From Goodreads: "Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.
But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.
What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you’ll ever read.
You’ll have to grab a copy to find out why."
My thoughts
Hmmm. I finished this book a few hours ago and overall my feelings towards it are mixed. On the one hand, I found it compulsively readable (so don't be surprised if you see me recommending this as a bingeworthy read in future blog posts). On the other, I felt the actual plot was rather confused as to what it was trying to do, and the ending fell flat as a result.

The writing and narration of the main character, Thursday, reads very much like a typical thriller - it's pretty basic and enabling of a fast-paced plot, which is good, because it definitely made the book easy to whizz through. I didn't want to put it down and was stealing every minute I could on the tube and on my lunch breaks at work - all good things right?

However, I did find myself wondering at some points what exactly was keeping me hooked. The book opens as a twisted story about the complexities of polygamy, which definitely intrigued me. But then it tries to do a Gone Girl esque twist out of the blue in the middle of the book which turns the story into something else completely. From here on out I think it was pretty much all downhill, with the beginnings of a good plot lost in what felt like a totally separate story.

The portrayal of women in this book is also very...odd. I understand it's supposed to be told from the POV of an unreliable narrator (and that's actually one of my favourite literary devices) but Thursday's constant spouting about the weakness of women and their subservience to men became a little worrying, especially as there's nothing in the book which acts to show that this shouldn't be the case. I suppose thrillers are supposed to get under your skin and make you feel uncomfortable, but it should be in a way that unnerves you rather than makes you roll your eyes...

I think this book would've been a lot better if the author could've made up her mind on what she wanted it to be. If this had been a book purely about the twists and turns of a polygamous marriage, and the secrets held within it, it would've been awesome. Equally, if it had been a psychological thriller about the destabilising effects of relationships, it would've been just as good. But trying to bring both together didn't really work - it ended up confusing and half-hearted.

Have you read The Wives? Will you be adding it to your list? As always, let me know your thoughts by adding me on Goodreads and/or Instagram!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this for review. All views above are my own. This title will be released on April 16th in the UK.

https://www.stackedshelves.com/2020/01/book-review-wives-by-tarryn-fisher.html

This book has a great premise. The main character is married to a man with three wives, only she never sees the others. They all live separately, with the husband visiting them on specific days of the week. She is Thursday and is, for the first time, beginning to question the arrangement...

The novel promises much and it begins well, with an interesting if not entirely sympathetic protagonist (who would allow their life to take this shape without pushing back at any point?). I found myself speeding through the pages to find out answers.

Then (trying not to be too spoilery, but it's useful to know), the novel changes tone and direction in a very frustrating way. I felt like the rug was being pulled from under me. There are unreliable narrators and then there are unreliable narrators who make you question whether a story is worth reading at all. As for the ending - I found it slightly satisfying but mostly horrible; my overall experience with the book was one of frustration.

The author is talented, but for me this book was a good premise without a strong plot to match up to it.

Disturbingly brilliant! Rarely does a book surprise me and this one blew me away! Each page makes you question the previous and wonder what awaits on the next. This is a genuinely well written and original story which plays with your mind and sanity. You will be intrigued then confused and end up amazed.

Starts off well but sadly tumbled into the ridiculous and unbelievable. Married to Seth Thursday is one of 3 wives, as her relationship unravels so does her mind - is anything she believes real? Thursday is an unlikable character who you struggle to sympathise with, the writing is sometimes choppy and while engaging at the beginning it becomes difficult to care about the fate of any of the characters by the end.

I enjoyed the 1st half of this book - setting the scene, introducing the characters. I was intrigued & looking forward to the conclusion.

The 2nd half though was rather incredulous, so unbelievable. Sadly for me a disappointing ending.

I loved this book. Amazing twists, fast paced, fabulous writing style. I would recommend this to anyone & will definitely be reading more by this author.

Thursday is in a Polygamous marriage and content, she accepts that her day is Thursday and she shares her husband, Seth, with two other women. However things shift when she discovers the names of the other wives , she cannot resist attempting to find out more about them.
When she discovers that one of the wives is pregnant it brings back the memory of loosing her own baby and also raises concerns as to her safety. Thursday, once devoted to her husband feels there has been a shift in their relationship and questions how she feels about her situation. She hasn’t told anyone of her circumstances and when things come to a head between her and Seth she finds herself in an unthinkable position.
I enjoyed this plot and it’s change of perspective. I did not enjoy the choice of language, even if infrequent, was it really necessary to refer to her “Pussy”? This spoilt it for me and stops me from giving a higher recommendation.

Really liked this one. It kept me guessing right until the end. Another author to look out for. Four stars

Three wives. One man. You know can work out where this is going… oh no you can’t!

I am not sure if I just read a book or had some weird trippy high! Seriously what a ride, this book drew me in and then threw me every which way. I like to think I am quite good at working out where a story is going but at no point during this book could I tell you, with any degree of certainly, where this was going.

The writing was good and it flowed really well, letting you get comfy with an idea of where it was going before pulling the rug from under your feet.

This is going up there as one of my top psychological thrillers of all time, it’s just absolutely mental!

