The Wife Upstairs - Rachel Hawkins

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

Release Date: Expected 5th January 2021

It's always a risky business when you're retelling one of histories greatest tales - but Hawkins is one of the few authors who has actually managed to not just pull it off, but pull it of spectacularly. Taking one of the literary worlds most famous love triangles, this modern reimagining of Jane Eyre is set deep in southern america with it's own unique flair and style but still managing to give that uneasy sense of familiarity.

Our heroine, going through her life under the moniker of Jane, has always tried to blend into the background of life and forget the life she's left far in the past. Here in the Thornfield estates, Jane is a dog walker for the rich and the even richer - the polar opposite of her life. After Eddie, one of the most reclusive residents of the estate almost hits her with his very expensive car, an apology coffee takes a turn for something much bigger.

Eddie is all alone in his big empty house since his wife Bea died along with her best friend in a boating accident many years ago, and Jane could see herself being the person to finally fill the void left in his life ... and maybe find her place among the wealthy elite she had worked for all this time. She was alive, Bea wasn't. So what could possibly go wrong?

But you knew it wasn't going to be that simple, didn't you?

Even knowing some of the twists that were probably coming my way, they still hit me hard in the stomach from the beginning and they didn't stop coming. I was thrown every time a disturbing revelation came bubbling up to the surface all leading to one final decieving twist that left me staring at the last page in disbelief - this book still managed to throw curveballs my way and completely make it's mark on the tale.

This was an ingenious retelling of one of the most delightfully twisted love stories; vivid, witty and deliciously dark. Even if you've never read Jane Eyre, you should definitely read this book.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Rachel Hawkins for providing me an ARC in return for an honest review.

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