2.5 stars for being a quick listen

Evan and Jessica are still reeling from the death of their wife and mother, Lola, when Ariel arrives as the housekeeper. Everyone is keeping a secret and absolutely nothing is what it seems.

This book was written like a book report and explained every single thought and action of each of the characters. We hear from Lola through her diary, Evan in the present, Ariel in the present, and Jessica through her diary and in the present. There is absolutely no character development. The narrators are flat and bring absolutely no emotion to their reading. Ariel is using a false name and its important that she prove that Evan killed Lola. She alludes to a connection with Lola but this is not revealed until midway through. We never find out Ariel's real name and the past connection to Lola is believable but the reason they are no longer in contact is flimsy at best. Evan is supposedly the Chief of Police but has the detective skills of a child. Its not clear how old Jessica is but you definitely have to suspend belief at the ending. There are some other peripheral characters sprinkled in that really just serve as fillers.

The positives were that it was a quick read, and if you can lose any sense of reality then it has some decent twists. Would be good to read on an airplane or at the beach.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

It's a no from me dawg.
I should know better than to fall prey to glowing reviews without reading some of the negative ones as well. When will I learn? There are people who vibe with Bookouture books and I am not usually one of those people unfortunately and I should know that about myself by now.

The positives about this book:
Shiner is a great writer. She pulled me in from the beginning, creating a sense of foreboding and I wanted to know more. Even as things started to fall apart for me, I kept with my reading because her writing kept me invested.

The main premise is: Lola has died by falling down the stairs. Was it an accident or on purpose? Ariel thinks it was on purpose, so she gets herself hired as a housekeeper for Lola's widower, Evan, and his fourteen year old daughter Jessica. Ariel wants to find evidence that Evan killed Lola and she also wants to keep Jessica safe.

Now for the negatives, Caution Spoilers Galore below:
[
--I figured out from the beginning that Jessica was probably the one responsible. There were just TOO MANY mentions of Evan's responsibility for it to be true. Too many "I need to keep her safe" comments.
--There was NO motivation given for Jessica killing her mom other than that she didn't want her family broken up. And even though Evan knew this, did he get her counseling? Did he take precautions to keep her from harming anyone else? Of course not. That would take brains and I'm convinced he had none.
--Ariel breaks into the house with the key she has copied. She can't get into the bedroom so she gets a screwdriver and takes the doorknob off and then once she finds Lola's diary, does she take it with her? No. Does she take photos of the pages so she can get the heck out of there? Also no. She fully admits that she tends to lose track of time, but she decides to sit there in the closet and read the entire thing. Oh guess what? They come home and catch her, surprise surprise. Don't let me forget that the reason she was searching the room in the first place was because she was looking for Evan's diary. Yeah, the guy is as dumb as a box of rocks and you think he's going to write his innermost thoughts in a journal?
--The next segment of the book was so absolutely ridiculous I actually laughed out loud while it was happening. Evan and Jessica hear someone upstairs. Even though Evan knows that Jessica killed her mom, he just stands back and lets her go upstairs with a knife. Then he lets her stab not one, not two, but three people while he just stands there pondering what he should do. And after Dakota is stabbed does Miriam run away and call the police? Nope. Does she stand there and call the police? Nope. She starts a livestream.
--Why were Lola and Ariel estranged? Why did Ariel have no contact with her until Lola decided to leave Evan and go to Ariel's house? I got the impression that while Evan was a mean drunk, the only reason Lola wanted to leave him was because he was cheating (ick, with a 19 year old when his daughter was barely younger) so why all the hush hush secrecy? And why didn't Ariel keep the baby in the first place? No back story. And Lola's diaries were pretty worthless in the end. Evan has been portrayed as stupid the entire book, so it didn't surprise me that he was just standing back watching Jessica do her murder thing. But Lola didn't have a clue that her daughter was unhinged?
--So then we are supposed to believe that the police are going to arrest Evan because Jessica's diary says he is abusive and killed her mother? Like people (especially teenagers) don't lie in their diaries? What DA is going to say "sure, let's arrest him, that's a ton of evidence."
--I feel very sorry for the people who live in this town. They have an idiot chief of police, people are arrested based on a young teenage girl's diary entries, and there is a psycho killer running around free.
--And even after it is revealed that Ariel (or whatever her actual name is) is alive, we discover that oh yes, she still wants to be Jessica's mommy and take her home and be with her and be her bestest friend. Why does everyone want to be around Jessica the murdering psychopath so much and why do they trust her?

