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The Replacement Wife
A domestic suspense novel that asks, how many wives and girlfriends should disappear before your family notices?
Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She’s also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiancée, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman’s safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh’s missing fiancée.
Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn’t like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women.
But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh’s new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is really innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family… or is there?
Elisa Wright is a mom and wife, living a nice, quiet life in a nice, quiet town. She’s also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiancée, and though he grieved for them he starts dating someone new. Elisa fears for that woman’s safety, and she desperately wants to know what happened to her friend, Josh’s missing fiancée.
Searching for clues means investigating her own family. And she doesn’t like what she finds. A laptop filled with incriminating information. Other women.
But when Elisa becomes friends with Josh’s new girlfriend and starts to question things she thinks are true, Elisa wonders if the memories of a horrible incident a year ago have finally pushed her over the edge and Josh is really innocent. With so much at stake, Elisa fights off panic attacks and a strange illness. Is it a breakdown or something more? The race is on to get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family… or is there?
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 28, 2021
743 people are currently reading
34912 people want to read
About the author
Darby Kane
11 books1,861 followersDarby Kane is a former divorce lawyer with a dual writing personality. Her debut thriller, PRETTY LITTLE WIFE, was a Book Of The Month pick, #1 international bestseller, and has been optioned for a television series. She also writes romantic suspense and romantic mysteries as HelenKay Dimon.
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January 23, 2024
For Fans of the Netflix Series The Staircase
Family get-togethers are getting a bit awkward when Elisa (married to Harris) confronts Josh (her brother-in-law) about the wake of missing or dead women in his life. Is Josh the most unlucky man in the world? Or did he have some hand in the disappearance or death of these women? Or is Elisa just losing it after her own personal tragedy?
The Replacement Wife is authored by Darby Kane, author of Pretty Little Wife (which I thoroughly enjoyed). This book had a lot of gaslighting in it which is a very difficult subject to accurately portray. In this sense, the mixture of gaslighting and self-doubt make more sense as Elisa is battling with her recent tragedy, still working on finding the right mix of medication to feel normal throughout the day. The Replacement Wife had strong elements from both the Netflix series The Staircase as well as the life of Robert Durst, both cases that I found fascinating.
Two critiques that I had for this book: The main character's name is Elisa. For whatever reason, it takes me forever to pronounce this name. It would take me just as long to read that name than the entire sentence so I started just calling the character E and my reading speed drastically increased. Perhaps the author could change the name? Second, the ending was not as clean as I would have liked it. Not all of my questions were answered. There is also one suggestion that I would have for the author (and who am I to impinge on an author's literary freedom?). In The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, he tied that book to his debut novel, The Silent Patient. It would have been really lovely to tie The Replacement Wife back to Pretty Little Wife.
Overall, a good novel for fans of Pretty Little Wife or arm chair detectives.
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
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Family get-togethers are getting a bit awkward when Elisa (married to Harris) confronts Josh (her brother-in-law) about the wake of missing or dead women in his life. Is Josh the most unlucky man in the world? Or did he have some hand in the disappearance or death of these women? Or is Elisa just losing it after her own personal tragedy?
The Replacement Wife is authored by Darby Kane, author of Pretty Little Wife (which I thoroughly enjoyed). This book had a lot of gaslighting in it which is a very difficult subject to accurately portray. In this sense, the mixture of gaslighting and self-doubt make more sense as Elisa is battling with her recent tragedy, still working on finding the right mix of medication to feel normal throughout the day. The Replacement Wife had strong elements from both the Netflix series The Staircase as well as the life of Robert Durst, both cases that I found fascinating.
Two critiques that I had for this book: The main character's name is Elisa. For whatever reason, it takes me forever to pronounce this name. It would take me just as long to read that name than the entire sentence so I started just calling the character E and my reading speed drastically increased. Perhaps the author could change the name? Second, the ending was not as clean as I would have liked it. Not all of my questions were answered. There is also one suggestion that I would have for the author (and who am I to impinge on an author's literary freedom?). In The Maidens by Alex Michaelides, he tied that book to his debut novel, The Silent Patient. It would have been really lovely to tie The Replacement Wife back to Pretty Little Wife.
Overall, a good novel for fans of Pretty Little Wife or arm chair detectives.
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
January 30, 2022
In the spirit of the season, I’d rather be giving a glowing review to this, but as it is I fear I’ll be more like the Grinch.
Unlike her last book, Pretty Little Wife, which was built around two likable strong female characters, in this book she returns to the age-old, worn out chestnut of a weak, mentally unstable, pill-popping wife, Elisa, as the unreliable female narrator who’s doubted and condescended to by the male MCs - in this case her husband, Harris, and brother-in-law, Josh.
Long story short, Elisa suspects Josh of nefarious things regarding the ladies in his life, past and present, and Harris takes turns being supportive and suspicious of her, while frequently showing deference to his younger brother Josh, who he raised after their parents died. Elisa’s efforts to reveal Josh for who he is puts her in his manipulative path, and that of his current girlfriend, Rachel, whose motives, like Harris, can seem supportive and suspicious in turns.
So - pretend with me - you’re at home trying to enjoy your day, and your possibly psycho brother-in-law and his girlfriend show up unannounced, let themselves in with their spare house key, or end up having dinner at your house seemingly every other day. Any attempt you make to question their behavior results in chastisement from your husband, gaslighting from your brother-in-law, and an inevitable argument and tension-filled evening for everyone.
Got it? Now put that on loop for 400 plus pages with Elisa questioning her sanity at every turn and coming off like yet another perpetual female victim. That is this story for me. The plot had potential but it ended up being too one-note and repetitive, with no characters I could really get behind, and a lackluster ending that ventured close to my much hated Scooby-Doo confessional territory. I admire Elisa trying to make things right, but her stress as a character became my stress as a reader, which I don’t enjoy.
The one saving grace for me with this book was the insights it offered into trauma and how it affects people mentally and physically. I appreciated the effort, but it wasn't enough to change my level of enjoyment.
This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the right book for me. I believe Darby Kane is a good author, and I’ll still enthusiastically want to read her next book, but I hope the female characters will get a little more love next time around!
★★ ½ (rounded to 2)
Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, NetGalley and author Darby Kane for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. It's due for publication on December 28, 2021.
Unlike her last book, Pretty Little Wife, which was built around two likable strong female characters, in this book she returns to the age-old, worn out chestnut of a weak, mentally unstable, pill-popping wife, Elisa, as the unreliable female narrator who’s doubted and condescended to by the male MCs - in this case her husband, Harris, and brother-in-law, Josh.
Long story short, Elisa suspects Josh of nefarious things regarding the ladies in his life, past and present, and Harris takes turns being supportive and suspicious of her, while frequently showing deference to his younger brother Josh, who he raised after their parents died. Elisa’s efforts to reveal Josh for who he is puts her in his manipulative path, and that of his current girlfriend, Rachel, whose motives, like Harris, can seem supportive and suspicious in turns.
So - pretend with me - you’re at home trying to enjoy your day, and your possibly psycho brother-in-law and his girlfriend show up unannounced, let themselves in with their spare house key, or end up having dinner at your house seemingly every other day. Any attempt you make to question their behavior results in chastisement from your husband, gaslighting from your brother-in-law, and an inevitable argument and tension-filled evening for everyone.
Got it? Now put that on loop for 400 plus pages with Elisa questioning her sanity at every turn and coming off like yet another perpetual female victim. That is this story for me. The plot had potential but it ended up being too one-note and repetitive, with no characters I could really get behind, and a lackluster ending that ventured close to my much hated Scooby-Doo confessional territory. I admire Elisa trying to make things right, but her stress as a character became my stress as a reader, which I don’t enjoy.
The one saving grace for me with this book was the insights it offered into trauma and how it affects people mentally and physically. I appreciated the effort, but it wasn't enough to change my level of enjoyment.
This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the right book for me. I believe Darby Kane is a good author, and I’ll still enthusiastically want to read her next book, but I hope the female characters will get a little more love next time around!
★★ ½ (rounded to 2)
Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, NetGalley and author Darby Kane for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. It's due for publication on December 28, 2021.
February 3, 2022
5.0 stars— I am starting to think there might be something wrong with me. After strongly disliking “The Maid” (which was very highly rated by most everyone), I decided to read “The Replacement Wife” (which has received mediocre at best reviews on Goodreads). To say I was fully invested from start to finish would be an understatement. I couldn’t put it down. I knocked out 412 pages in 2.5 days. My wife probably thinks I am dead since I have talked to her so little while I rushed to get to the end of this awesome book. Told from the perspective of Elisa, a woman who starts to believe her husband’s brother is a serial killer, this book slowly builds into a very entertaining mystery. Since Elisa is also dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder from an earlier life-altering event, everyone around her questions her sanity when she begins making accusatory statements about Josh and begins claiming strange things are happening to her which no one else believes. As anyone who has read any of my reviews know — “I love me some unreliable narrator.” This book never disappoints. It is well written and smartly paced. I could not put it down as the author keeps the suspense in play from start to finish. Unlike her first book, I believe Ms. Kane did a great job with the final climactic resolution of the plot. I try not to gush too much in reviews but this book was definitely “gushable worthy.”
May 28, 2022
Whoa! My mind is so dizzy! It’s spinning so fast! I feel the ground move under my feet! What a wild- action packed- crazy ride: filled with manipulation, gaslighting, schemes, lies, delusions!
I devoured this beauty in one sit ( sitting on the edge, squirming, biting neighbors’ borrowed cushions cause I already destroyed my cushions during reading the first chapters )
Character development was great! Especially putting an unreliable narrator in spotlight to tell the story from her distorted version of truth always helps to build high tension mystery quite fascinatingly.
