The Wives

by Tarryn Fisher

New York Times bestselling author Tarryn Fisher delivers a pulse-pounding, fast-paced suspense novel that will leave you breathless. A thriller you won’t be able to put down!

Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.

What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you’ll ever read.

You’ll have to grab a copy to find out why.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Book Club

295 pages, ebook

First published December 30, 2019

About the author

I would like to write a novel that every, single person loves, but not even J.K. Rowling could do that. Instead, I try to write stories that pull on people's emotions. I believe that sadness is the most powerful emotion, and swirled with regret the two become a dominating force. I love villains. Three of my favorites are Mother Gothel, Gaston and the Evil Queen who all suffered from a pretty wicked case of vanity (like me). I like to make these personality types the center of my stories.
I love rain, Coke, Starbucks and sarcasm. I hate bad adjectives and the word "smolder". If you read my book-I love you. If you hate my book-I still love you, but please don't be mean to me; I'm half badass, half cry baby.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three…four….three….four….three…four…Okay stop just give 3.5 rounded up 4 delusional, twist and shout, come on come on come on baby stars!

Dear God, it’s me, not Margaret, oh hell no Chelsea( sorry using the `hell` word), this is Nilufer.( you may call me Nily shortly) I honesty, truly, genuinely ask you because I didn’t find the answer. WTF that I just read?( sorry for my language, I already close my mouth but unfortunately my fingers are still functioning)

This book is devilish, surprising, a greatest brain exercise( you feel like you competed at a 24 hours long mathematics marathon after you finished, let me call this “deep fry brain cell dish”)
I started to question everything after I finished this book. Where am I? Who I am married with? Am I married? Is this a dream? Oh, stop it!

Tarryn Fisher and her evil twin ColHo are so dangerous women for our intellectual minds. Because they can write tear-jerker, pant-melting, heart-breaking, edgy, incredible romances and they can also write mind-bending, twisty thrillers. ( It took me two days to close my mouth and wipe out the shock expression from my face after reading the “ Verity”) They’re definitely dark queens!

What I most liked about this book:

-Hooked me up from the beginning and glued to my hands, my mind! Definitely unputdownable and fast-paced, exciting, perceptive, brilliantly written!

And the remarkable ending! Oh this book shows us karma may be merciless, bitchy but also the fairest friend!
What I most hated about this book:

UNCONNECTION WITH THE HEROINE:
Yes, the heroine you’ve dreamed of cannot be reached at this moment. Try again for another book!
One of the wives and also our heroine Thursday( starting from the name my rejection process has already begun) accepts Seth’s polygamy offer including not to know his other wives’ names and for any other reason never ever to get connect with them.

How a woman accept an offer like this and patiently waits for her husband spending only one day in a week with her? You’re hearing the alarm bells! That’s the first warning about the heroine and it’s not the last one!
She finds out the other wives and realizes that her lovely and legal husband Seth has some anger management issues!

So not only Thursday, but also we got lost! Who’s telling the truth? Thursday? Regina ( first wife who claims she already divorced Seth and they’re not seeing each other), Hannah( pregnant, she has doubts about Seth’s psychological issues who comes from a family reminds us of Mansons) and Seth who acts like decent guy suffering from Thursday’s delusional behaviors.

Well, everybody lies in this book. It’s confusing, puzzling, perplexing, mind-hurting and it’s still a very good-read!

Polygamy idea and unlikeable heroine theme are about to stop me to read this book and I was on the edge of giving three stars but I’m happy to keep on reading in the love of Tarryn Fisher. Thanks to her, I didn’t get disappointed!

Many special thanks to Graydon House and NetGalley for sending me this mind-bending and amazing ARC COPY in exchange my honest review!

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[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Very fast-paced, compulsively-readable and, ultimately, ridiculous.

I'm not even sure how to organize my thoughts on this book. Did I enjoy it? I must have. I didn't want to tear my eyes away from the page. I felt like I needed to know what was going on. It was, I guess, that special kind of deliciously trashy beach read that is ridiculous, unbelievable, and yet impossible to put down. 2 1/2 stars it is then.

It's told from the point of view of a woman whose husband has two other wives. Part of the agreement they have is that she doesn't meet or attempt to make any kind of contact with the other wives. It's not her idea of a perfect marriage, but whose is-- right? She still has a gorgeous and loving husband who comes home to her once a week. The rest of the time... well, she can just pretend he's working away from home.

The secrecy of this situation seemed like an absolute nightmare from the start. I can totally get on board with consensual polyamory - each to their own - but how anyone could trust a partner who kept a whole two thirds of their life hidden away was beyond my comprehension. As I would expect in such a situation, she is curious about the other two wives. When one day she finds a scrap of paper in her husband's pocket with a woman's name on it, she knows she can't let it go.

So she seeks out "Hannah" and becomes her friend, never revealing her true identity. But something is not right. Hannah's husband - her husband - seems to be leaving bruises on Hannah's arms. What follows this discovery is a race to find out who her husband really is, exactly what lies he's been telling, and the identity of the third wife, all before he realizes she's on to him.