The whole book just gives off straight-t0-video horror movie masquerading as a mystery movie vibes.
(hide spoiler)]
Whew, thanks for letting me get that out. Note to self, always read the negative reviews before requesting a review copy.
The narrators for the audiobook did a decent job, and hearing Evan's inner monologue said out loud made me roll my eyes even more than if I had read it on the page.
I had originally rated this as 2 stars, but as I was writing I realized that it's just a 1 star book for me.

Totally not for me, but if you like wild thrillers, you just might like it. Lots of of my friends have loved this one.

In general I liked the story, I enjoyed the characters and where the story was going but I didn’t like the audio books narrators voice I found it very systematic and robotic, lacking emotion and human touch, i dnf half way for this reason, I would however finish this book by reading it

Thank you NetGalley for the audio copy in exchange for a honest review. Evan’s wife dies in a tragic accident. He is struggling to cope with the pressure of supporting their teenage daughter Jessica, running a house and working. Evan decides to take on a house keeper and employs Ariel. Ariel has her own agenda. This book has twists and turns to keep you hooked.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Wife in the Photo is a fun domestic thriller told from multiple POVs. It dragged a bit here and there and the twists were really well done, though a little predictable, and I wasn't always sold on them. Overall, though, this was an entertaining book I would recommend for someone who likes domestic thrillers.

I loveeee a good multiple POV book, tie in diary entries and my heart is sold!
A husband with anger issues in a job of power.
A dead wife.
A moody teenager dealing with grief.
And a new woman who isn’t what (or who) you expect.

A killer (ha ha) combo that will leave you wanting a sequel!

Enjoyed reading this ARC, thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley 🫶🏼

I spoiled this for myself and I'm so cranky about it!

I usually listen to audiobooks while cooking and cleaning but I was caught up in this one and decided to continue listening at night. Of course, as you would expect, I fell asleep with the book still playing when I woke up the next morning, my phone connected to my car and revealed a very important scene towards the end!

Needless to say, I rewound it and had to catch up!

The characters were a little abrasive at times. I work with teenagers and the teenage girl in the novel was both realistic and over-the-top. I also hated a certain character by the end.

Overall, this was a satisfying read.

I think the twist was really just too predictable. I mean if there’s one obnoxiously obvious choice and I one not obvious killer, it always seems to be the one that’s not obvious. The story was bland and could have been told in half of the time.

3.5 Stars

What a wild ride this book was! This book is a fast paced psychological thriller that has the reader guessing who’s guilty and of what, who’s lying and why, and just who can be trusted. There’s a suspected murder, betrayal, and a diary that details a life that might not be so sunshine & roses.


I felt like the ending was a touch predictable if you read a lot of this genre but I really did enjoy the twists and turns this story took. If you’re looking for a quick and exciting read, give this one a try.


Thank you NetGalley & Bookouture for the ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this audio book, everything about it was just brilliant. I’m a huge fan of a story presented from different POVs and this was done very well. The story and it’s many twisty reveals were very cleverly constructed and drip fed to the listener throughout.

I did guess some of the twists but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment in any way as there were still so many I didn’t figure out, some real gasp out loud moments.

The tone, expression and delivery of the narrators was bang on and I found myself taking the dog for extra long walks just so I could listen more!!

This was my first book by Emily Shiner but I will definitely keep my eye out for more. This is the best audiobook (story) I have listened to in a long while, it would make an excellent film!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this fantastic book!

OK...so I knew this author sounded familiar, so I figured I've read her before... and I have. (You Can’t Hide)
This book was crazy.
Opens up with a murder!
Lola and her husband Evan are fighting. And she falls down the stairs...or does she??? And...she dies...
This is basically chapter #1.
Oh, and did I mention that Evan is the chief of police?
And he has a teenage daughter, Jessica.
And he needs help. How is he going to take care of the house, Jessica, and go to work … without Lola? So he turns to Miriam, his trusted assistant, who recommends Ariel as a housekeeper.
She comes to the house and it all seems like it's working out perfectly...but is it?
Seems like Ariel has some secrets of her own!!
This is a TWISTED psychological thriller told from multiple POV's that will totally mess you up. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you realize you do NOT. And, you are probably not even close!! I did like the (audio) book, but I did not like Evan's narrator. For some reason, he just did not sound at all convincing to me. The other voices were terrific!
Also, I did not like the ending. I felt like there was a lot of suspense throughout, and the ending just fell a bit flat after all the hype throughout the book...but that's just my opinion.
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!
In any case, if it sounds like something you'd like, please give it a shot.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of the audiobook which releases on Thursday, September 7th...so one week from today!