Elise already survived after a traumatic incident at work place ( no more details, you just read the book but I have to admit: it’s something truly devastating, helping you honestly empathize with the heroine) , idolizing her husband Harris, taking care of her quirky, lovely son Nathan.
The incident she still suffers affecting her normal life routines, giving her panic attacks, forcing her stay at home, creating her own safe cocoon. This also creates a new kind of obsession: her brother in law’s fiancée Abby was her close friend and she’s missing now! She thinks her brother in law did something to her!
We learn more about family dynamics of trio: Harris equally shares his love between his wife and baby brother like a good caretaker.
Harris and Josh lost their parents at young ages and Harris became second father of Josh, protecting him from his shameful, problematic past. He cleans everything as his brother keeps screwing things.
Nathan also does everything to help his wife Elise after her big breakdown, caring their son, being supportive husband.
Josh married with Candace for five and half years,till she died on the stairs of their new house which presumed as accident. Then he started dating with Abby, deciding to tie the knot. But then Abby dumps him, vanishing into thin air. Nobody hears from her. And Elise believes Abby never disappears without saying goodbye to her. She’s worrying about her well being.
And now Josh brings a new girlfriend named Rachel to the family. Elise’s obsession about finding her missing friend, protecting Rachel by befriending her and proving the guilt of Josh put her life into whirlwind direction. Even her husband starts thinking something is truly wrong about her!
Why Elise is always dizzy? Is she really paranoid as like Josh points out? Is Rachel’s life also in danger? Or somebody from inner circle play games with Elise? What if everything is inside of her head? What if she cannot differentiate the thin line between where the delusions start and reality ends?
Overall: the conclusion can be foreseeable but I liked some of twists, engaging writing style, unhinged, unreliable heroine which earned my four well written, suspicious, delicious mystery stars!
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
I devoured this beauty in one sit ( sitting on the edge, squirming, biting neighbors’ borrowed cushions cause I already destroyed my cushions during reading the first chapters )
Character development was great! Especially putting an unreliable narrator in spotlight to tell the story from her distorted version of truth always helps to build high tension mystery quite fascinatingly.
Elise already survived after a traumatic incident at work place ( no more details, you just read the book but I have to admit: it’s something truly devastating, helping you honestly empathize with the heroine) , idolizing her husband Harris, taking care of her quirky, lovely son Nathan.
The incident she still suffers affecting her normal life routines, giving her panic attacks, forcing her stay at home, creating her own safe cocoon. This also creates a new kind of obsession: her brother in law’s fiancée Abby was her close friend and she’s missing now! She thinks her brother in law did something to her!
We learn more about family dynamics of trio: Harris equally shares his love between his wife and baby brother like a good caretaker.
Harris and Josh lost their parents at young ages and Harris became second father of Josh, protecting him from his shameful, problematic past. He cleans everything as his brother keeps screwing things.
Nathan also does everything to help his wife Elise after her big breakdown, caring their son, being supportive husband.
Josh married with Candace for five and half years,till she died on the stairs of their new house which presumed as accident. Then he started dating with Abby, deciding to tie the knot. But then Abby dumps him, vanishing into thin air. Nobody hears from her. And Elise believes Abby never disappears without saying goodbye to her. She’s worrying about her well being.
And now Josh brings a new girlfriend named Rachel to the family. Elise’s obsession about finding her missing friend, protecting Rachel by befriending her and proving the guilt of Josh put her life into whirlwind direction. Even her husband starts thinking something is truly wrong about her!
Why Elise is always dizzy? Is she really paranoid as like Josh points out? Is Rachel’s life also in danger? Or somebody from inner circle play games with Elise? What if everything is inside of her head? What if she cannot differentiate the thin line between where the delusions start and reality ends?
Overall: the conclusion can be foreseeable but I liked some of twists, engaging writing style, unhinged, unreliable heroine which earned my four well written, suspicious, delicious mystery stars!
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
November 21, 2021
Is Josh severely unlucky in love? Or is he a lady killer?
His sister-in-law, Elisa, thinks the latter. Josh has a dead wife and a missing fiance. On top of that, he now has a new girlfriend. His missing fiance, Abby, is one of Elisa’s best friends, and she’s certain there’s no way Abby would leave town without saying anything to her.
So Elisa hunts for clues, while dealing with PTSD for something traumatic that happened to her a year prior. She becomes friendly with Josh’s current girlfriend, Rachel, as the rest of her life seems to implode. Is she imagining the worst in Josh...causing herself to have panic attacks over nothing? Or is someone trying to drive her over the edge?
This was a mostly entertaining read with short chapters and an interesting premise, but it is definitely not on par with Pretty Little Wife. the debut novel written under Kane’s pseudonym. In fact, I can’t even believe it’s the same author. Pretty Little Wife was one of my favorite reads last year, and this does NOT compare in the slightest.
Almost all (okay, actually all) of the characters were annoying and highly unlikable. In addition, the trope of possibly unreliable narrator is taken to the extreme. I don’t mind the trope, but this was a bit much. There’s also a fair amount of gaslighting going on, and it’s unbelievable to me that only one character is aware of it. Apparently, ignorance is bliss. Round that out with corny dialogue (a pet peeve of mine) and a lackluster ending.
And yet, as previously stated, I was entertained and eager enough to know how the story would wrap up. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one, but I’m still highly anticipating Kane’s next release.
2.5 stars.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 12/28/21.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
His sister-in-law, Elisa, thinks the latter. Josh has a dead wife and a missing fiance. On top of that, he now has a new girlfriend. His missing fiance, Abby, is one of Elisa’s best friends, and she’s certain there’s no way Abby would leave town without saying anything to her.
So Elisa hunts for clues, while dealing with PTSD for something traumatic that happened to her a year prior. She becomes friendly with Josh’s current girlfriend, Rachel, as the rest of her life seems to implode. Is she imagining the worst in Josh...causing herself to have panic attacks over nothing? Or is someone trying to drive her over the edge?
This was a mostly entertaining read with short chapters and an interesting premise, but it is definitely not on par with Pretty Little Wife. the debut novel written under Kane’s pseudonym. In fact, I can’t even believe it’s the same author. Pretty Little Wife was one of my favorite reads last year, and this does NOT compare in the slightest.
Almost all (okay, actually all) of the characters were annoying and highly unlikable. In addition, the trope of possibly unreliable narrator is taken to the extreme. I don’t mind the trope, but this was a bit much. There’s also a fair amount of gaslighting going on, and it’s unbelievable to me that only one character is aware of it. Apparently, ignorance is bliss. Round that out with corny dialogue (a pet peeve of mine) and a lackluster ending.
And yet, as previously stated, I was entertained and eager enough to know how the story would wrap up. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one, but I’m still highly anticipating Kane’s next release.
2.5 stars.
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 12/28/21.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
August 30, 2021
3.5 STARS
A popcorn thriller.
Here a wife, there a wife, everywhere a wife!
My first by the author, although I am planning to read her debut .
If you love an unreliable narrator, you may just be in for a good time. Someone is scheming and they are in the driver's seat (or so they think).
Elisa thinks her brother in law is a killer. He has a checkered past, including the death of a wife and a missing fiancee. She decides she needs to put her detective hat on and get to the bottom of her suspicions.
You never really know who is being truthful, spying is going on, manipulation, gaslighting, anxiety, and paranoia. I did feel there was a lot going on with a few of the characters (too much really). Nothing ground breaking here, though you'll get your twists and gasps and I know I laughed out loud more than once. The ending was suspenseful, but left me shaking my head.
Go ahead grab your far-fetched glasses, bowl of overflowing popcorn and settle in for quick read. Did I say OTT?
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my early review copy! OUT 12/28/21
A popcorn thriller.
Here a wife, there a wife, everywhere a wife!
My first by the author, although I am planning to read her debut .
If you love an unreliable narrator, you may just be in for a good time. Someone is scheming and they are in the driver's seat (or so they think).
Elisa thinks her brother in law is a killer. He has a checkered past, including the death of a wife and a missing fiancee. She decides she needs to put her detective hat on and get to the bottom of her suspicions.
You never really know who is being truthful, spying is going on, manipulation, gaslighting, anxiety, and paranoia. I did feel there was a lot going on with a few of the characters (too much really). Nothing ground breaking here, though you'll get your twists and gasps and I know I laughed out loud more than once. The ending was suspenseful, but left me shaking my head.
Go ahead grab your far-fetched glasses, bowl of overflowing popcorn and settle in for quick read. Did I say OTT?
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my early review copy! OUT 12/28/21
December 1, 2021
I had really been looking forward to reading this one as I was absolutely captivated by last year's Pretty Little Wife. Although Kane's latest book has many twists and turns, its plot is so soap opera-ish and unbelievable that readers will just have to go with it and not expect too much.
Elisa has started to believe that her brother-in-law Josh is a murderer. His wife was killed in a home accident, and now his fiancée Abby, a close friend of Elisa's, has disappeared. Everyone, including Elisa's husband Harris, thinks Elisa is imagining things and that Abby just walked away from the relationship. When Josh announces he's been dating Rachel for three months and wants to introduce her to the family, Elisa knows that she needs to befriend Rachel to protect her from Josh.
This is a book filled to the brim with unlikable characters. Josh is slimy, Harris is a clueless doormat, and Elisa is just too hysterical and paranoid for me to form any sort of connection with her. This is despite some horrific things having happened to her in the past. There are definitely a few surprises, but I never really bought the motivations of most of the characters for the things they were doing. And don't get me started on the inept police...