There is a point somewhere in the middle of the book where something happens and this story gets turned completely upside down. I'm still unsure how I feel about it. I think it was this that changed the book from a genuinely compelling thriller to something more silly and worthy of the occasional eye roll. After this point, the book got a bit wacky, full of twists that were obvious or fell flat.

MAJOR SPOILER-- I think I ultimately disliked that everything became entwined with Thursday’s delusions. Anything could happen, we could be led to think anything and believe in any number of red herrings, and the author didn’t have to worry about tying up loose ends because everything unexplained could be dismissed as one of her delusions.

Just be aware: those sensitive to discussion of miscarriage and infertility may find this upsetting.

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[ELLIAS (elliasreads) · Rating 1 out of 5]

what. the fuck.

I can’t trust Goodreads reviews anymore because how is this a 4 starred book??!! IM—

I think this is another instance where the most of the people who’ve read from this author— are new to the thriller genre and absolutely love it.

Not meeeeee.

This book’s plot was ridiculous; right to the climax—ridiculous to the point where it’s non-believable. Actually most thrillers are non-believable but there’s a groundness to it, a reality check of plausible believability. But not here, folks. Too many plot holes. Too many what ifs and whys and whats and oh nos. Don’t be fooled. Like I was. Haha....hA....oh man.

Not gonna lie, first half of the book got me intrigued and the writing style is extremely fast paced and engaging but....BUT—

It all just got all downhill from there for me. The rest of this book got extremely cliche and predictable. And then I saw the twist and I was hoping (please), that this twist wasn’t going to be the case....but oh boy. It was.

Our lead girl is also very contradicting herself. She’d realize something wrong and shady but then later either a) brush it off and make up excuses for it or b) forget all that monologuing and deep though contemplating on chapter 15 to do the opposite on chapter 20.

But it all makes sense because......

I canNOT stand when mental illness is used as a twist/plot device. It’s so cheap not to mention degrading and problematic.

And that ending???

Go ahead. ”Help yourself.”
Who knows, you might like it.

1 STAR for writing.

It’s 5 AM as I’m writing this review so time to sleep for another 72 hours and purge my brain of this mess.
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[Colleen Hoover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a few months back and it was everything I've been waiting for from Tarryn Fisher. Not that she hasn't delivered before, but she OVER delivered with this one. About a day after I read it, my mind was still numb. I needed a distraction, so I asked one of my many sons, "Do you know of any apps that can distract me from this callipygian book I just read?"
He said, "TikTok. It's great."
I already had a TikTok account, but it's been a couple of years since I logged on. So I took his advice because I was in desperate need of a distraction.
It's been four months since I read The Wives. This book was the last book I read. I'm not sure I'll ever read another one again because of TikTok. Last night I saw a video of a woman with a split tongue and she was using the two halves of her tongue to clap to the song, "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." Except she was using her tongue to do the "clap clap" part instead of her hands.
Did you know if you have your tongue split in half that it becomes TWO tongues that you control separately?
I would have never known that if it weren't for TikTok.
And if it weren't for The Wives, I would have never logged onto TikTok to begin with.
Five stars. Or ten, if you split them in half.

[Cindy Pham · Rating 1 out of 5]

First half was 3 stars, second half bumped it down to 1 star for relying on a heavy-handed and cheap plot twist and turning into a convoluted and melodramatic soap opera.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confession: I didn’t realize the protagonist’s name was Thursday until the very end of the book.



How did I miss that? I mean, it says it right in the synopsis.



I honestly thought that was just the day her husband slept with her.

And if that statement isn't indication enough, I will just say it, this story was wild. I have to give it credit for being unique.



Thursday is married to Seth. Seth has two other spouses. None of the women know one another, but to Thursday's knowledge they are all living in this arrangement by mutual agreement.

As she grows less and less enamored by the situation, she becomes curious about these other wives.



Upon doing some online research, as you do, she manages to track down his third wife, the youngest and the one currently carrying his baby.

Befriending this young woman, Hannah, under false pretenses, she begins to suspect that Seth may be physically abusive to her. This leads Thursday to finally take off her rose-colored glasses.



There's some fighting, a lot of drama, an inpatient stay at a mental institution; it's a lot to process.

Ultimately, even though I love an unreliable narrator, the ending of this didn't sit right with me. There were a lot of twists and turns along the way, but still something about that ending.



Certainly twisted, so if that is what you love in a Thriller, this one could be right up your alley. Check it out, you never know until you try.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Graydon House Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.



I appreciate the opportunity and this was definitely a wild ride!

[Warda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story went from super intriguing, to stupid, to boring, to more stupid, and then it became downright terrible.

———————————

Pre-reading thoughts! 💭
I can’t wait to see how fucked up this is going to get. 😍

[Yun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whenever I see anything about plural marriages, I'm always fascinated. Let's be honest, one marriage is hard enough... who's got the energy to sign up for more than one at the same time?