A great read. Lots of twists and turns in this one. None of the characters were particularly likeable, but that didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story. The ending could be an opening for a sequel and I would definitely read it if there were to be one. I hadn’t read anything by this author before, but I’ll definitely be checking out her backlist after this one. The narration was good and I recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

This was a brilliant psychological thriller, a must read.

Lola is dead, but who pushed her. Jessica the daughter of Evan the husband.

This is a fast paced thriller that will have you engaged from the first chapter. I listened to this book and the narrotors were both great. Great expression and really made the story come alive. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio book ARC opportunity!

I’m glad I was given the opportunity to read this author-
I will definitely check out her other work!

This is a story of twists with unreliable characters and a consistent question of- who’s the bad guy here? What’s behind this?

I really liked the journal entries as a way to move the story along and give background information. I also enjoyed the narrators- I feel they did a great job of adding to the story and keeping it interesting. The voices went well together and the emotions behind the female voice made the story feel more real. Great job!

This book was SOOOO good!! I listened to it on audiobook and the narration was top notch, it felt more like listening to a movie without the screen than it did listening to a book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this novel in exchange for my honest feedback.

Wow! Such a great psychological thriller, I struggled to work out how this would end and got a great surprise at the end! I would have liked to have understood the motive of the culprit a bit more and I think this was lacking in the ending of this book. I also really struggled to connect with the father Evan, I’m not sure if this was because of his dialogue in the book or the narration of the audiobook. Thank you NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture for this ARC.

The Wife in the Photo was my first book by Emily Shiner and I definitely enjoyed listening to it. The narrators, Kate Handford and Todd Kramer, are fantastic!! I figured out the murderer much earlier than I prefer to in a twisty psychological thriller . But overall, a fun listen.

Lola ( The Wife in the Photo) tragically passed away leaving behind her husband Evan and daughter Jessica.
When Evan is left to care for Jessica and their house, he quickly learns that he will need help. Enters Ariel the new housekeeper that Evan hires to help out, but things aren’t as simple as they appear. And help comes at a cost, especially when you have secrets to hide.

Coming from multiple POVs, who will you believe… who’s telling the truth about what happened to Lola- Evan or Jessica? And will Ariel figure out the truth despite all the lies?
I wasn’t expecting the twist and turns but enjoyed the ride from beginning to end. The ending was took me by surprise but was well worth it.

I definitely hope that the author is writing a sequel or even a prequel to this story. I have so many questions - How did we get here? What’s going to happen next?

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookcouture for allowing me to listen to an advanced audio copy of this book.

Ariel suspects that Evan murdered his wife Lola after discovering she was leaving him. It is unclear in the beginning what Ariel’s connection is to Lola; however, and she is able to infiltrate the life of Evan and his daughter Jessica under the guise of a housekeeper/cook to try and save Jessica.
I did not enjoy this story at all. I think it had potential, but it ultimately fell flat. I feel like it tried too hard at times, and it was SO repetitive!! I thought the female narrator was ok, but the male narration was terrible. His voice was very…flat.

I didn’t like any of the characters in this book. Jessica is a spoiled brat, and Evan has to be the dumbest, most incompetent cop to ever exist. Why even make his character a cop when he admits in the book that he never liked confrontation or breaking up fights and often stood idly by?

This was just overall very frustrating to listen to, and while some of the twists were good, most of them were extremely predictable. The narrators were lacking and made an already unbearable story even more so.

This book starts off with Jessica & Evan in the aftermath of Lola's death. Lola is Evan's wife/Jessica's mom. As the story unfolds through Lola's diary entries and a third party, Ariel we learn that Evan is most likely guilty for pushing his wife downstairs. Ariel gets a job at their house as a housekeeper to make sure nothing happens to the daughter Jessica.
There are several POV's giving different insight/facts as to what actually happened and which one of them can be trusted? Jessica? Evan? Ariel? Lola's diary?

My notes throughout were as such:
Is Ariel a creeper/stalker? Why does she want to get so close to Jessica?
Jessica is a huge manipulator! Or is she just a hormonal teenager who lost her mom?
Evan is a massive jerk! Or is he just an abusive coward?

As the story unfolds, all will be revealed.

I really enjoyed this story. The twists were twisty even if the major reveal wasn't a huge surprise.

Thank you NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture for the ARC! My opinions are my own.
Pub Date Sept. 7, 2023