If you're in the mood for a suspense novel where you just have to go with it and suspend your logic, then you might enjoy The Replacement Wife.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Elisa has started to believe that her brother-in-law Josh is a murderer. His wife was killed in a home accident, and now his fiancée Abby, a close friend of Elisa's, has disappeared. Everyone, including Elisa's husband Harris, thinks Elisa is imagining things and that Abby just walked away from the relationship. When Josh announces he's been dating Rachel for three months and wants to introduce her to the family, Elisa knows that she needs to befriend Rachel to protect her from Josh.
This is a book filled to the brim with unlikable characters. Josh is slimy, Harris is a clueless doormat, and Elisa is just too hysterical and paranoid for me to form any sort of connection with her. This is despite some horrific things having happened to her in the past. There are definitely a few surprises, but I never really bought the motivations of most of the characters for the things they were doing. And don't get me started on the inept police...
If you're in the mood for a suspense novel where you just have to go with it and suspend your logic, then you might enjoy The Replacement Wife.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
October 30, 2021
Excerpt: “Another family dinner. This one on a random Thursday evening in mid-September. Same kitchen. Same table with the wobbly leg. Same people. One husband. One seven year old boy who hated anything that wasn’t a chicken nugget. One brother-in-law (Josh) who might be a killer.
Elisa Wright looked across her kitchen table over the pile of mashed potatoes and the stack of homemade dinner rolls, and thought to herself -MURDERER.”
It was bad enough that his first wife, Candace died-but when HER friend Abby, his fiancé, disappeared as well, and he has already moved on to Rachel, less than a year later-she starts to see a pattern. Why doesn’t anyone else? Will Rachel be next when he tires of her?
This started out FUN!
But, what began with such potential kind of unraveled for me.
Elisa had a something happen to her recently which makes her question herself-and I wish that had been fleshed out more, instead of resorting to the often used “pills and gaslighting” as excuses. As she continues to fight through other’s doubt, and searches for answers, she uncovers some interesting things-
Turns out, that Elisa may not be the only woman who wants to expose JOSH for what he is-but the lengths EACH of them will go to-to do so- are just TOO over the top-the motivations for their behavior were WEAK.
I couldn’t buy in-even with allowing for some suspension of disbelief required for the genre.
Engaging writing will keep me reading Darby Kane’s work, but this book left me wanting more.
A buddy read with DeAnn-check out her thoughts on her terrific review!
Thank You William Morrow for my gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review! AVAILABLE December, 7, 2021.,
Elisa Wright looked across her kitchen table over the pile of mashed potatoes and the stack of homemade dinner rolls, and thought to herself -MURDERER.”
It was bad enough that his first wife, Candace died-but when HER friend Abby, his fiancé, disappeared as well, and he has already moved on to Rachel, less than a year later-she starts to see a pattern. Why doesn’t anyone else? Will Rachel be next when he tires of her?
This started out FUN!
But, what began with such potential kind of unraveled for me.
Elisa had a something happen to her recently which makes her question herself-and I wish that had been fleshed out more, instead of resorting to the often used “pills and gaslighting” as excuses. As she continues to fight through other’s doubt, and searches for answers, she uncovers some interesting things-
Turns out, that Elisa may not be the only woman who wants to expose JOSH for what he is-but the lengths EACH of them will go to-to do so- are just TOO over the top-the motivations for their behavior were WEAK.
I couldn’t buy in-even with allowing for some suspension of disbelief required for the genre.
Engaging writing will keep me reading Darby Kane’s work, but this book left me wanting more.
A buddy read with DeAnn-check out her thoughts on her terrific review!
Thank You William Morrow for my gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review! AVAILABLE December, 7, 2021.,
February 22, 2022
Once again, I found myself being on the polar opposite of the majority. I was so entertained by this one. I'm not sure if it was Elisa and her mind chaos or the audible which was fantastic!
Elisa Wright is a mother and a wife. Something horrible happened to her about a year ago and she is plagued by PTSD and anxiety attacks. She doesn't like to leave a certain radius around her home because she can get a panic attack. Elisa is also a good sister-in-law to Josh. Josh has been unlucky in love. His wife died and his fiancee, Abby, disappeared. Elisa likes to do nice things for him. She cares for him like a brother. She goes to his home to set up a cleaning appointment when she finds Abby's computer. In it, she finds incriminating information about Josh.
How to prove Josh is a serial killer when your mind can be playing tricks on you and paranoia can be part of your looming soon-to-happen breakdown?
Not easy to make it simple. Especially when your husband who is a vet (one positive on Harris) loves his brother Josh dearly and will never believe he has done anything wrong.
Then, Josh is dating a new woman, Rachel, who seems friendly enough. Elisa starts fearing for her life. She doesn't want another woman to succumb to his claws because no one is stopping Josh. Elisa knows she must prove beyond a reason of a doubt what monster he really is. Yet, she is plagued by doubts. Is he gaslighting her? and who is the red hair woman she sees everywhere?
I enjoyed the ride and despite thinking that Elisa should have done some things differently, like changing the locks in her home, I went with the flow.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by William Morrow Paperbacks via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Elisa Wright is a mother and a wife. Something horrible happened to her about a year ago and she is plagued by PTSD and anxiety attacks. She doesn't like to leave a certain radius around her home because she can get a panic attack. Elisa is also a good sister-in-law to Josh. Josh has been unlucky in love. His wife died and his fiancee, Abby, disappeared. Elisa likes to do nice things for him. She cares for him like a brother. She goes to his home to set up a cleaning appointment when she finds Abby's computer. In it, she finds incriminating information about Josh.
How to prove Josh is a serial killer when your mind can be playing tricks on you and paranoia can be part of your looming soon-to-happen breakdown?
Not easy to make it simple. Especially when your husband who is a vet (one positive on Harris) loves his brother Josh dearly and will never believe he has done anything wrong.
Then, Josh is dating a new woman, Rachel, who seems friendly enough. Elisa starts fearing for her life. She doesn't want another woman to succumb to his claws because no one is stopping Josh. Elisa knows she must prove beyond a reason of a doubt what monster he really is. Yet, she is plagued by doubts. Is he gaslighting her? and who is the red hair woman she sees everywhere?
I enjoyed the ride and despite thinking that Elisa should have done some things differently, like changing the locks in her home, I went with the flow.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by William Morrow Paperbacks via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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May 6, 2022
This book was one I’d brushed-off for the longest time. As much as I enjoy this author, and for no real reason, kept pushing it aside for other reads. Finally, once the audio version was released I thought it might help spark my interest.
Sadly…nope. This book just didn’t work for me from any angle.
Elisa hasn’t stopped wondering what happened to her brother-in-laws’ fiancée. She mysteriously vanished and he doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. Hmmm…does that sound right to you? Me either. She soon discovers this isn’t the first time something happened to other women in his life. Skeletons keep piling up as she pries open his closet door!🦴🦴
I just couldn’t bring myself to warm up to Elisa in any way. And her husband and brother-in-law were equally despicable. Leaving me with no one to connect with or root for.
I really enjoyed the previous book by this author so I will definitely be picking up her next.
A buddy read with Susanne that left us both disappointed.☹️
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House
Sadly…nope. This book just didn’t work for me from any angle.
Elisa hasn’t stopped wondering what happened to her brother-in-laws’ fiancée. She mysteriously vanished and he doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. Hmmm…does that sound right to you? Me either. She soon discovers this isn’t the first time something happened to other women in his life. Skeletons keep piling up as she pries open his closet door!🦴🦴
I just couldn’t bring myself to warm up to Elisa in any way. And her husband and brother-in-law were equally despicable. Leaving me with no one to connect with or root for.
I really enjoyed the previous book by this author so I will definitely be picking up her next.
A buddy read with Susanne that left us both disappointed.☹️
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House
November 7, 2021
“Josh. The man literally had women tucked away everywhere. Some dead. Some alive. Some missing. Elisa needed a scorecard because keeping track was becoming somewhat daunting.”
My thoughts exactly, Elisa! The premise of this book was completely unbelievable and the reveal even more absurd.
After surviving the shooting of her friend and colleague at work, Elisa is suffering from PTSD. However, instead of focusing on healing, she convinces herself that her brother-in-law Josh murdered his multiple wives and girlfriends. She is also followed and spied upon by a red-headed woman. Or is she? No one believes her story. Is she just paranoid? Is Josh really just a victim of bad luck and a series of unfortunate accidents?
This book was absolutely ridiculous. It was way too long and the writing was very simplistic and overly repetitive. Literally nothing new happened for hundreds of pages. Dinner after dinner with Josh and Rachel. I basically forced myself to get through this book so that I could write an honest review. I am trying to find something nice to say about this, but the only positive things were the adorable cats named Fuzz and Buzz. I am shocked that this book is by the same author who wrote Pretty Little Wife, which I really enjoyed.
Unfortunately, The Replacement Wife really missed the mark for me.
1/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for the ARC of The Replacement Wife in exchange for an honest review.
My thoughts exactly, Elisa! The premise of this book was completely unbelievable and the reveal even more absurd.
After surviving the shooting of her friend and colleague at work, Elisa is suffering from PTSD. However, instead of focusing on healing, she convinces herself that her brother-in-law Josh murdered his multiple wives and girlfriends. She is also followed and spied upon by a red-headed woman. Or is she? No one believes her story. Is she just paranoid? Is Josh really just a victim of bad luck and a series of unfortunate accidents?
This book was absolutely ridiculous. It was way too long and the writing was very simplistic and overly repetitive. Literally nothing new happened for hundreds of pages. Dinner after dinner with Josh and Rachel. I basically forced myself to get through this book so that I could write an honest review. I am trying to find something nice to say about this, but the only positive things were the adorable cats named Fuzz and Buzz. I am shocked that this book is by the same author who wrote Pretty Little Wife, which I really enjoyed.
Unfortunately, The Replacement Wife really missed the mark for me.
