The beginning of the book had a slow moving plot that introduced a lot of characters that were hard to keep track of at first. I figured they were all going to be intertwined somehow so I was trying to make possible connections from the start and I'm not sure if that helped or hurt me in trying to keep everyone straight. At around the 2/3rds mark of the book, the plot really started picking up. Characters started revealing themselves and their true motives, connections were made and I was starting to get a glimpse at how it all might turn out. While there were still twists I didn't see coming, nothing was really crazy. This book, unfortunately, fell a little flat with me.

I just finished reading this book and can definitely say it was gripping and a good read. The story was well told and carried me along fast and furious even though I didn’t especially bond with any of the characters. Suzie was pathetic and passively irritating. Nora was too crazy for me to feel comfortable in her presence.. Nick, Suzie’s husband was skillfully drawn as superficially harmless but with a dark underbelly. Elle was a wife blinded by her need for a husband she believed in.

This is a mystery, and a psychological study of what goes for love in our society. Marriage, infidelity, parenthood, jealousy, obsession and betrayal.. Nothing new really but the book was well written and even the parts that were a bit far fetched kept me guessing.

I dont like books that use dogs as a plot foil so here is a spoiler - Poppet survives!

I came away with the sense that human beings are rather unpleasant and selfish creatures. And perhaps that is true for many.

The Other Wife by Claire McGowan is a multi-layered novel of secrets, deceit, abuse, and plenty of twists, all coming together in a suspenseful read that will have you turning pages late into the night. For me, the buildup was slow but the tension only ratchets up as the story progresses, and patience will be duly rewarded.

Told from the alternating perspectives of three women, Suzi, Elle, and Nora, it is immediately apparent that all is not as it seems in the lives of these three women. Suzi, the most fully fleshed out character, is pregnant and living in fear in a remote cottage where she is the victim of domestic abuse. Nora, coincidentally or not, takes up residence in a cottage of her own across the street, and might just be the salvation that Suzi is seeking. Or will Nora's secrets, in fact, be the undoing of them all?

This is a read that picks up steam as it progresses. There are lightbulb moments when individual stories shift into focus, and the twists will have you glad to have stayed the course.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat with the tangled web of lies and deception. Just when I thought I had figured things out another plot twist would come along. I don't want to say much about this book because I don't want to give ANYTHING away.! This was the first book I've read by this author - after my experience with this book I will definitely be seeking out additional books that she's written. I thought she did an exceptional job with the character development - not only with the main characters, but with the supporting characters as well. She also really set the scene of the isolated, cold, rundown cottages (Suzi's was newly renovated, but was formerly one of the rundown cottages). A fantastic read!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

The Other Wife tells the stories of Suzi, Nora, and Elle. Sui and Nora are new neighbors, and Suzi is delighted to finally have someone to talk to. Her husband is the jealous controlling type and he moved her to the country with no neighbors and without a car. He has some right to be jealous though has Suzi hasn’t always been the best wife. She quickly wants to confide all of her dirty secrets to her new friend Nora but that would be a terrible mistake.

Told from differing points of view and with new characters brought in randomly, it was often hard to follow. I finally got it all straight about 2/3 into the book, at which point it was hard to put down. This story has it all: secrets, revenge, gas-lighting, lies and murder. It is a quick and suspenseful read as the lives of these characters come together.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Claire McGowan and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

The chapters are narrated from Suze/Nora/Elle’s perspectives. From the very beginning I was trying to figure out who ‘the other wife’ was...that was easily done by 20-25% of the book. I thought, now what? Well, now the story starts coming up with unexpected twits. There’s quite a bit going. One surprised that I did not see coming....Overall, it was good read and I have already recommended to some friends.

Suzi, now pregnant, had an affair and this love of her life has apparently ghosted her. Her husband has moved her into an isolated internet controlled house as be becomes increasingly more and more controlling. A neighbor moves into the rambling cottage next door and has secrets of her own.

This book follows the currently very popular formula for psychological thrillers, narrated from multiple viewpoints with many twists and turns. It is well written and readable, but there is nothing really new here in a story that is a bit far fetched. I had a hard time with the characters. The women are seemingly out of the 1950s and most of the men full of deceit and domination.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Just fuck me up, honestly. What a twisty tale. I was pleasantly surprised to put together that Elle and Nora were the same woman BEFORE the big reveal (which rarely happens for me!), and I felt like it actually lent itself well to the story to know early, so I could read the story as they were the same person rather than piecing it all together later. I found Suzi to be super dislikable (probably a personal bias from a former spouse cheating but HEY! We've all get our own baggage) and honestly pretty irritating as she backed herself further and further into what felt like a super obvious corner with her husband.

Loved the ending. I was fearful it would end on a cliffhanger, so I was very pleased to have a definitive answer to what happened to most of the characters involved.

This novel has every ingredient in the domestic noir repertoire- three women, and their various POV’s, deplorable husbands, a desolate cottage. Throw in jealousy, secrets, violence. Mix it all up. Out comes The Other Wife and it’s a great read. Recently read What You Did so I knew we had plenty of twists and surprises. Solid four stars.

A good psychological thriller which at times stretches the imagination with lots of twists and turns. Don’t over think it, just read and enjoy and never forget not one of us know that goes on behind a hall door

How well do you know your neighbours?

