenomenon (pronounced badder-mainhoff) is also known as a "frequency illusion," and was first speculated about in 1995 by a commentator on the St. Paul's Pioneer Press online discussion board. He'd heard reference to a left-wing German terrorist organization that had been active in the 1970s twice in one day, and wondered how he could suddenly become aware of something so obscure.

The phenomenon even has a dedicated Facebook page. Stanford professor Arnold...

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

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