1/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for the ARC of The Replacement Wife in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2022
Poor Elisa! The gaslighting was awful! Why do we gotta make women constantly question their own sanity? It’s even worse when the people who claim to love you don’t quite express it the way it’s supposed to be expressed. Elisa had to go through all these things for most of the book, and that’s when it starts to get repetitive. After seeing the same thing happen over again and again in different chapters I kept asking “Didn’t we already go through this shit?”
Elisa is pretty sure there is something not quite right about Josh, her brother-in-law. His record with women is a bit suspicious, but what is actually going on? Her husband was horrible! What the heck? My man kept yelling at her like a child. We did not like him.
Start a story like that, and boom, you got my attention. Keeping my attention throughout the book though, not that easy, and this book did not have that luck. I think the story was not very original in my opinion. A woman noticing something that most people should have noticed, and is told she is crazy because of something in her past that affected her mental health? I swear I’ve read that before. I’m pretty sure everyone has read, seen, or heard that somewhere before. And hey, it’s okay to use something that we’ve seen in other books, but you have to at least make it really interesting and show us why this book is different from other books with allegedly crazy women. Of course, I have never written a book in my life so feel free to totally disregard my opinion.
Elisa is pretty sure there is something not quite right about Josh, her brother-in-law. His record with women is a bit suspicious, but what is actually going on? Her husband was horrible! What the heck? My man kept yelling at her like a child. We did not like him.
Start a story like that, and boom, you got my attention. Keeping my attention throughout the book though, not that easy, and this book did not have that luck. I think the story was not very original in my opinion. A woman noticing something that most people should have noticed, and is told she is crazy because of something in her past that affected her mental health? I swear I’ve read that before. I’m pretty sure everyone has read, seen, or heard that somewhere before. And hey, it’s okay to use something that we’ve seen in other books, but you have to at least make it really interesting and show us why this book is different from other books with allegedly crazy women. Of course, I have never written a book in my life so feel free to totally disregard my opinion.
September 14, 2021
A year ago, Elisa Wright had a picture perfect life. A loving and supportive husband, a wonderful child, and a brother in law engaged to one of her good friends. But after the fiancee Abby vanishes without a trace, Elisa is left wondering why she's the only one who seems to suspect anything is amiss. Josh, the brother in law, is convinced Abby leaving was merely a dramatic way to break up with him. But surely she wouldn't abandon her friends and the rest of her life too, would she? It never quite sat right with Elisa, but the police investigation didn't turn up anything. It's not until she finds some suspicious items Abby left behind, and Josh shows up with a serious girlfriend that seems to have appeared out of nowhere that Elisa starts to suspect Josh may in fact be a murderer. After all, Abby wasn’t the first woman in his life who is no longer with us…
This was a hard one for me to read and review. I really enjoyed Darby Kane's debut and despite a few problems with it, I was looking forward to her next book. So much so in fact that I glossed over the mentions of panic attacks and a breakdown in the blurb. That is my own fault and I own that. If you are like me and do not enjoy "maybe crazy" unreliable female characters and those who gaslight them, I cannot recommend this. I was hoping this would be more about a woman slowly uncovering a mystery and less a fairly one-note main character (does she have a personality that isn't trauma survivor?) wading through panic attacks and possibly on pills she doesn't remember taking.
Reading this felt like I was underwater. And I'll give credit where it's due for that. Kane did in fact very effectively evoke strong feelings of panic, confusion, and self-doubt. This reader simply isn't one who enjoys that. I also don't enjoy characters whose actions don't make sense or bond villain style expository monologues, both of which also feature here. So I want to be fair and acknowledge that a lot of my problems stemmed from simply being the wrong reader for the book.
I found the whole thing to be predictable, repetitive, and frustrating to read. If it wasn't an ARC, I would not have finished it. Other people seem to have enjoyed it much more than me, so I'd urge you to check out their reviews as a counterpoint.
Available December 28, 2021.
I do want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the opportunity to review this title. Hopefully the next one will be a better fit!
This was a hard one for me to read and review. I really enjoyed Darby Kane's debut and despite a few problems with it, I was looking forward to her next book. So much so in fact that I glossed over the mentions of panic attacks and a breakdown in the blurb. That is my own fault and I own that. If you are like me and do not enjoy "maybe crazy" unreliable female characters and those who gaslight them, I cannot recommend this. I was hoping this would be more about a woman slowly uncovering a mystery and less a fairly one-note main character (does she have a personality that isn't trauma survivor?) wading through panic attacks and possibly on pills she doesn't remember taking.
Reading this felt like I was underwater. And I'll give credit where it's due for that. Kane did in fact very effectively evoke strong feelings of panic, confusion, and self-doubt. This reader simply isn't one who enjoys that. I also don't enjoy characters whose actions don't make sense or bond villain style expository monologues, both of which also feature here. So I want to be fair and acknowledge that a lot of my problems stemmed from simply being the wrong reader for the book.
I found the whole thing to be predictable, repetitive, and frustrating to read. If it wasn't an ARC, I would not have finished it. Other people seem to have enjoyed it much more than me, so I'd urge you to check out their reviews as a counterpoint.
Available December 28, 2021.
I do want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the opportunity to review this title. Hopefully the next one will be a better fit!
November 17, 2021
Here we have a tale of Elisa, our unreliable pill popping narrator with PTSD from a past trauma, as she tries to convince anyone that will listen to her that her brother-in-law, Josh, is a murderer.
Of course no believes her including her husband, Harris, who just happens to be Josh's brother.
I'll admit I was entertained and didn't ever feel like putting this down but it never really wowed me either. While I felt for Elisa's situation I never really grew to care for her. I, personally, didn't think there were any shocking reveals. The most shocking thing was the reasoning behind the motive. I couldn't imagine anybody doing all of this for the reason that was given. In the end this book blends in with so many other books in this genre that I will likely forget all about this story in a few days. I have a feeling that new readers of psychological thrillers will get many more thrills than I did. 3.5 stars!
Thank you to Scene of the Crime, NetGalley, and William Morrow for my complimentary copy.
Of course no believes her including her husband, Harris, who just happens to be Josh's brother.
I'll admit I was entertained and didn't ever feel like putting this down but it never really wowed me either. While I felt for Elisa's situation I never really grew to care for her. I, personally, didn't think there were any shocking reveals. The most shocking thing was the reasoning behind the motive. I couldn't imagine anybody doing all of this for the reason that was given. In the end this book blends in with so many other books in this genre that I will likely forget all about this story in a few days. I have a feeling that new readers of psychological thrillers will get many more thrills than I did. 3.5 stars!
Thank you to Scene of the Crime, NetGalley, and William Morrow for my complimentary copy.
January 3, 2022
Josh seems to be a man who is very unlucky when it comes to love. His first wife Candace died when she fell and hit her head after they’d only been married for five years. Now his fiancé Abby has disappeared. Josh claims she must have got cold feet about the wedding and run away. However, no one has heard from her for seven months and her best friend Elisa, married to Josh’s older brother Harris, can’t accept that Abby would cut all ties to her too and not answer her calls or emails. When she finds out the supposedly grieving Josh has a new girlfriend, who he has been dating for months, her suspicions that Josh is involved in Abby’s disappearance are fuelled even further.
The problem is that no one will listen to Elisa’s concerns. A year ago she was involved in a very traumatic shooting at the hospital where she worked and since then has been prone to panic attacks and scared to leave the house. She suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and her brain feels foggy even though her medication shouldn’t be having that effect by now. When it comes to younger brother Josh, Harris has blinkers on and doesn’t support his wife’s fears that Josh is involved in her friend’s disappearance. Josh is extremely talented at deflecting blame onto others as well convincing others that Elisa is confused to the point where she also starts to doubt her own perception of events. This all makes her into a very unreliable narrator and leaves the reader wondering what is really going on.
Although, the premise for the novel is compelling, the pacing is slow and the plot drags somewhat as Elisa’s is the main voice we hear and it does become rather repetitive. An occasional chapter from an unknown narrator is intriguing and alerts us to the fact that someone else has plans for Josh. Although considering himself a ladies’ man and a smooth operator, Josh is clearly unlikeable and untrustworthy and his continued gaslighting of Elisa becomes annoying, as does Harris’ support of Josh rather than Elisa, especillay in light of further revelations about Josh’s past. While the ending tied up a lot of threads, it felt sudden and contrived and not all that convincing. However, the novel is an entertaining mystery that keeps you guessing and would make a perfect holiday read. 3.5★
With thanks to William Morrow & Custom House and Netgalley for a copy to read. This original review was also posted in Mystery & Suspense Magazine https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...
The problem is that no one will listen to Elisa’s concerns. A year ago she was involved in a very traumatic shooting at the hospital where she worked and since then has been prone to panic attacks and scared to leave the house. She suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and her brain feels foggy even though her medication shouldn’t be having that effect by now. When it comes to younger brother Josh, Harris has blinkers on and doesn’t support his wife’s fears that Josh is involved in her friend’s disappearance. Josh is extremely talented at deflecting blame onto others as well convincing others that Elisa is confused to the point where she also starts to doubt her own perception of events. This all makes her into a very unreliable narrator and leaves the reader wondering what is really going on.
Although, the premise for the novel is compelling, the pacing is slow and the plot drags somewhat as Elisa’s is the main voice we hear and it does become rather repetitive. An occasional chapter from an unknown narrator is intriguing and alerts us to the fact that someone else has plans for Josh. Although considering himself a ladies’ man and a smooth operator, Josh is clearly unlikeable and untrustworthy and his continued gaslighting of Elisa becomes annoying, as does Harris’ support of Josh rather than Elisa, especillay in light of further revelations about Josh’s past. While the ending tied up a lot of threads, it felt sudden and contrived and not all that convincing. However, the novel is an entertaining mystery that keeps you guessing and would make a perfect holiday read. 3.5★
With thanks to William Morrow & Custom House and Netgalley for a copy to read. This original review was also posted in Mystery & Suspense Magazine https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...