With thanks to publishers and author for ARC in return for an honest review

Good story, great pacing and reasonably realistically drawn characters. Although the story revolves Round some nefarious characters i found it unexpectedly positive and life affirming also...

The other wife is a domestic thriller with deceit, lies and abuse, told through POV of three women.
Creepy with great plot twists kept me engaged. I read this in one sitting.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon publishing for my advanced copy for sn honest review.

Unfortunately, I just really felt this a a formula book. Very similar to so many of the suspense books out right. now. Nothing Original about it.

Review
Suzi and Nick have moved to a cottage in the country, a cottage that has been modernised with security and technological features. Instead of feeling content in her new home, Suzi feels sad, isolated and lonely. She is also missing Sean, a Doctor, who she has fallen in love with and who she believes is the father of her unborn baby. She doesn’t know where he is and why she hasn’t heard from him.

Nick is controlling, possessive and critical. He seems to know all of Suzi’s movements and tries to control all aspects of her life.

Nora moves into the cottage next door and she and Suzi start to make friends, however Nora is suspicious of Nick’s attitude towards Suzi. It isn’t long before Suzi tells Nora all about the other man. She decides to go to the hospital where he works to find him. It is only there that she realises that Sean may not have been entirely truthful with her.

In the meantime, recently-widowed Nora has her own past to come to terms with.

This book deals with domestic abuse from a psychological as well as physical aspect. I thought the way it was written seemed realistic with Nick’s behaviour getting worse, the less control he had.

There were some other parts of the book that I struggled to relate to. Dr Holt’s parents - too much of a coincidence. Dr Holt’s unprofessionalism, eg contacting Suzi about Nora - this irritated me because it just wouldn’t happen. Suzi being such a wet blanket when she obviously had such a strong personality in London - to then being so passive in such a short period of time. Surely most women would still have some strength to stand up for themselves? I didn’t like Nora and I couldn’t see how she could get away with what she did without raising suspicion. And, how the two women could become close friends finished on a bit too much of “not sure how to end this book, so let’s give it a happy ending” note for me.

Overall, I would say that it was a good book, an enjoyable read but there were some anomalies that I couldn’t overlook. For its enjoyability factor, I rate it 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks
Thank you to the author Claire McGowan and publishers Amazon Publishing for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

This was a domestic thriller that keeps you on your toes. For once a domestic thriller that I didnt know what the outcome was going to be. It has some great twists that I didnt see coming. Was it the neighbor, the wife, the other woman, the ex, or the husband? Who was doing all these stalkerish things to Suzi. The story was fast paced and the chapters short enough that I just couldnt help to keep reading on. If it was a tad bit shorter it would have been just that much better because it was losing pace about 3/4 of the way for me and then picked up toward the end. I would read another one by this author.

This book sucked me right in as it’s my favourite sort.

It’s twisty and full of suspense and although the characters are (I assume deliberately) unlikeable the story is enjoyable.

Loved this! Very strong characters which led you through a story of suffering and deceit with twists and turns along the way. It was very engaging and was definitely a page turner! Would recommend this to anyone looking for a thriller/drama novel.

Look forward to reading more from Claire McGowan. Thank you Net Galley.

The Other Wife had kind of a creepy, sinister vibe. Like something wasn't right, and you knew something was going to happen, but who is bad and who do you need to worry about?

What I liked- there was a slow unravelling of the story, bits of information coming to light about each of the characters, and twists right until the end. Also, no one was perfect and the suspense level was good.

Some times the story lagged a little, and others it was full of twists and action. Also, the many names and points of view per chapter at first were confusing, which I'm sure was intentional. I liked the end and would read more by this author, this was a first for me.

Told from the POV of at first three different women wronged by a scam artist, the story then cuts to just two of the women. The Other Wife, set in an isolated rural neighborhood, is a tale of deceit, murder, and revenge that slowly unfolds, the pacing as languid as the long days that stretch out for one of the protagonist's, Suzi. Wallowing in guilt over an affair she's had and the growing control her husband has gained over her life, Suzi starts a tepid friendship with a new neighbor, Nora, who has moved just into the cottage across the road from her. What Suzi doesn't know is that Nora's move is not just a coincidence.

Suzi's thoughts are constantly on the disappeared lover and his baby that is growing in her belly. While lost in her own private hell and suffering from pregnancy fog, the gravity of just how much her husband is manipulating her life is lost on her. Too late, she comes to learn that Nora isn't who she thought she was. But as carefully laid plans begin to unravel and secrets come to light, Nora might be her only salvation. Is she a friend or a foe?

The pacing was a little slow in the first quarter of the story, but the author paints a rich detailed internal life of her characters, making them vivid and lifelike for the reader. I don't think the slow pace, in the beginning, is a problem. It's more about personal taste. The story was well-written and had good twists and plot reveals. I enjoyed it.

This was one of my absolute favorite books this year. It keeps you drawn in and trying to figure out the connections between the characters is so fun. At the beginning of the book, I was so confused because of how vague everything was being portrayed. Once you get to a certain point and you understand the connections, you can't stop reading. I read the entire book in one day. One of my favorite things about the book is how the characters progress. We see who the characters truly are as things are revealed in the story. I loved this part of the book. It has all the aspects that a good thriller needs. In the end, I would recommend this book to everyone. I think it has something for everyone. This was a 4.5/5 star read for me. I can't wait to spread the word about this book! I loved it so much!