Thursday is married to Seth, but he also has two other wives. None of them have ever met or know much about each other. One day, Thursday finds a receipt in Seth's pocket for a woman named Hannah, and she deduces it's one of his other wives. She's so curious and starts digging around. As she does, she realizes that something isn't quite right. So what secrets is Seth hiding? And who are his other wives?

I picked up The Wives more or less on a lark. It had been getting great reviews, the premise is interesting enough, and plural marriages just sealed the deal. And the first half delivered. It was entertaining and interesting, focusing on the mystery of the other wives and what secrets Seth could be hiding.

Then, the book took a left turn and became a different story altogether (at least to me). It started being crazy, with so many convoluted twists, all of which are ridiculous and cannot possibly happen. Even the characters became different people. It feels like the author made a list of the craziest things she could think of, and then wrote them all into the second half. And just when I thought it was over, we are hit with one last parting shot right at the end, just to cement the insanity.

Sigh. I was promised one story, and it was a good one. I was following along, happily reading and anticipating what's to come, and then it zoomed into a completely different direction. In doing so, it abandoned the story I was hoping for. The disappointment of realizing I'll never know what happened in the story I thought I was reading is a sad and unsatisfactory pill to swallow.

[Alex ✰ Comets and Comments ✰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It’s all too perfect, I think. When things are that perfect, something is wrong."



Tarryn Fisher is and always will be one of my all time favourite authors because of The Opportunist. Whilst I am a big fan of her romance novels, The Wives was my first attempt at reading one of her psychological thrillers. This review is going to be slightly problematic because this book was both a mindfuck and a clusterfuck at the same time.

_______________

Dark and Unwavering

My first tip for this book would be to dive in not knowing much. Simply because everything hits ten times harder that way. The plot of TW is quite simple on the surface level, but as each chapter unfolds, you start questioning and doubting nearly every character. The deeper I fell into this story, the darker it became, the more I started feeling uncomfortable and uneasy. It pulled me in right from the start and every time I put it down, I wanted to pick it back up again.

Fisher portrays a complex commentary on the starving feeling of jealousy and envy through this novel that is unparalleled with anything I have ever read before. The storyline dealt with topics such as polygamy, manipulation, insecurities and abuse (not necessarily in that order). It was refreshing to see a different type of suspense, wherein the story grabs you with the obvious more than the mystery. I struggled with the writing at the start, I found the structure to be fragmented and the flow, jarring. It was a lot of "this then I did that then this..." but I soon adapted to it to find that it surprisingly suited the story very well.

"Something’s going on and I feel like I’m the only person in this marriage who doesn’t know what."

The main reason I'm giving this 3 stars is mainly because the latter end of the book lost me slightly. I felt like the twist could have been executed and developed better. The angle it took became very dysfunctional and it felt like the story was trying to squeeze the mindfuck towel dry. So much so that it soon became a clusterfuck. It felt like I was trying to keep up with every characters arc and story involvement that I was lost in the crowd. I also detached from our heroine, Thursday quite often. She was a very dichotomous character and throughout the story, I wanted her to stand up to her opinions and beliefs but she kept letting others treat her badly. There were times where she did in fact come through and push against the "doormat" stereotype but it was always met with a contradiction in her personality.

I do recommend this to anyone that wants to dip their toes into psychological thrillers, or even the regular readers in the genre. I would not throw caution to the wind however because this story can get very dark and gritty at the best of times. It hurt me at times because I empathized with Thursday's plight to its core, I found myself rooting for her situation even though I had my conflicts with her. I wish I could say that the ending left me completley satisfied but I felt like it was a very rushed ending and the story only unfolded in the last 20%. Beyond this, I enjoyed myself and definitely need a light read now.

Credits to the artist of the paintings

The quotes in this review are taken from an ARC and are subject to change preceding final publication.

[Miranda Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thursday has spent her entire life not only saddled with an odd name but also poised on the edge.

Most recently, she's married the guy of her dreams...only to realize that he has other wives. Something-something-Salt Lake City sorta stuff.

And at first, she thought she can handle it. "Monday" and "Tuesday" (as she's nicknamed them) only see her husband a few days a week.

But she knows her role - the wild and fun wife - the one who makes a gorgeous dinner and does what he wants. And for a while...it's enough.

That is...until her curiosity gets the best of her.

Overall, this one was an okay book to me. It certainly had good elements and there were bits that I liked a lot about it but it just kinda fizzled for me.

Fair warning...

The ending really annoyed me. I mean, yes...it took me by surprise but not in a good way. It felt more of a letdown rather than the aha! moment that I wanted.

.

The characters needed more fleshing out for me and the mystery was okay but not the I-need-to-drop-everything-and-read level that I wanted.

Plus...it's one of those books where

Literally everything could be solved if people would just talk to each other like normal functioning human adults.



Ah well. Even though this one wasn't for me, maybe it's for you?