January 17, 2022
It's Darby Kane for the win again! I loved Pretty Little Wife and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one! What a page turner this was!
Elisa knows he is a killer...she is sure of it...she just can't prove it. 🤷♀️Why is she the only ones that sees this?? 🤔When her BFF goes missing..she knows darn well that Josh is behind it. 🤨In fact...Josh isn't even concerned that his fiancee Abby is missing. .....He proves it by bringing home a new girlfriend.😳
This really had me from the very first page. While Pretty Little Wife is still my favorite...I really enjoyed this one also!! It kept me guessing all the way to the end. Unreliable narrator? Yes please! 😂🙋♀️I had no idea if I should be buying what Elisa was selling...but I was all in! ❤️
Thank you William Morrow for my gifted copy.🥰🥰🥰
Elisa knows he is a killer...she is sure of it...she just can't prove it. 🤷♀️Why is she the only ones that sees this?? 🤔When her BFF goes missing..she knows darn well that Josh is behind it. 🤨In fact...Josh isn't even concerned that his fiancee Abby is missing. .....He proves it by bringing home a new girlfriend.😳
This really had me from the very first page. While Pretty Little Wife is still my favorite...I really enjoyed this one also!! It kept me guessing all the way to the end. Unreliable narrator? Yes please! 😂🙋♀️I had no idea if I should be buying what Elisa was selling...but I was all in! ❤️
Thank you William Morrow for my gifted copy.🥰🥰🥰
May 25, 2022
Actual Stars 2.5-3
I’ve heard such great things about Darby Kane’s Pretty Little Wife. So I was ecstatic to win The Replacement Wife on Bookstagram from my friend Kate at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
Unfortunately after actually reading it, I think this might not have been the best book to start with.
Elisa is getting over a serious tragedy that took place almost a year ago now. She is a wife and mother to a young child, so for everyone’s sake she is slowly trying put her life back together. It hasn’t been easy but she’s feeling semi back to normal. That is until she finds evidence that her brother-in-law Josh might not be the man she thought he was, he might in all actuality be a murderer.
Sure Josh has had some bad luck with women. His wife died from a home accident and his recent fiancé went missing with no trace several months ago. But Elisa always thought of Josh as a good guy. He truly mourned losing his significant others. That is until she finds evidence that his wife’s death might not have been an accident after all. And his missing fiancé might not have left on her own because of pre-wedding jitters. And now there are even more women popping out of the woodwork.
Josh brings home his newest girlfriend Rachel. Elisa’s concern for Rachel, that she might not be safe with Josh leads her to dig into his past. This starts a snow ball effect and causes serious conflict with Josh, Rachel and within her small family. Things spiral out of control as Elisa starts to suffer from a mysterious illness and she begins to question if everything she thought she learned is real. Is she being pulled under from her past trauma and Josh is actually perfectly innocent or is he the sinister predator Elisa believes him to be?
Unfortunately I had quite a few problems with the story.
I felt The Replacement Wife was all over the place. First of all there were way too many women popping up for it to be believable. One in particular didn’t click with the story and just confused me. There also was quite a bit of gaslighting and gaslighting is not always a favorite for me, but If done right it can actually add to a plot. That was not the case here and it did not work out, I hate to say it but I feel like it was done kind of sloppily.
Also if I had Elisa’s husband, we would have been divorced by the end of the book…WTF!! Harris acts like his brother Josh is a paragon of virtue when he knows perfectly well he is not. He knows his brother had some issues in the past but he turns a blind eye. The person he is supposed to hear out is his wife Elisa, which he does not. He shows her zero support, making her second guess herself!
Elisa put way to much trust and effort into helping Rachel. She voiced her concerns to Rachel and if she chose not to listen, hey she’s a big girl let her deal with the possible serial killer boyfriend on her own. You warned her no need to stress yourself out. Especially considering the way Rachel was acting.
The way that Josh and Rachel together and singularly showed up unannounced and uninvited pretty much everyday, sometimes multiple times a day into Rachel’s home, just letting themselves in and then including themselves at the dinner table drove me nuts! I don’t know that I would call that a story flaw, it just irked me. If I were Elisa I would be posted at my front door with my taser, someone would be getting zapped! 😂
I didn’t understand Elisa and Harris’ little boy’s behavior issues. It was raised in a manner that I thought it might be an actual part of the plot or a good reason to be included. I was throwing some crazy theories around in my head. But then nothing, I guess it was just filler or I really missed something. Maybe it was just me. 🤷♀️
Ok….I think I ranted about my dislikes quite a bit and you probably get the gist I wasn’t overly thrilled with it. I do feel like The Replacement Wife had the potential to be a really good story with some tweaking. And there are some redeeming qualities.
I appreciated the aspects of Elisa’s trauma. How it can change a person’s life both mentally and physically, their perceptions and interactions with others. I really felt for her and how she had to decipher if she was looking at things correctly because of her experience.
I really didn’t know if Josh was truly the bad guy. It was obvious he was a bad guy to some degree but I wasn’t sure to what extent. So I was definitely kept guessing about him and other aspects.
While I don’t think The Replacement Wife was for me, I do think Darby Kane is obviously a talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.
I’ve heard such great things about Darby Kane’s Pretty Little Wife. So I was ecstatic to win The Replacement Wife on Bookstagram from my friend Kate at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
Unfortunately after actually reading it, I think this might not have been the best book to start with.
Elisa is getting over a serious tragedy that took place almost a year ago now. She is a wife and mother to a young child, so for everyone’s sake she is slowly trying put her life back together. It hasn’t been easy but she’s feeling semi back to normal. That is until she finds evidence that her brother-in-law Josh might not be the man she thought he was, he might in all actuality be a murderer.
Sure Josh has had some bad luck with women. His wife died from a home accident and his recent fiancé went missing with no trace several months ago. But Elisa always thought of Josh as a good guy. He truly mourned losing his significant others. That is until she finds evidence that his wife’s death might not have been an accident after all. And his missing fiancé might not have left on her own because of pre-wedding jitters. And now there are even more women popping out of the woodwork.
Josh brings home his newest girlfriend Rachel. Elisa’s concern for Rachel, that she might not be safe with Josh leads her to dig into his past. This starts a snow ball effect and causes serious conflict with Josh, Rachel and within her small family. Things spiral out of control as Elisa starts to suffer from a mysterious illness and she begins to question if everything she thought she learned is real. Is she being pulled under from her past trauma and Josh is actually perfectly innocent or is he the sinister predator Elisa believes him to be?
Unfortunately I had quite a few problems with the story.
I felt The Replacement Wife was all over the place. First of all there were way too many women popping up for it to be believable. One in particular didn’t click with the story and just confused me. There also was quite a bit of gaslighting and gaslighting is not always a favorite for me, but If done right it can actually add to a plot. That was not the case here and it did not work out, I hate to say it but I feel like it was done kind of sloppily.
Also if I had Elisa’s husband, we would have been divorced by the end of the book…WTF!! Harris acts like his brother Josh is a paragon of virtue when he knows perfectly well he is not. He knows his brother had some issues in the past but he turns a blind eye. The person he is supposed to hear out is his wife Elisa, which he does not. He shows her zero support, making her second guess herself!
Elisa put way to much trust and effort into helping Rachel. She voiced her concerns to Rachel and if she chose not to listen, hey she’s a big girl let her deal with the possible serial killer boyfriend on her own. You warned her no need to stress yourself out. Especially considering the way Rachel was acting.
The way that Josh and Rachel together and singularly showed up unannounced and uninvited pretty much everyday, sometimes multiple times a day into Rachel’s home, just letting themselves in and then including themselves at the dinner table drove me nuts! I don’t know that I would call that a story flaw, it just irked me. If I were Elisa I would be posted at my front door with my taser, someone would be getting zapped! 😂
I didn’t understand Elisa and Harris’ little boy’s behavior issues. It was raised in a manner that I thought it might be an actual part of the plot or a good reason to be included. I was throwing some crazy theories around in my head. But then nothing, I guess it was just filler or I really missed something. Maybe it was just me. 🤷♀️
Ok….I think I ranted about my dislikes quite a bit and you probably get the gist I wasn’t overly thrilled with it. I do feel like The Replacement Wife had the potential to be a really good story with some tweaking. And there are some redeeming qualities.
I appreciated the aspects of Elisa’s trauma. How it can change a person’s life both mentally and physically, their perceptions and interactions with others. I really felt for her and how she had to decipher if she was looking at things correctly because of her experience.
I really didn’t know if Josh was truly the bad guy. It was obvious he was a bad guy to some degree but I wasn’t sure to what extent. So I was definitely kept guessing about him and other aspects.
While I don’t think The Replacement Wife was for me, I do think Darby Kane is obviously a talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.
March 2, 2022
Let's start off with this question: Do you like Lifetime movies? That are so ridiculous you can't believe what you are seeing/reading? Then this is for you! Not for me, but maybe for you!
Elisa is convinced her brother-in-law is murdering all of his significant others and she is in fear for his current girlfriend's life. Each chapter spirals into Elisa's paranoia about Josh as she tries to uncover what really happened to his previous fiancé. All chapters basically have the same format: Elisa trying to figure out what happened, gets paranoid, finds a bit more info-rinse repeat. It seemed super redundant and could have been scaled back.
There is an incident that is referred to several times in the book that helps explain Elisa's anxiety but it came a little too late and was glossed over. I think if the book had started off into that incident first hand it would have given more depth to Elisa.
