The Wife in the Photo is about the sudden death of Lola, Evan’s wife and 14 year old Jessica’s mom. Evan hires Ariel as a housekeeper and cook. From the start Ariel believes that Evan killed Lola and she’s taken the job to find proof. But she also has secrets of her own.

I liked this book at the beginning but I found that as it went on it became more & more predictable. Other than Lola (in journal entries) there was not one likable character. The ending was really unrealistic in many ways. Another thing is the title seems to have nothing to do with the actual story. There was a photo mentioned very briefly in the beginning but…???

I listened to the audiobook, which for the most part was narrated well but I could not get past the narration of Evan. It was stiff and distracting to his part of the story. For me that can really affect my perception of a character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook.

This was my second book by author Emily Shiner. My first book by her was You Can’t Hide and I really liked it. The Wife in the Photo is another book that I like but unfortunately do not love.

The story was fun but also mostly predictable. There is a family of three, husband and wife, Evan and Lola, and their daughter Jessica. Lola is killed by being pushed down the stairs but it's ruled an accident.

Ariel feels Evan is responsible and Jessica is in danger. She becomes their housekeeper to get closer the the family and keep Jessica safe. 

I personally felt the story was predictable and it was easy to see what was coming next. The writing and the characters were so good that I didn’t mind not being surprised by the story, There was a part toward the end that did surprise me but then it quickly went back on that. So many books seem to try to take it a step too far in the final chapter, I wish this one didn’t.

The Wife in the Photo by Emily Shiner was a fun listen – a twisty, popcorn thriller that kept me guessing. In it we meet Evan and his daughter Jessica, who have just lost their wife / mom. In the wake of her death, they hire a woman to help clean the house and make meals… but what is her true motivation in being there.

I think the story would be best if you went in knowing nothing and just enjoyed the ride. It’s multi-POV and most of the pieces click together early on, so the tension is from the reader knowing more than the characters. Until it flips on the side and the reader is caught on the back foot, too. So fun.

The mood of this one manages to not be heavy, it’s truly more of a popcorn thriller. If you’re looking for an easy to binge, twisty look into a domestic thriller this is a great choice. It reminds me of The Arrangement series from Kiersten Modglin in mood and pace so if you enjoyed that vibe, this one will likely work for you too.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the complimentary audiobook – I really enjoyed the narration!

This was a good book that had I not been on a girls weekend, would probably have not been able to put down while losing sleep to finish it. You think you. Know who did it but do you really. I sure didn’t. I appreciated how the book was written making it very easy to follow. Keeping the character group small made it very easy to keep track of who was who. What a ride.

Although this is one of the best narrations I’ve ever listened to, the story didn’t feel engaging and Interesting in my opinion. The plot twisty near the end was predictable and nothing really interesting happened in the first half of the book. So I would give 5 stars to the audiobook and 2 to the story.

The Wife in the Photo- Emily Shiner

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

This book was a slow burn but 100% worth it.
This book is about a police chief whose wife dies in what appears to be a tragic accident. This book dives into the father's life with his teenage daughter and them trying to pick up the pieces of their life after such a significant loss. The twists and turns of this book left me speechless. It was so beautifully written, and I loved how it gave each character a point of view. I was shocked at the ending. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time!!! I can’t say enough good words about it.

Emily Shiner is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She seems to knock it out of the park every single time!! Where oh where has she been hiding? There were lots and lots of twists to keep you guessing all the way to the end. It was fast paced and I really enjoyed it. I would give it 5 stars if I wasn't confused part of the time but it did all come together in the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio version in exchange for my honest review.

Loved the twists and turns. Felt like I knew what to expect and then it would take a turn and I’d have to start rethinking my theories all over again.

A solid 3.5-4 stars! I called one of the twists, but the rest of them caught me completely off guard. Especially the last 15% or so. Wild ride! The narration was great, for all POVs. Definitely kept me hooked from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this as an audiobook. The narrator is amazing. This book had such a great twist and while I thought I knew who the killer was I was very wrong. I would have liked to know a backstory on why Evan overlooked all the issues that Jessica clearly has, he is the sheriff after all. Overall this was a good book. I read the actual book but listening to the fabulous narrator in the audiobook really brought the story to life.