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[Riley · Rating 1 out of 5]

i went into this thinking it would be a 5 star read but no baby no this ain't it

the first half was super promising but then it went soooooo downhill. it had every cliche thriller trope and there were so many plot holes it didn't even make sense

tbh the synopsis of this book is the best thing about it

[Cardan Greenbriar · Rating 1 out of 5]

you know those great ole' days in school when you didn't do your school project probably because you were so lazy and procrastinating but now you're in trouble, the deadline is near, so you ask some of your friends (or maybe they volunteer) to hAlp.
You take different parts of the projects your friends have done, shove them together, give it "your own style" and then present it to your teacher (who btw rolls her eyes)
this is what Taryn Fisher has done
from characters, to plots and even "Her Legendary Plot Twists™ "
and since, i think, Colleen Hoover is her friend, this example fitted perfectly

'Thursday' reminded me of Merit from Without Merit and Lowen from Verity
'Seth' reminded me of Jeremy from Verity and Merit's dad from Without Merit
'Regina' reminded me a bit of Verity from Verity

the infertility and hysterectomy issue was in All Your Perfects
the polygamy was the only thing Taryn incredibly researched *snorts*
but the Delusional (plot twist) part was i guess in The Girl on the Train

so i guess this book was pretty boring and lame

anyway the long review is here
Damn I forgot that I had to write this review

okie here we go
with no hidden spoilers


first of very all, The Wives is in a wrong genre

this book has domestic problems that many polygamist families face and Taryn Fisher shoved it into a novel and called it "Myshtery and Friller"

never-mind

do you wanna read this book? do yourself and favor and don't read the synopsis and don't you even dare think that this book is mysterious
And if you have read the synopsis

Congratulations!!!
you have now understood most of the book!

when i read the summary, i- well because i have common sense- i understood that there's gonna be lots of jealousy in this, probably the husband might be abusive towards his spouses, miscarriages, jealousy related to children, financial problems, psychiatrists and "i am not in a good relationship with my parents because this is America" thingy. Yes thingy.
and you know what? you don't have to be Einstein or John Fish to figure that out. and once you figure that out ....

Congratulations Again!!!! you have now figured out the WHOLE BOOK!

offffff

what is happening to my English.
ok
now characters and plot
Thursday, our beloved (not mine tho) heroine, fell in love with this married sex maniac named Seth.

and then our lovely heroine and Seth eventually get married, after Seth divorces his first wife Regina.
so why did he marry Thursday?
becoz he wanted babies

TADAAA!!!

you see Regina once miscarried and then she went on total birth control, Seth however wanted his own babies so after he seduced Thursday into his life, he semi-dumped his first wife.

and you might be thinking didn't Thursday question his rudeness?
well yes she did, but you see, this assshit came up with a lame excuse and said
" well my dad is a polygamist, so i have a legit reason to be one as well"
to which Thursday went:



but because Seth and Thursday are the most decent human beings in The United States of America they went 'lets not completely break up with the first wife', Seth can visit her every week and keep any type of contact with her

dingdingding

fast-forward many stupid years, Thurs (i'm nicknaming her that's it) got pregnant , and then miscarried, went through a hysterectomy and couldn't have babies at all. Seth was not happy with this and went --

oh you know where this is going don't you?!

and went "so Thurs, now that you're infertile, i guess i have to get a new wife now, oh but don't worry!! you can still be my wife, we won't divorce"
and thus Seth got married to another mega idiot named Hannah
and i have no fucking idea how they managed to do this in the USA these days

whelp

so hannah gets preggers eventually, which technically hurts Thurs emotionally (but she's happy for all of them cuz you know, the protagonist has to be that one that has perfect humanity and stuff)

Now

what goes wrong?
Thurs has been going though a lot, first she had to share the man that she loved with ONE woman, then she lost her fertility and baby, then she had to share the man that she loved with TWO women.
AND ONE OF THEM HAS BLONDE HAIR! WHAT INJUSTICE!
so anyway, all the negative emotions are filled inside Thurs, and after the miscarriage, she is mentally depressed but because of her naive and selfish decisions she now is a balloon which has been filled up with grief, jealousy, sadness, ignorance, revenge, loss, and every terrible emotion which a female protagonist can think of, however the the torture doesn't stop and the balloon fills and fills until finally:



oh and why do i keep on forgetting the legendary plot twist?!
well guess what!
ALL that plot building, ALL that character building, ALL that fucking toxic emotion building for 70% of the book wasssss.... well
Thurs is mentally disturbed/ ill, she's delusional

bitch wot?

why? ok i get it that Tarryn Fisher needs to stuff a plot twist so bad, but why this?
that's like as if you read a book and for several hundred pages it's about dragons, faeries, magic etc. and when you reach 80% the protagonist wakes up and all that fantasy was a dream.
what would you do with that book huh?

by the way, Thurs's mental instability got worse when she lost the child, and if you EVER FOR THE LOVE OF GOD go out in the real world and meet women who have fertility/pregnancy issues you'll find that a significant number of them will be depressed severely or mildly. But that doesn't mean that they're psychos.


but
it was highly predictable
oh come on, this WHOLE plot was
"" Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.""