Final note: Everyone seemed to show up unexpectedly at everyone's house to just "drop-in". There were certainly no manners to ring ahead. Why ring the doorbell if your just going to walk in :)
While not for me, it was a quick read just very unbelievable.
Elisa is convinced her brother-in-law is murdering all of his significant others and she is in fear for his current girlfriend's life. Each chapter spirals into Elisa's paranoia about Josh as she tries to uncover what really happened to his previous fiancé. All chapters basically have the same format: Elisa trying to figure out what happened, gets paranoid, finds a bit more info-rinse repeat. It seemed super redundant and could have been scaled back.
There is an incident that is referred to several times in the book that helps explain Elisa's anxiety but it came a little too late and was glossed over. I think if the book had started off into that incident first hand it would have given more depth to Elisa.
Final note: Everyone seemed to show up unexpectedly at everyone's house to just "drop-in". There were certainly no manners to ring ahead. Why ring the doorbell if your just going to walk in :)
While not for me, it was a quick read just very unbelievable.
December 2, 2022
Elisa believes her brother-in-law is a murderer. She now believes that the dead wife in his past and missing fiancée in the more recent past are to be blamed on Josh. Her husband Harris and Josh's older brother seems ready to support Josh. Not only is Elisa recovering from a violent incident at work, but now she finds herself feeling nauseated and dizzy more frequently and her life seems totally out of control. Is she headed for a breakdown as her husband seems to suspect? As she attempts to unravel the facts regarding the two women who are gone from their family, she discovers more complicated facts and confusing allies. There are some great aha moments in this book as well as twists and turns in the plot. The pacing seemed off, however, and the whole workplace thing seemed to be a distraction rather than a help to the narrative. I did not enjoy this one as much as Pretty Little Wife, but I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book from Darby Kane.
Be sure to check out Darby Kane's latest title: The Last Invitation
Be sure to check out Darby Kane's latest title: The Last Invitation
October 31, 2021
3 messy stars
Elisa is our main character and she’s a bit of a mess at the moment! She’s married to Harris and has a mostly sweet 7-year-old child Nathan. She keeps close to the house and works from home. I admit that I did like the unique reason why that was in this book.
One of her big problems is suspicions about her brother-in-law Josh. Months ago, Josh’s fiancée (and Elisa’s friend), mysteriously disappeared. Elisa is convinced that Josh had something to do with it and thinks that maybe Abby is dead. Elisa’s making such a fuss about it that Josh is starting to tell her that she’s really losing it! This isn’t going over well with her husband either.
Elisa is also having weird health issues or are they panic attacks? It all contributes to making her look on the edge of a breakdown. As Elisa continues to dig into Abby’s disappearance and Josh’s past, she seems to be in danger herself.
Now Josh is dating someone new, and Elisa is worried about the safety of this new girlfriend. Did I forget to tell you that his first wife died an accidental death? Cue gaslighting and possible drugging trope and things look even shakier for Elisa.
I think the setup was great in this one, but the conclusion left me not completely satisfied. It felt contrived and not completely believable. I really liked this author’s first book and I will read her next one, but this one left me wanting more!
This one did make for an excellent buddy read with Jayme, I am sure you will want to check out her review!
Thank you to William Morrow/Custom House for a copy through NetGalley. This one is scheduled to publish 12/28/21.
Elisa is our main character and she’s a bit of a mess at the moment! She’s married to Harris and has a mostly sweet 7-year-old child Nathan. She keeps close to the house and works from home. I admit that I did like the unique reason why that was in this book.
One of her big problems is suspicions about her brother-in-law Josh. Months ago, Josh’s fiancée (and Elisa’s friend), mysteriously disappeared. Elisa is convinced that Josh had something to do with it and thinks that maybe Abby is dead. Elisa’s making such a fuss about it that Josh is starting to tell her that she’s really losing it! This isn’t going over well with her husband either.
Elisa is also having weird health issues or are they panic attacks? It all contributes to making her look on the edge of a breakdown. As Elisa continues to dig into Abby’s disappearance and Josh’s past, she seems to be in danger herself.
Now Josh is dating someone new, and Elisa is worried about the safety of this new girlfriend. Did I forget to tell you that his first wife died an accidental death? Cue gaslighting and possible drugging trope and things look even shakier for Elisa.
I think the setup was great in this one, but the conclusion left me not completely satisfied. It felt contrived and not completely believable. I really liked this author’s first book and I will read her next one, but this one left me wanting more!
This one did make for an excellent buddy read with Jayme, I am sure you will want to check out her review!
Thank you to William Morrow/Custom House for a copy through NetGalley. This one is scheduled to publish 12/28/21.
December 11, 2021
I really enjoyed Darby Kane’s Pretty Little Wife, so I was very excited to read this new domestic thriller with what seemed to be a similar theme. While I was entertained by the book, for me it lacked the constant suspense and tension of Kane’s previous book.
The book starts with a great premise. You know those guys in the news who have wives or girlfriends who just seem, repeatedly, to meet a horrible fate? Or disappear? Josh is one of those guys. But he’s so charming and attractive he manages to keep hooking the ladies. Enter Elisa, the close friend of Josh’s most recently “missing” wife. She’s going to get to the bottom of why Josh’s romantic interests keep meeting accidents and disappearing… and why nothing ever seems to be done about it.
I liked the premise and the characters a lot, but for some reason, this book didn’t hook me like Pretty Little Wife did. There were also a few plot points that seemed implausible including some questionable police work. The conclusion also felt easy to see coming.
Overall, while this book was entertaining, it didn’t have the intensity and “unputdownable” factor of Kane’s previous book. I still really like Darby Kane as a writer and am excited to see what she comes up with next.
Thanks to William Morris and Custom House, NetGalley and the author for the ARC!
The book starts with a great premise. You know those guys in the news who have wives or girlfriends who just seem, repeatedly, to meet a horrible fate? Or disappear? Josh is one of those guys. But he’s so charming and attractive he manages to keep hooking the ladies. Enter Elisa, the close friend of Josh’s most recently “missing” wife. She’s going to get to the bottom of why Josh’s romantic interests keep meeting accidents and disappearing… and why nothing ever seems to be done about it.
I liked the premise and the characters a lot, but for some reason, this book didn’t hook me like Pretty Little Wife did. There were also a few plot points that seemed implausible including some questionable police work. The conclusion also felt easy to see coming.
Overall, while this book was entertaining, it didn’t have the intensity and “unputdownable” factor of Kane’s previous book. I still really like Darby Kane as a writer and am excited to see what she comes up with next.
Thanks to William Morris and Custom House, NetGalley and the author for the ARC!
December 1, 2021
Unpopular Opinion Alert
Oh my goodness.... this was a a tough book for me to read and review. I haven't read anything by this author but heard that her debut was very good. Unfortunately, after reading this I won't be going back and reading her debut.
There was a whole lot of gaslighting and paranoia with female characters in this one. I cannot stand the female characters described as "I'm having panic attacks but don't remember taking these pills."
I found it way too repetitive, frustrating and honestly annoying to read. I found it way too long and honestly I should have stopped reading after 20 percent.
Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark for me.
2/5 stars
Thank you so much to William Morrow and Darby Kane for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: 12/28/21
Oh my goodness.... this was a a tough book for me to read and review. I haven't read anything by this author but heard that her debut was very good. Unfortunately, after reading this I won't be going back and reading her debut.
There was a whole lot of gaslighting and paranoia with female characters in this one. I cannot stand the female characters described as "I'm having panic attacks but don't remember taking these pills."
I found it way too repetitive, frustrating and honestly annoying to read. I found it way too long and honestly I should have stopped reading after 20 percent.
Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark for me.
2/5 stars
Thank you so much to William Morrow and Darby Kane for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: 12/28/21
April 24, 2022
Just a few minutes. She'd sit and watch... not think about the window or why it was open. The problem is that with everything else going on, she didn't even feel comfortable asking Harris if he'd opened it for some reason. Perhaps he'd realized the storm window didn't fit correctly or he'd been fixing something.
Those answers sounded reasonable. But if he didn't touch the window it became one more reason for him to believe she was losing her mind. To decide that she'd opened it. That she'd made up the story about it being open. Argue that she saw something that wasn't there.
Yeah, asking Harris might be objectively reasonable but little in her life was turning out to ACTUALLY be reasonable these days. pg. 194
I found this book very frustrating.
BASIC PLOT
Elisa strongly suspects - I would say KNOWS, almost - that her brother-in-law Josh is a woman-murderer. He has a dead wife and a missing fiancée . It would be like finding out your brother-in-law is Drew Peterson. Perhaps that is even where Kane got her plot, IDK.
Elisa is traumatized from surviving a workplace shooting 11 months ago. Because of this, everyone acts like she's crazy. Can she prove her BIL is a murderer and save his newest girlfriend, Rachel, from dying at his hands?
ANALYSIS
DEEPLY STUPID MC
The basis of your thriller can't be 'The MC is very dumb.' There is nothing thrilling about that, it's just pathetic. Watching Elisa get gaslighted, jerked around, , and generally cruelly fucked with was not 'thrilling.' It was like watching an adult abuse a child or a human abuse an animal - sad and anxiety-producing.
I mean, this woman was deeply stupid. Even people she KNEW to be liars and sneaks she would hug, invite into her home, confide in. It's was SO FRUSTRATING to read. Imagine reading a scene where a woman who Elisa has caught in multiple lies, lied to her face, humiliated her, etc. etc. shows up and asks to be let in the house and ELISA DOES IT. All the time, stuff like this is happening in the book. People she should be staying far, far away from are allowed in her life and even confided in. It's not a situation where the reader knows this person can't be trusted but Elisa doesn't. ELISA KNOWS. And then she does it anyway. It's teeth-grindingly annoying for the reader.
