The Wife

A Novel of Psychological Suspense

By: Alafair Burke

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

His scandal

Her secret

From New York Times best-selling author Alafair Burke, a stunning domestic thriller in the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Woman in Cabin 10 - in which a woman must make the impossible choice between defending her husband and saving herself.

When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother's home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past.

Six years later, thanks to a best-selling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look at the man she married. And when she is asked to defend Jason in court, she realizes that her loyalty to her husband could unearth old secrets.

This much-anticipated follow-up to Burke's Edgar-nominated The Ex asks how far a wife will go to protect the man she loves: Will she stand by his side, even if he drags her down with him?

©2018 Alafair Burke (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

"Xe Sands's delivery grips the listener's imagination and makes Burke's compelling mystery unforgettable." (AudioFile)  

Sense of dread

Ms Burke tells a great story. This was the first of her books I have “read”. I have been an avid reader of her fathers books for years. After finishing his latest, Robicheaux, I gave her book a try. It’s excellent. Her style is of course different from her fathers excellent work. But it is similar in the amazing creation of character and a sense of dread as the mystery unfolds. The main character is very layered and without spoiling the end I liked the way the story ended. Read this. It’s great!

Alafair Burke’s best book by far

Despite the genre this book is categorized in, as I was listening to it, I thought it was going to be just a drama with a little mystery due to the tone and beginning pace of the story. However, as the story unfolded, new revelations kept emerging and changing the direction of where you thought the story was going. As the story started to wrap up, a backlog of hints came into light and completely altered how and why the events occurred. The character development is so strong and the main character is very intriguing so I never grew disinterested. We also get the perspective of most of the other characters which helped reinforce their roles. I highly recommend this book and of the many Alafair Burke books I’ve read or listened to, this is his strongest in my opinion and definitely my favorite so far.

I never saw it coming. Great story!

I thought the characters were well developed and believable. I especially am pleased with the way the author presented diverse characters. It wasn't a blatant show of this character is white or that character is black. The characters were just complex and interesting people. It was a well-put-together and thought out storyline. I loved it.

Amazing

This book keeps you guessing every chapter. Cleverly written. Have recommended to many. Overall a great novel.

Surprise ending

I'm afraid to write too much, because I don't want to share any spoilers. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it. I really wasn't sure if I liked the narration or not -- I went back and forth on that. I guess after a while I just got used to it. Midway through the story, I was startled to realize that the main character was in her early 30's, because the voice sounded so much older.

Twist s and turns

Alifair Burke 's story is a difficult tale to spin. Expertly told and spoken by a professional reader. Is well worth your time to read to the end. A page Turner for sure.

Great book!

Loved it! Ms. Burke is very talented. I can usually figure a book out very quickly. This one kept me guessing .

That ending! Holy Cow!

Wow! This was way better than I expected it to be. Don't let the title sway you. This is not generic whatsoever. Highly recommended!

Just not great

I'm a big fan of psychological suspense and I just hated the main character of the book too much to enjoy this. The twist is pretty good but it comes too close to the end to make as big of an impact as it could.

Narrator was okay but there was something I didn't love about her voice - randomly, she also said Mary J. Blige's name so oddly that it was one of the most memorable moments in the book.

Great listen

Great story with multiple twist. Love the narration. Don’t hesitate to use a credit on this one.