^^^^^ i mean, this obviously means the things i mentioned about Seth before. tons of crazy ideas must have popped up in your brain the second you read this. unless he was one of those alien lizard freaks people claim Mark Zuckerberg is.

and for those who are really interested in who this pig Seth is
he unfortunately is a homo sapien (which i greatly disagree) who is a manipulative, abusive, sex maniac jerk, with a desire to have his own babies. and for the love of God he is NOT a psycho, he's just a clever jerk
there is difference between a CLEVER JERK AND A PSYCHO
speaking of which, he's also very narrow minded

and Thurs's "mental illness" was just odd, and her friendship with Hannah was also odd and her sympathy towards herself was also odd

i did like the friends in this book though

the writing: fast paced with unnecessary blocks of dialogues

therefore, in conclusion , this book a) isn't a mystery or thriller
b) is -- very unfortunately-- a norm in many polygamist societies. this is shocking of course, but because i have lived in a polygamist society for few years i know that polygamy often come with this hideous package. oh and in case if you're not interested i'm not from a polygamist family.
c) if this is a mystery/ thriller than it should have answered the questions that are born after reading the synopsis not just produce even more questions just because the author left Major plot holes, i mean is Thurs really mentally ill, like when she was a child? what made Seth this way, nature or nurture? did Seth marry Thurs for money or love? why the hell did Regina stick with this arse? and is Hannah really that naive that her hubby is away for more than 5 days a week and she didn't suspect that he could be cheating on her?


and if you r having a severe impulse to strangle all the characters, don't worry it's completely normal because i wanna do that too

p.s. Thursday is a home wrecker

[Meredith (Trying to catch up!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

CONVOLUTED

The Wives is a psychological thriller about a woman in a polygamist marriage.

Thursday married her dream man. He treats her like gold and is the perfect husband. The only flaw is that Seth happens to have two other wives. Thursday is the second wife and only gets to see Seth on Thursdays (yes, her name matches the day of the week she sees her husband). She endures this arrangement to be with the man she loves. However, when Thursday begins digging for information on Seth’s other two wives, she is led down a dangerous rabbit hole forcing her to accept some dark truths about her perfect marriage.

I am fascinated by polygamy and couldn’t wait to see how Thursday and Seth’s marriage worked. Unfortunately, I was disappointed as The Wives focuses more on a messed up relationship than polygamy.

Thursday is an intriguingly unreliable narrator. One must wonder why a woman would subject herself to marrying a man who has two other wives. Her voice goes from unreliable to crazy (not a good crazy) and that is where this book lost me.

I read The Wives over the course of a day. It is easy to read, and Thursday and Seth’s marriage is far from conventional, which made me want to know the dark details hiding behind Thursday’s view of perfection. The first half was addictive, but it took a dive in the second where it becomes unbelievable and chaotic. There are some plot holes in the first half, but they might have been intentional. In the second half, more and more plot holes emerge and some unbelievable twists are revealed turning this book into a convoluted mess.

I would rate the first half of The Wives 4 stars. Part two gets 2 stars, making this a 3 star read for me. It’s good for some unbelievable entertainment but too messy to make an impact as an impressive thriller.

[Bibi · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Spoiler**

My mind feels razed and not in a good way. This was a clusterfuck (a la Mud Vein) with an unreliable narrator whose psychosis wasn't particularly believable. FRTC

[Kaceey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
In your wildest imagination could you ever be content knowing your husband had two other wives?
Are you serious?!
You don’t know them, you don’t live together.
But yet there they are… out there somewhere, sharing time with him.
Could you possibly be satisfied with this bizarre relationship?

“You say I'm crazy
'Cause you don't think I know what you've done.
But when you call me baby
I know I'm not the only one”. - Sam Smith

This was a clever, unpredictable psychological thriller that had me guessing what’s actually real all the way to the end.
I’d just love to tell you more about this book. Seriously! But I know you wouldn’t want me to spill the beans! Right? So...🤫
Again...this is one of those thrillers that the less you know going in. the better! Lucky for me I went in completely blind...and grateful for it!

This was my first read by this author but I will definitely be looking for her next release.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Graydon House Books and Tarryn Fisher for an ARC to read and review.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, I haven’t read a really fantastic thriller for a bit! 🤯 This is one that I couldn’t put down. It kept me guessing throughout and definitely didn’t turn out how I thought it would. 😵 The dramatic polygamous triangle was like reality TV at its finest. 🤗 Definitely recommend this one to my thriller loving friends! ❤️📚

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars....

I really, really wanted to read this book! I had heard so much about it. I got declined for an ARC so what did I do? I ran out and bought it the second I could, and devoured it! So I really loved it...until I did not. This was a really interesting, intriguing, kind of car wreck ..can't look away book, until about the 75% point and then I was like what?! Then it just got too weird, even for me. I can take weird, trust me.

So most of this story is from Thursday's POV. Thursday is wife #2. I really like Thursday, so much so that I want to take her aside and say "look girl you are way too good for this guy, go find someone else, that perhaps I don't know, will be just YOUR husband and not a husband to three women." When I found out that Seth- is a guy that liked to say " I do" way too much, well I didn't like him, at all! I found myself getting madder and madder at Seth the more I found out.