Kane lampshading this was not helping. Look at this:
A mental battle waged inside Elisa. Letting this stranger in wouldn't be smart. ------ could be dangerous. She'd already shown that she didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
But... why was there always a BUT? Elisa's mind had shut down after the fight with Harris. She just wanted to be left alone to sleep. Then ----- arrived.
Elisa studied her, looking for any sign to direct her about the right thing to do. She watched true crime shows. She knew how this scenario ended in those. She'd yelled at the television more than once as she watched someone willingly invite a killer into their home. pg. 357
But then she just DOES IT ANYWAY. Even after this mental conflict of actually having an intelligent thought arise in her brain. She ignores that intelligent thought and just LETS HER IN THE HOUSE. If you find this kind of thing annoying and frustrating, it's basically the whole book. Avoid reading it if this bothers you.
I can't have any respect for a thriller in which the MC is basically a lamb for the slaughter and the 'thrills' you are experiencing are actually akin to watching a dog being kicked or something. It was anxiety-producing and upsetting, but for the wrong reasons.
A second thing that really, really annoyed me was Elisa's husband, Harris. He was a chode. I spent the entire novel begging her to divorce him. The way he treats his wife in this novel is just atrocious and stomach-turning, and at the end I couldn't believe Elisa had to put up with this horrible husband. He doesn't have her back, he doesn't take her side, he doesn't believe anything she tells him. He even threatens at one point to take her child away from her! He calls her crazy all the time and acts like she is a lunatic! It's truly horrifying, I was hoping she would free herself of this piece of shit. The fact that she's stupid just angered me more, it's like 'You know your wife is stupid, she's extra vulnerable because of her dumbness, so you need to be EXTRA protective of her' and he just doesn't have her back. He treats her like trash. I was SO ANGRY with him. Angrier than with Josh, the (suspected) wife-killer. I was infuriated that Piece of shit needed to be served divorce papers ASAP as far as I'm concerned. Not to agree with a murderer, but when the murderer says in the book to Elisa "Realizing he takes you for granted, puts you second to Josh, this was the wake-up call you needed. You're welcome." I agree with the murderer, and was hoping this truth would sink into Elisa's dense brain, but alas.
Making the MC stupid is lazy writing on the part of Kane. Making people stupid is a lazy, unimaginative way to move the plot along. You see this in mysteries, thrillers, and even TV shows. Ever watch a TV show where the MCs (who have been smart all season long) suddenly drop IQ points when it comes to the season finale or when a Big Bad gets introduced? It's horrible writing. A more skilled author would be able to move the plot forward without having to reduce the MC to being a dumbass.
Moreover, I found it insulting that this was blamed on 'mental illness.' Elisa's PTSD and survivor's guilt does NOT translate into being dumb. Everyone trying to convince her she is crazy and losing it was DRIVING ME UP A WALL. She was obviously not 'crazy.' Some people were doing this on purpose because they were her enemies, but even her own husband was selling this shit. I can never forgive him. All the trouble Elisa got into in this novel is explained by her low IQ, not her 'mental illness' which really is not even a disorder that would cause these kinds of 'symptoms' they were going for in here. Instead, it's more like PTSD and survivor's guilt, neither of which would cause someone to 'go crazy' in the way the book is implying without some other outside forces.
The climax of this book is quite reminiscent of The Girl on the Train. It's not copycat, I'm not saying anything untoward here towards Kane, but I think this book WISHES it were The Girl on the Train on a lot of levels. But Kane isn't Paula Hawkins nor Gillian Flynn and she can't pull off the same kind of success they've enjoyed.
The writing is not great. Sentences like He'd retired his contact lenses for the night but clearly not his sarcasm. pg. 21 were making me face-palm, but the writing isn't TERRIBLE. It's not like Lisa Wingate or Danielle Steel or someone truly atrocious. But it's not good, either. Pretty mediocre writing.
ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT THE BOOK?
Yes. It's fast-paced. It starts right at the beginning, no waiting around, no build-up - just plunges right into the meat of things. There are twists.
The bad thing is that it's so far-fetched, and the 'answers' at the end are such a stretch it's quite convoluted. This isn't a straight-shot wife-murderer story as it's first presented, although it does maintain its Drew Peterson vibes very well throughout the book, Josh is obviously scum.
TL;DR
I usually don't read 'thrillers,' the ones that used to all have 'girl' in the title and now all have 'wife' in the title. I'm not usually feeling this genre, but sometimes it can surprise me. I was hoping for a spark with this one - it sounded interesting. However, it fell flat.
Some are stellar, Before I Go to Sleep was amazing, The Expats was good, Gillian Flynn is a very envied author for good reason, she's on-point. I wasn't as big a fan of The Girl on the Train, but it was fun. A gripping read.
The problem with these huge, successful, popular thrillers is that everyone wants in on it. So many authors think they can do the same thing. It's not true. It takes talent. Kane isn't talentless, I'm not giving this book a one-star and labeling it a piece of shit. We are not at that level here. She's okay. Her main problems were making Elisa so deeply stupid, not thinking of better ways than that to drive her plot forward - and for crafting an end-game that was pretty crazy and not at all reminiscent of real life. Some people can do that and pull it off, The Girl on the Train is an example, but Kane is not quite there yet.
I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have a high tolerance for frustration as a reader. I have discussed this book with other people IRL and Elisa tends to drive people up a wall. I don't need a MC to be a genius, or a CIA operative or anything... but basic competence is appreciated. Even if, as is popular nowadays, you are handicapping your female MC by making her a drunk, mentally ill, or a druggie. If you are going to handicap your MC, make sure you do it because it makes her more interesting and it adds thrills to the plot. NOT because it's the only way you can think of to drive your mystery forward - the MC is so fucking stupid that she does things no person in their right mind would do, but it accelerates the action. This is not fun for readers. At least, not this one.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
Those answers sounded reasonable. But if he didn't touch the window it became one more reason for him to believe she was losing her mind. To decide that she'd opened it. That she'd made up the story about it being open. Argue that she saw something that wasn't there.
Yeah, asking Harris might be objectively reasonable but little in her life was turning out to ACTUALLY be reasonable these days. pg. 194
I found this book very frustrating.
BASIC PLOT
Elisa strongly suspects - I would say KNOWS, almost - that her brother-in-law Josh is a woman-murderer. He has a dead wife and a missing fiancée . It would be like finding out your brother-in-law is Drew Peterson. Perhaps that is even where Kane got her plot, IDK.
Elisa is traumatized from surviving a workplace shooting 11 months ago. Because of this, everyone acts like she's crazy. Can she prove her BIL is a murderer and save his newest girlfriend, Rachel, from dying at his hands?
ANALYSIS
DEEPLY STUPID MC
The basis of your thriller can't be 'The MC is very dumb.' There is nothing thrilling about that, it's just pathetic. Watching Elisa get gaslighted, jerked around, , and generally cruelly fucked with was not 'thrilling.' It was like watching an adult abuse a child or a human abuse an animal - sad and anxiety-producing.
I mean, this woman was deeply stupid. Even people she KNEW to be liars and sneaks she would hug, invite into her home, confide in. It's was SO FRUSTRATING to read. Imagine reading a scene where a woman who Elisa has caught in multiple lies, lied to her face, humiliated her, etc. etc. shows up and asks to be let in the house and ELISA DOES IT. All the time, stuff like this is happening in the book. People she should be staying far, far away from are allowed in her life and even confided in. It's not a situation where the reader knows this person can't be trusted but Elisa doesn't. ELISA KNOWS. And then she does it anyway. It's teeth-grindingly annoying for the reader.
Kane lampshading this was not helping. Look at this:
A mental battle waged inside Elisa. Letting this stranger in wouldn't be smart. ------ could be dangerous. She'd already shown that she didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.
But... why was there always a BUT? Elisa's mind had shut down after the fight with Harris. She just wanted to be left alone to sleep. Then ----- arrived.
Elisa studied her, looking for any sign to direct her about the right thing to do. She watched true crime shows. She knew how this scenario ended in those. She'd yelled at the television more than once as she watched someone willingly invite a killer into their home. pg. 357
But then she just DOES IT ANYWAY. Even after this mental conflict of actually having an intelligent thought arise in her brain. She ignores that intelligent thought and just LETS HER IN THE HOUSE. If you find this kind of thing annoying and frustrating, it's basically the whole book. Avoid reading it if this bothers you.
I can't have any respect for a thriller in which the MC is basically a lamb for the slaughter and the 'thrills' you are experiencing are actually akin to watching a dog being kicked or something. It was anxiety-producing and upsetting, but for the wrong reasons.
A second thing that really, really annoyed me was Elisa's husband, Harris. He was a chode. I spent the entire novel begging her to divorce him. The way he treats his wife in this novel is just atrocious and stomach-turning, and at the end I couldn't believe Elisa had to put up with this horrible husband. He doesn't have her back, he doesn't take her side, he doesn't believe anything she tells him. He even threatens at one point to take her child away from her! He calls her crazy all the time and acts like she is a lunatic! It's truly horrifying, I was hoping she would free herself of this piece of shit. The fact that she's stupid just angered me more, it's like 'You know your wife is stupid, she's extra vulnerable because of her dumbness, so you need to be EXTRA protective of her' and he just doesn't have her back. He treats her like trash. I was SO ANGRY with him. Angrier than with Josh, the (suspected) wife-killer. I was infuriated that Piece of shit needed to be served divorce papers ASAP as far as I'm concerned. Not to agree with a murderer, but when the murderer says in the book to Elisa "Realizing he takes you for granted, puts you second to Josh, this was the wake-up call you needed. You're welcome." I agree with the murderer, and was hoping this truth would sink into Elisa's dense brain, but alas.