Really enjoyed this psychological thriller. I loved the different characters each giving their version however I did guess the twists which was disappointing. Still a good story though! I usually find audio books really hard to concentrate on however I did enjoy this and it held my attention.

The Wife in the Photo by Emily Shiner is a fast-paced psychological thriller where we try to figure out what happened to Lola. I'm not going to lie... I completely guessed all the twists and turns of this book so it was predictable. However, the writing is good. The narrators are wonderful also. Even though it was predictable, I still enjoyed it. Maybe I've read too many thrillers...

This book was definitely a quick read. It was super intriguing. I kept wanting more. I spent the whole book super mad at the dad/husband. Did not see the twist at the end. Really enjoyed it.

There were multiple POV's in this psychological thriller and it made it kinda hard to know who was telling the truth. The daughter, Jessica, just seemed crazy and like she was ready to snap at any point. From the way the mom supposedly "died" I had an idea of what happened, but I had no idea of what was to come at the end. I do feel like the ending was a little too much but it was better than the first 60% of the book that was so slow.

Super twisty and tense! Headphones on and I was absorbed. I literally held my breath at points, and couldn't stop listening until I'd finished the book!

Evan, the Chief of Police, hires Ariel as a housekeeper, to help him and his teenage daughter, Jessica, after the death of his wife and Jessica's mother, Lola.

But Ariel has an alternative motive. EVERYONE is suspicious, EVERYONE has their own agenda and it's going to get messy!

I loved how this book was told in multiple POVs, including Lola's diary and how all of the narrators were unreliable, with the author throwing me off, every time I thought I had it sussed! Twist after jaw-dropping twist, kept the tension running high, my heart in my mouth and my head spinning with all of the possible outcomes.

A final gut-punch of a twist left me wanting more with an epic cliff-hanger ending!

Both narrators, Todd Kramer and Kate Handford, did an excellent job. I much prefer a book with multiple narrators, when there are both male and female protagonists narrating the story.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

if you want a book where nothing happens until 80% in, then this book is for you.
If you want a book where every character is insufferable, then this book is for you.
If you want a book where the twists are just like every book, then this book is for you.
Shiner's writing is the only reason why this book isn't a one star. I may read one more book by them to see if this was just an anomaly, but this book just wasn't it for me. so sorry.

This was a psychological thriller told from several points of view and with unreliable narration. It was hard to know who to trust and if anyone was even telling the truth. I didn't care much for any of the characters which led me to being less invested in the story than I had expected, but I was still interested enough to want to know how it would all end especially when the twists started coming. In my opinion there were some really surprising twists in this story.

This was my first book by this author, but I would definitely be open to reading more.

In this book, you are exploring the mystery of Lola, the wife of the main character Evan and mother to Jessica, death. She "accidentally' fell down the stairs and died.

I love psychological thrillers and mystery, however, this book was not all that mysterious because I knew exactly what happened from the beginning and the direction it was going to end. That was slightly disappointing because I like to think I know where it's going just to be super surprised at the end. I really did not think I was going to give this book more than 3 stars. However, it was super fast-paced and that is what kept me listening until the end. I will say there were at least 2 small twists that I did not see coming. However, it was written in a way that kept me interested until the end even if I knew what was coming and that is why I am giving it 4 stars because I was not frustrated and I wanted to figure out how it ended. I liked that each chapter had a different perspective and sometimes on the same day, that also kept me listening. I ended up being really glad to have gotten to read this book through Netgalley!

So, this book started out like many others. Mysterious death. You know it was murder, but don’t really know what happened. Interesting enough. But then, not one, but three, unreliable narrators? I didn’t believe anyone and also thought everyone was the killer! Well done!

DNF at 40% - Unfortunately this book was moving much too slow for me. And normally I can push through, especially in audiobooks, but at 40% nothing had really happened yet and I became tired of the characters. No one was particularly likeable. The premise had promise, but this just didn’t deliver for me. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide an honest review of this audiobook.