The kicker is the "wives" apparently refer to themselves by the day of the week. Seth spends Monday with his pregnant, young wife so her name is Monday. Then he spends Tuesday with his first wife, so you can guess what her name is. Then there is our girl Thursday....this made me furious!!

Okay so there was a big weird twist at the end and I must admit the author did a fantastic job at getting me with it. I just didn't care for the ending and it made the whole book fall flat for me. Weirdness overload shall we say.

That being said, this book has some fantastic 5 and 4 stars reviews, so give it a try! It is all about your personal take on it all.

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me. A LOT.

The first half of it I was sure I was going to LOVE IT, but then... shit happens, and I didn't like the direction it took.

But I will say this: I absolutely adore Tarryn's way with words. Her writing only improves with every book!

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This damn book! 3.5, 3, no 2 .... I don’t fracking know! Let me just show my thoughts in gifs!!!

















Yeah, a 2.

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Shabby -BookBistroBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confessions Of A Twisted Mind- "When things are that perfect, something is wrong."
TF is a self-confessed "Swirler of Emotions" and the longer the swirl, the tougher it becomes to separate one from the rest. Much like Thursday, whose life is spinning so fast, that events, accidents, emotions and reality is blurring right in front of her eyes. She's in a consensual relationship with a polygamist and totally acceptable of the Other Two Wives called Monday and Tuesday.
"How have I become this docile person, living for Thursdays and the love of a man who divides himself so thinly among three women?"



Typical of TF to pick a controversial and unrelatable topic for majority of readers and yet keep us engrossed till the very end. She's a master of creating layered stories with a seemingly placid surface but her loyal readers can always expect the roiling emotions which swallow you whole in its vortex. Insidious and deceptive, it's a smoke and mirrors story. Secretive clues are scattered like bread crumbs and deciphering them is a full book job. I believe Traci Finlay was TF's sounding board for this particular book and Traci is as mindfuck as they come. And I'd love to see this combo in the near future collaborating on a novel
Back to this one, TF created a strong female protagonist but her psyche has a wrinkle, a fold somewhere deep down. Her reality is askew and vision distorted due to her deep craving for Seth's love and attention. Jealousy giving her a heartburn & she is on a mission to put faces to the names.
As they say- Curiosity killed the cat, things start to go horribly wrong for her as she descends the ladder to the heart of the truth and then for the readers as they watch her go down the unfathomable sinkhole



Throughout the entire story, my heart was pounding hard. I was right next to Thursday in the car, running around Portland and Seattle. I was shocked at what she finds, astounded at what was happening around her, I was swept away by the maelstrom that hits her life and my soul was in tatters as her house crumpled.
The ending was a bit anti- climatic for me.I had figured out the gist of it but was in complete denial, much like Thursday herself.
Seth was always under my microscope and I monitored his movements acutely.
The surprise twist just comes out of left and wollops me in the face
"It was like being halfway down a guy’s pants when he told you he was really a woman."
The thrill never wanes, the dread never diminishes and pulse never slows down. The first chapter tells you it's going to be a disaster of epic proportions, but a train-wreck is always morbidly fascinating to watch.....and so was reading this book
I'm waiting eagerly for the "crawlspace" to go hide in next😁
4.5 stars for Loony Toon In Tonker Town
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[Susanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Can I just say REALLY!?! Or NO, how about just NO!

Let’s face it: “The Wives” by Tarryn Fisher started out strong, really strong and I was loving it. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday? Wowza. That is wild and is definitely not for me but I’m crazy intrigued (at least by the storyline, lol)!

Unfortunately by about 60% the novel just went off the rails. That said, I was still all in.. and it got better (thank gosh) and that was simply because Thursday kept my attention. Heck, I liked her and I believed her! Thursday was heroic, vulnerable and hella interesting. I read on in rapt attention and when I got to the end, I said (outloud, to myself) “Really!? REALLY!!?? You cannot be serious!” (Insert John McEnroe’s voice. “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!, and imagine him throwing his tennis racket down..). I suppose when you get right down to it, I just didn’t believe the ending and it made my eyes roll and roll.

That aside, Tarryn Fisher’s writing throughout the novel was quite strong. Gripping in fact. Her character development was stellar also. I felt for Thursday and wanted more for her. The fact that this novel got to me speaks volumes and for that I must give kudos to Ms. Fisher even though it irked me to no end.

So that’s all folks. That’s all she wrote.

Published on Goodreads on 1.4.20.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thriller mystery. When I went into this book I was really not sure about this one because of all the mixed review, but it has been sitting on my shelf forever so I decided to give it a try. I have to say it was not my favorite thriller, but it was not the worst thriller that I have read. I am not going to sum up the book here in my review, but I will tell you what I really feel about the book. I have to say about the first 40% of the book I really liked it, and I could see greatness in the book. But, the last half of the book went away different way then I seen coming, and I really did not like the way it went. I really hated the ending of the book. I also feel the book let me down because it could have been so good.

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compulsively readable, mind distorting, & ultimately a train wreck!

