I was very shocked and happily surprised to have received an advanced copy of The Wife Between Us from St. Martin’s Press. I was going to wait and read this novel around Christmas because I had some reservations about it,  but something kept drawing me to it so I decided to read it this past weekend and I am so very glad that I did. I will have to give this novel a 4.5 star rating.

The story opens with the prologue which is told from the ex-wife’s point of view. I immediately assumed that she is just some jealous, scorned woman. We are then introduced to Nellie. She is a preschool teacher who is about to be married to the man of her dreams. He is rich, good looking and he takes good care of her. Even if he does seem a bit possessive(to others). As the story goes on alternating between the ex wife and the new wife-to-be, I realize that both women have some pretty intense pasts and secrets. I soon find out who Nellie really is(turns out to be Vanessa) and who the new wife to be is(Emma). Nothing in this story is what it seems and no one is who they seem. I went in with the mindset that the ex wife was just some heartbroken hag who let herself go and pushed her husband away into the arms of a young woman who has it all together. As the story develops, you find out that she is not a heartbroken hag, but actually a woman with a plan. This rich successful man, Richard,  is not the man I thought he was. He doesn’t actually have it all together. He may be rich and good looking, but he is a twisted man. This pretty new wife to be, Emma,  isn’t as innocent as she portrays either. She too has her own agenda. Vanessa and Emma end up sharing a past and don’t know it until the end of the story once all the secrets start unravelling. Vanessa thinks she is manipulating the  situation and she is to a certain extent but she is being manipulated as well. Although Richard is not a great guy, I almost had to feel sorry for him because he ends up being a pawn in this twisted mind game that is being played.

Two questions I ended up asking myself while reading this novel were how far does a person go to get out of an unhealthy situation and how far does a person go to seek vengeance. This story, in my opinion was a perfect blend of Gone Girl meets Girl on the Train with a bit of Sleeping with the Enemy thrown in. I see this novel being a satisfying page turner to all who read it. The plot keeps twisting and turning and keeps you guessing until the very end. Every time I thought I had the story figured out, the authors threw a serious curve ball at me and I enjoyed that very much. I would definitely like to see more work from these ladies.

This novel is set to be released January 9, 2018. It will be a great pick for an after the holidays read.