The Wife Upstairs

By: Rachel Hawkins

Narrated by: Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne, Lauren Fortgang

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Top 10 New York Times best seller. 

Stylist’s best paperbacks of 2021.

Hello Magazine’s best new books released in 2021.

A girl looking for love....

When Jane, a broke dog-walker newly arrived in town, meets Eddie Rochester, she can’t believe her luck. Eddie is handsome, rich and lives alone in a beautiful mansion since the tragic death of his beloved wife a year ago.

A man who seems perfect....

Eddie can give Jane everything she’s always wanted: stability, acceptance and a picture-perfect life.

A wife who just won’t stay buried.... 

But what Jane doesn’t know is that Eddie is keeping a secret—a big secret. And when the truth comes out, the consequences are far more deadly than anyone could ever have imagined.... 

A delicious twist on a gothic classic, The Wife Upstairs is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware and Shari Lapena.

©2021 Rachel Hawkins (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"I was completely blown away by The Wife Upstairs. This is a compulsive, irresistible retelling of Jane Eyre with a modern, noir twist - and wow, does it work." (Samantha Downing, best-selling author of My Lovely Wife)

"A sharp, fresh twist on a classic in this darkly funny, suspenseful story of murder, ambition and love. Creepy and fast-paced...kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the very last." (Best-selling author Megan Miranda)

"The Wife Upstairs is everything I’d hoped - sharp, smart, tricky and fast-paced." (Kelly Harms, author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler)

Thrilling treat with a delicious twist on the OG

I loved "Reckless Girls" and adored "The Villa" and was so sorry when I came to the end of the latter I started looking for more Rachel Hawkins thrillers and was initially put off when I found this modern day Jane Eyre retelling but as I only remembered the bare bones of the original gothic novel, I decided to give it a go.

I was so delighted I did as I really enjoyed it - though the narrator of Jane made the character very unlikeable as sounded firstly far too old for the character and strangely robotic at times complete with tinny reverb. The other narrators were really lovely but "Jane" was really hard going and I have no idea why such an unsuitable narrator was cast for this, the most important role.

It is testament to the great writing and wonderful storytelling that despite Robo-Jane, I really enjoyed this down to the very last drop, though if "Jane" had not been so abrasive to listen too it would have been 6 stars all around, even though all the characters were rather unpleasant in their own ways.

Kudos for at last having a character adopt a rescue dog as opposed to "buying while shelter dogs die" and giving Adele a happy ever after.

All in all I really enjoyed it and longing for the next Rachel Hawkins thriller with baited breath.

Thé Wife Upstairs

Loved the storyline. Good characters. Unfortunately I did not the very strong language.far to frequently used.

clever

superb thoroughly enjoyed this book. Got lost in the deep south. wish I was starting it again.

Enjoyed story but not the narration.

I enjoyed the story but I didn't enjoy the narration. Her voice didn't feel right to me and it made me dislike Jane more than I feel I would have if I had read the book.

Enjoyable

I liked this novel. It’s easy to dip in and out of but I do agree with another reviewer who said they thought there was too much swearing in it.

Really like it

I really enjoyed this, it was a nice take on Jane Eyre and I enjoyed all the nods to the Bronte novel. I really liked the narration, the main narrator has the ‘mean girls’ inflection down perfectly and she made me laugh out loud more than once just with her tone of voice. Entertaining and enjoyable.

Irritating

A long drawn out story, irritating narrator. Progressed to the end which was hard work.

Gripping

A great read. It kept me transfixed throughout. Gothic with fascinating character portrayals and compelling twists throughout.

gripping

full of intrigue a classic from Paula Hawkins her best yet great character descriptions I really felt as if I knew the area too. my favourite quirk is her compulsion to steal.

Such a great surprise of a story!

l thought The Wife Upstairs was brilliant.
When l first starting listening to the audiobook l thought I'd made a mistake and should have got the physical book. l judged the narrator too quickly and in the end l thought she was fantastic.

There were so many twists and turns. Even when you think the plot twists are over there is another surprise.

l was really invested in the characters. Honestly l listened to the book in one day because l enjoyed it so much!