THE WIVES by TARRYN FISHER is an engaging, fast-paced, dark, gritty, and twisty thriller that had quite the bizarre, intriguing and original premise to it. I was immediately sucked into the story and could not put this book down for the first half of the story. The first half was absolutely unputdownable and had my full attention and then around the 50% mark my attention started to wane a little bit and then well the ending happened, which I wasn’t all that fond of.

I really have this pet-peeve when I feel like certain aspects of the story is deliberately omitted for shock value purposes rather than well-layering and guiding us there. There were also some aspects to the story that really hit a nerve and I thought the author shouldn’t have used certain themes as plot devices and points. I could have totally missed this but I think even the character’s name was deliberately omitted in the beginning to use as a plot device.

I definitely empathize with our main character here and was definitely rooting for her for the most part anyway, even though I had a few issues with her actions and reactions. At times I totally felt for her and at other times I was totally flabbergasted by her. It was definitely one tumultuous, wacky and wild ride!

Expected on Sale Date: December 30, 2019

This was a Traveling Sisters read that I read in our group.

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Suspenseful, vanishing, mysterious, intriguing, and a great representation to storyline. I definitely find this cover quite appealing!
Title: A simple, intriguing, effective, and fitting representation to storyline.
Writing/Prose: Easy to follow, entertaining, suspenseful, engaging and compulsively readable.
Plot: Dark, twisted, disturbing, uncomfortable, edgy, bizarre, interesting, fast-paced, twisty, entertaining, and ultimately ridiculous.
Ending: An unsatisfying twist ending. I think the ending was a little over the top and could have been better executed and developed. I think it’s going to be a case of you either love it or hate it! I’d love to hear what camp you ended up in!!
Overall: I don’t think this was a terrible book by no means and for the most part it was an absolutely unputdownable gripping read. Go ahead and take this one for a ride! Hopefully it’s a wild and thrilling one for you right up until the very end!!

Thank you so much to Harlequin / Graydon House for kindly sending me a copy of this book!

[Holly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

How many wives is too many wives?  

Whaaaat?

I could not put this down for the first 50% and my mind was a swimming. The last half was even crazier and the snarky attitude on point.

Super twisty / Super twisted

I might share a bottle of Pinot Grigio, but NOT my husband. I also wouldn't be keen to be assigned "a day of the week." Poor little Thursday is searching for a polygamy group online and it proves difficult. Where shall she turn? Will she go there? Yep

There is some darkness and a lot of crazy, so just set your expectations to..... I'll just go with the show. Really enjoyed the ride, the ending was a scream and lets say a bit abrupt. I'll leave it at that.

If you can set aside some of the craziness factor and just enjoy, this one might be for you! If not, this may be a skip for you. Give me all the crazy, because I was totally entertained.

 

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

i definitely would have found this more thrilling if it hadnt reminded me so much of greer hendricks’ ‘the wife between us.’

the similarities are so noticeable that i was able to predict the entire last 1/3 of this book. thats not to say this a horrible story - its actually written quite well - its just the familiarity of the plotline made it so i couldnt enjoy the mystery aspect of the novel. plus there are some things that are thrown in just for shock value, not for relevance or plot development, which i found to be a little too much (*cough* the ending *cough*).

regardless of my own personal feelings towards this, i think those who are fans of psychological thrillers will really enjoy the story.

↠ 3 stars

[Larry H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars.

Whoa, now that was a crazy ride!!

“Imagining what the future holds proves difficult when factoring in two other women who share your husband.”

Thursday only sees her husband once a week. It’s not an arrangement she likes, but it’s one she has to live with, since Seth has two other wives. She sometimes can’t believe she agreed to this, and at times she wishes she could just have him to herself.

She’s never met either of the other women. She doesn’t even know their names, although Seth shares small tidbits about each from time to time. But when she finds a piece of paper Seth left behind with one of their names on it, she can’t resist. She scours the internet for information about Hannah, and then one day she plans to “bump in” to her, without telling her who she really is.

Seeing Hannah, and talking to her, doesn’t satisfy Thursday’s curiosity: it makes her angrier, more jealous. And when she discovers something about Hannah and Seth’s relationship that alarms her, it presses Thursday to act.

The Wives is tremendously fast-paced and it gets CRAZY. The first half of the book is really excellent and it draws you in completely. I couldn’t stop reading it even though I wasn’t happy with how Tarryn Fisher ultimately resolved things. I'm tough on thrillers so you may be completely or partially surprised with the way things end up. (I'm being pretty vague in my description of the plot because I don't want to ruin any of the twists.)

If you’re looking for a thriller that will hook you from start to finish, one that will leave you at least slightly breathless, The Wives is one for you!!

This book will publish December 30.

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.

[Brenda ~The Sisters~Book Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocking or shamelessly manipulative, I am not sure which one but it was one fun, dark and twisted read even for this dark and twisted reader.  I think this picky twisted reader might be mellowing out a little here with things that hit a nerve for me. I think Tarryn Fisher might have played into that by kicking it up a notch here with the dark and horrifying behavior.  I think Norma might be picking up some of my pickiness because it seemed to hit a nerve with her and she was left feeling a bit differently here from Lindsay and me.

