I want to avoid as much plot as possible because I don’t want to ruin a single thing. There are some fantastic twisty bits to The Wife Between Us that genuinely run you over like a semi truck and I don’t want to offer any hints. I did have to go back and reread some …more portions to try and suss out exactly what was going on. You’ll need to use your brain a bit for this one.

Vanessa, ex-wife to Richard, is down on her luck and living in a small apartment with her aunt. Post divorce, she’s gone from housewife to retail hell at Saks. She’s an addict, alcohol being her drug of choice. I think that was one major thing that bothered me about The Wife Between Us. It’s very en vogue these days to use alcohol issues as the perfect foil to create an unreliable narrator. It’s been done several times and ways and every time I’m left feeling a little cold.

Nellie, Richard’s soon to be new wife, is the anti-Vanessa. She’s bright, teaches pre-school and is a genuinely happy and refreshing interval every other chapter. Where Vanessa is dark and brooding, Nellie is light and joyful… until Richard’s ex starts to turn up. Or so it seems.

Initially I gave The Wife Between Us three stars. Then I thought about the book for a few days, always a good sign, and bumped it to 3.5. And then I sat down to review it today and thought “what the heck” and put it up to four. The fact that I’m still thinking about it even two weeks later means it has stuck with me, and with as many books as I read that’s quite an accomplishment. (less)