A story of obsessive love which turns from idyllic euphoria to madness ? Plenty of twists and turns in this tightly drawn psychological drama.

The narrator Thursday, believes she is married to Seth and so obsessed that she is willing to share him with 2 other “wives” , Hannah and Regina. She says that Seth is polygamous.

When Seth tells Thursday that Hannah is pregnant , it starts a chain of events, with Thursday pursuing the 2 wives through social media and in person.

The last part of the story gets very confusing as Thursday becomes an unreliable narrator. Is she imagining things, being set up, tricked or delusional ? Find out if you can solve the puzzle.

There are plenty of reviews with spoilers so I have tried to avoid putting those in whilst giving a hint of what the storyline is.
Some very strong reactions from other reviewers some love it ,others don’t like the ending.

Despite the ending ,I enjoyed this well written,absorbing page turner .

Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in two sittings (damn needing to go to sleep!)

It hooked me pretty much from the start, plenty of twists and turns including a few I hadn't foreseen.

I found Thursday to be a complex character, very well written and my feelings for her - pity, disgust, compassion - changed constantly throughout the book.

I LOVED The Wives it was an absolute cracker of a psychological thriller- with an engaging yet divisive heroine at the centre of it.

Tarryn Fisher has produced a genuinely compelling page turner of a book , with a narrative that messes with your perception throughout. The plotting is taut and believable, the writing is excellent and the whole thing has a beautifully honed sense of foreboding. The twists are less traditional here, they come at you sideways rather than head on and even if you think you know where it’s going you probably don’t.

Revealed inexorably and hauntingly through character and ongoing events, this novel leads you through the maze of a life with this one man and his three wives…until the truth is before you. Not in a huge wow moment but in dawning understanding. Really very good indeed.

Highly Recommended.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

I have never read a Tarryn Fisher book before, but after reading this I know I will rectify that.

Deep breathe and count to ten!! Wow I’m still deciphering what I have just read. It has been a rollercoaster of a ride with that many twists and turns that I don’t know if I’m coming or going ...literally!! (Song playing in my head ..) “Dizzy my head is spinning, like a whirlpool it never ends”

Thursday is married to Seth, he has two other wives Monday and Tuesday. The wives don’t know anything about each other or their real names. Thursday has agreed to only see her husband once a week, although she would rather have him to herself.

Thursday gets curious about his other wives and begins to dig for more information on the internet, (OMG I so need to delete Facebook after reading this)

Without giving anything away, this story completely flips and you are left not knowing who or what to believe. It blew my mind and even days after reading this I can’t stop talking about it!!!

I was totally engrossed in this book and couldn’t put it down. This thriller will keep you on the edge of you’re seat guessing until the end.

I highly recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I've never read anything by Tarryn Fisher before but I absolutely flew through The Wives. I was hooked from the first page and very curious of where the plot could go but I was pleasantly surprised. Is it far fetched that the main character would be accepting of her mystery husbands two wives and the conditions of such an arrangement? Yes. But stranger things have happened and I knew that had to more than meets the eye with this story. What starts off as quite a simple, relatively straightforward story soon becomes murkier and more confusing, encouraging the reader to keep on reading until they have answers. There was a point where I thought I had it figured out but a couple more twists soon threw me off course. The authors writing style flows really nicely making this an easy to read thriller you'll finish in no time.

I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it absolutely brillant I was Hooked from the beginning I loved all the red herrings like the names etc I loved how I diddnt see any of the twists or turns comeing best psychological thriller I’ve read in forever

Thursday is Seth's second wife, but she knows he still lives part of the time with his ex-wife. When she has a miscarriage and can no longer have children, Seth then takes another 'wife'. Thursday eventually finds sharing difficult and begins to wonder what his other wives are like. Their relationship changes and she worries that he may be violent.
The book starts off slowly but speeds up in the second half. There is an unexpected twist to the story though the final couple of pages are a little far-fetched. A good read.

I am pleasantly surprised with “The Wives” by Tarryn Fisher. What seemed to be a slow burning novel turned into a brilliant psychological thriller full of unpredictable twists.

From the start I was intrigued by the plot - our protagonist Thursday is in a polygamist relationship with Seth whom she shares with other women; all three wives know about each others but they’ve never met.

Initially I was a little bit irritated how naive and unreliable the main character was. However as the story progress and the plot gets more and more twisty you get to understand the reason behind. Just as I’ve thought I worked out were the story was going it all started to crumble and I never had it quite right. Through the whole book I wasn’t sure who to believe and trust and I most definitely could not foresee the ending (although I wish it finished differently)

Overall it’s a refreshing and intriguing domestic thriller which I enjoyed reading.

Oh. My. God....this book!!! I go into every Tarryn Fisher book knowing two things... One: It will be read in one sitting. Two: I will go back and read it again ! This one had so many twists and turns my head spun and my mouth dropped more than once. There are your standard unreliable narrators and then there are the ones in a TF psychological thriller. This book will make you think Gone Girl who?!

This book was just bananas. From the characters to the plot to the pacing, this was a wild ride right up until the last page!