The Wives started off more of lighter easy read for me and I thought I was in for a smooth, fast read, well, well things took quite the turn halfway and turned quite twisted. I was horrified by the turn it took but couldn't stop reading it.   I feel like in the past this would have been one that might have upset me a bit, but instead, it was Norma who was. While we were discussing this one, she sounded like me and I sounded like her. Is that a sister thing?   Even though the twisted part of me was on alert and I thought something seemed a little odd, I was shocked by the turn the story took. At times it felt manipulative and that added a little fun to the dark here in this story.

After that halfway mark, I couldn't put this one down and I was hiding in different places in the house to read it when I was supposed to be getting ready for Christmas dinner. The ending is something to talk about and we couldn't wait to talk about it. I was left shocked and feeling where did that come from. Were there clues to see that coming? I am not sure there was and I decided I didn't really care.

Traveling Sister read. For Norma and Lindsay thoughts on our blog

https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com/2...

I received a copy from the publisher

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many thoughts about this book, even days after I finished it. Overall, I did enjoy the book and it was certainly a page turner. However, I wasn't entirely happy with the second half of the story. It was one of those instances in which you still feel invested but yet you are also feeling a bit disappointed in the direction the story is headed. So I am left with some conflicted feelings and I wasn't quite sure what rating I wanted to give the book. 3.5 stars might actually be a better rating.

You really don't need a detailed synopsis for this book. Basically it's about a woman named Thursday who is married to a man named Seth. Thursday doesn't get to spend as much time with Seth as she would like because he has two other wives. Say what? Yes, this is a story about a woman that shares her husband with two other women. It's a thriller, that's really all you need to know ahead of time.

I never knew how much I needed a polygamy thriller in my life until I started reading this book. The whole idea of sharing a spouse (and isn't it amazing how it's always a man with multiple wives, and not a female with more than one husband?) is just fascinating to me. Like I don't understand why anyone would want to have this arrangement but hey, if it's between consenting adults, it's not my problem. And that's why I'm glad the author chose to explore some of the issues with plural marriages including what it might be like to love your spouse but also realize the situation is less than ideal.

So I loved the first half of the book and it was easy to see why this book is so popular. I did struggle with the second half though. On one hand, I can appreciate how the author did something different and caught me off guard. But on the other hand, I felt like my bubble was burst after the halfway mark and what had been a fun and exciting story up until that point just turned into a different reading experience. If someone took a photo of me while reading I would have a cheesy, popcorn eating grin on my face for the first half of the book, and then it would be replaced with more of a somber face. However at least the ending wasn't dull and I did have a smirk on my face when I finished reading.

Overall, not a perfect book but one that I do recommend especially as a book club read as there's plenty to discuss here.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

'THE WIVES:' Is a full length, stand alone Psychological Thriller by Tarryn Fisher

Holy shit! I don’t even know how to go about writing up this review! I’m sitting here in awe of this author! Readers after me have no idea what they are getting themselves into!! What a roller coaster of a ride, twists and turns, nail biting, suspenseful heart racing moments. This book was utterly unique, this author is the queen when it comes to stepping out of the box, her knack at throwing stories at us where we sit back and question our own sanity is where she thrives and this book was no different.



I feel like I’ve fallen down a cliff when in fact there’s no cliff to fall over! I can’t even articulate what I’ve just read. Nothing made sense! Just wow!

The synopsis is misleading, the cover is freaky, the writing is outstanding, the twist and turns had me reeling, nothing and I mean nothing prepared me for what unfolded within these pages. Days later and I'm still reeling from the aftermath.

* Teaser used is off the authors facebook page *

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Secrets: I'm good at having them and keeping them.


I almost never read thrillers, but when I saw Tarryn Fisher had a new one out and read the synopsis, I knew I had to get my hands on it. This book was a wild ride. If I had to describe it in one word, that word would be unputdownable. I read this in one 4 hour sitting, I seriously couldn’t put it down!

The Wives is told from Thursday’s perspective. Thursday is the second of three wives to her husband, Seth. Seth spends one night a week with Thursday. He spends other nights with his other wives. The thing is, these wives know about one another, but not their real names or who they are.

One day, everything changes for Thursday. She finds out something troubling about Seth’s third wife, and she learns her name. This takes her on a bit of a quest to find out more and more and more.

As I said before, I was addicted to this book. I couldn’t put it down. It was so fast paced and intriguing. I especially loved the first 70% or so. The last 30% felt a little off to me personally (hence the 4 star rating) but I was still pretty darn shocked by the ending. I did not see that coming.

Even though this isn’t my preferred genre, I love being surprised by twists and turns and this one definitely caught me by surprise. I love that it made me think and wonder what was real and really true and what wasn’t. I might have to pick up more psychological thrillers in my future because I enjoyed reading this so much.

Tarryn Fisher always writes the best characters. They’re imperfect, flawed, and sometimes a straight up mess, but I love the way you hate to love and love to hate them. Her writing is brilliant and I found this book highly entertaining and unpredictable!