Making the MC stupid is lazy writing on the part of Kane. Making people stupid is a lazy, unimaginative way to move the plot along. You see this in mysteries, thrillers, and even TV shows. Ever watch a TV show where the MCs (who have been smart all season long) suddenly drop IQ points when it comes to the season finale or when a Big Bad gets introduced? It's horrible writing. A more skilled author would be able to move the plot forward without having to reduce the MC to being a dumbass.
Moreover, I found it insulting that this was blamed on 'mental illness.' Elisa's PTSD and survivor's guilt does NOT translate into being dumb. Everyone trying to convince her she is crazy and losing it was DRIVING ME UP A WALL. She was obviously not 'crazy.' Some people were doing this on purpose because they were her enemies, but even her own husband was selling this shit. I can never forgive him. All the trouble Elisa got into in this novel is explained by her low IQ, not her 'mental illness' which really is not even a disorder that would cause these kinds of 'symptoms' they were going for in here. Instead, it's more like PTSD and survivor's guilt, neither of which would cause someone to 'go crazy' in the way the book is implying without some other outside forces.
The climax of this book is quite reminiscent of The Girl on the Train. It's not copycat, I'm not saying anything untoward here towards Kane, but I think this book WISHES it were The Girl on the Train on a lot of levels. But Kane isn't Paula Hawkins nor Gillian Flynn and she can't pull off the same kind of success they've enjoyed.
The writing is not great. Sentences like He'd retired his contact lenses for the night but clearly not his sarcasm. pg. 21 were making me face-palm, but the writing isn't TERRIBLE. It's not like Lisa Wingate or Danielle Steel or someone truly atrocious. But it's not good, either. Pretty mediocre writing.
ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT THE BOOK?
Yes. It's fast-paced. It starts right at the beginning, no waiting around, no build-up - just plunges right into the meat of things. There are twists.
The bad thing is that it's so far-fetched, and the 'answers' at the end are such a stretch it's quite convoluted. This isn't a straight-shot wife-murderer story as it's first presented, although it does maintain its Drew Peterson vibes very well throughout the book, Josh is obviously scum.
TL;DR
I usually don't read 'thrillers,' the ones that used to all have 'girl' in the title and now all have 'wife' in the title. I'm not usually feeling this genre, but sometimes it can surprise me. I was hoping for a spark with this one - it sounded interesting. However, it fell flat.
Some are stellar, Before I Go to Sleep was amazing, The Expats was good, Gillian Flynn is a very envied author for good reason, she's on-point. I wasn't as big a fan of The Girl on the Train, but it was fun. A gripping read.
The problem with these huge, successful, popular thrillers is that everyone wants in on it. So many authors think they can do the same thing. It's not true. It takes talent. Kane isn't talentless, I'm not giving this book a one-star and labeling it a piece of shit. We are not at that level here. She's okay. Her main problems were making Elisa so deeply stupid, not thinking of better ways than that to drive her plot forward - and for crafting an end-game that was pretty crazy and not at all reminiscent of real life. Some people can do that and pull it off, The Girl on the Train is an example, but Kane is not quite there yet.
I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have a high tolerance for frustration as a reader. I have discussed this book with other people IRL and Elisa tends to drive people up a wall. I don't need a MC to be a genius, or a CIA operative or anything... but basic competence is appreciated. Even if, as is popular nowadays, you are handicapping your female MC by making her a drunk, mentally ill, or a druggie. If you are going to handicap your MC, make sure you do it because it makes her more interesting and it adds thrills to the plot. NOT because it's the only way you can think of to drive your mystery forward - the MC is so fucking stupid that she does things no person in their right mind would do, but it accelerates the action. This is not fun for readers. At least, not this one.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
June 13, 2022
Bah humbug!
This one started out with such promise, and then all hope was dashed.
The moment Elisa begins to suspect that her brother-in-law Josh murdered his former fiance, Abby, I was all-in!
Then we found out that Josh's first wife Candace died and Woah! At this point, my breath caught in my throat!
Elisa however is unreliable. She's been on meds for several months now due to PTSD and isn't quite herself. Can we trust her? It's at this point that the book started to go haywire. Elisa has several thoughts on what may have happened and they were all over the place personally, I found them to be way over the top.
From this point forward, everything became extreme, and that was it for me.
While this wasn't my favorite book by Darby Kane, I read and loved her prior book Pretty Little Wife, and remain a huge fan and can't wait for her next release.
A buddy read with Kaceey.
Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow Paperbacks via NetGalley for the arc.
This one started out with such promise, and then all hope was dashed.
The moment Elisa begins to suspect that her brother-in-law Josh murdered his former fiance, Abby, I was all-in!
Then we found out that Josh's first wife Candace died and Woah! At this point, my breath caught in my throat!
Elisa however is unreliable. She's been on meds for several months now due to PTSD and isn't quite herself. Can we trust her? It's at this point that the book started to go haywire. Elisa has several thoughts on what may have happened and they were all over the place personally, I found them to be way over the top.
From this point forward, everything became extreme, and that was it for me.
While this wasn't my favorite book by Darby Kane, I read and loved her prior book Pretty Little Wife, and remain a huge fan and can't wait for her next release.
A buddy read with Kaceey.
Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers - William Morrow Paperbacks via NetGalley for the arc.
March 9, 2022
So apparently there are two types of stories like this available for readers’ consumption. There’s the ones I can’t get enough of . . . . .
Then there’s ones like this that take a whooooollllllle different approach to the storytelling. That approach goes a little something like . . . .
This book was all over the ‘Gram on release day and while I (mostly) know better by now than to get persuaded by pretty pub day pictures, when I came here my friends seemed to all like this one okay too so I put it on hold at the library (despite that fugly face cover). And now I’m here to tell you all that you guys read this wrong. Bwahahahaha! I kid. But someone read it wrong and it couldn’t possibly be me . . . .
The story here is about a chick who suspects her brother-in-law may have a habit killing his significant others. She's an unreliable narrator due to a trauma that was 100% not necessary for this story aside from being used to make her an unreliable narrator. There are zero surprises and it is all very Lifetime Stabbies for Women. Sometimes those work for me, sometimes they don’t. This was a definite don’t and now I really have no desire to ever read Pretty Little Wife by this author that I received an ARC of and never picked up (because fugly cover is fug).
Then there’s ones like this that take a whooooollllllle different approach to the storytelling. That approach goes a little something like . . . .
This book was all over the ‘Gram on release day and while I (mostly) know better by now than to get persuaded by pretty pub day pictures, when I came here my friends seemed to all like this one okay too so I put it on hold at the library (despite that fugly face cover). And now I’m here to tell you all that you guys read this wrong. Bwahahahaha! I kid. But someone read it wrong and it couldn’t possibly be me . . . .
The story here is about a chick who suspects her brother-in-law may have a habit killing his significant others. She's an unreliable narrator due to a trauma that was 100% not necessary for this story aside from being used to make her an unreliable narrator. There are zero surprises and it is all very Lifetime Stabbies for Women. Sometimes those work for me, sometimes they don’t. This was a definite don’t and now I really have no desire to ever read Pretty Little Wife by this author that I received an ARC of and never picked up (because fugly cover is fug).
October 14, 2021
What would you do if someone in your family might be a murderer? Someone who has been in your home, someone you trusted?? That’s exactly the question the main character is dealing with in The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane.
Elisa Wright is a wife and a mother who now suspects that maybe her brother in law is a murderer. Josh had once been married until his wife was died one night by a mysterious fall. The death at the time had been ruled an accident but now Josh’s girlfriend, Elisa’s good friend, has gone missing.
Elisa has found some incriminating evidence hidden in Josh’s home that leads her to believe her friend did not just pack up and leave. To top it all off Josh has also begun dating yet again. With a new woman in Josh’s life Elisa becomes even more determined than ever to find out just what her brother in law has been hiding.
The Replacement Wife is Darby Kane’s second book and having read her first, Pretty Little Wife, and enjoying it I was looking forward to this one. Just as with the first book I found myself easily drawn into the story in The Replacement Wife and completely engaged. The narrator in the story is the unreliable type so I of course had my eye on all kinds of outcomes which is always fun. There were plenty of twists to keep the pages turning and after finishing and enjoying this second novel I will certainly come back for more from this author in the future.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Elisa Wright is a wife and a mother who now suspects that maybe her brother in law is a murderer. Josh had once been married until his wife was died one night by a mysterious fall. The death at the time had been ruled an accident but now Josh’s girlfriend, Elisa’s good friend, has gone missing.
Elisa has found some incriminating evidence hidden in Josh’s home that leads her to believe her friend did not just pack up and leave. To top it all off Josh has also begun dating yet again. With a new woman in Josh’s life Elisa becomes even more determined than ever to find out just what her brother in law has been hiding.
The Replacement Wife is Darby Kane’s second book and having read her first, Pretty Little Wife, and enjoying it I was looking forward to this one. Just as with the first book I found myself easily drawn into the story in The Replacement Wife and completely engaged. The narrator in the story is the unreliable type so I of course had my eye on all kinds of outcomes which is always fun. There were plenty of twists to keep the pages turning and after finishing and enjoying this second novel I will certainly come back for more from this author in the future.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
October 5, 2021
3.5 stars
The book gets off to a great start as it hooked me from the get-go. By the midway point though, I was getting an inkling I was in for a less than satisfying conclusion. It turned out I was half-right or half-wrong depending on how you want to frame it. While I don't love everything about the final chapters in the book, I finished with a smile on my face which doesn't happen all that much with psychological thrillers.
Elisa Wright is convinced her brother-in-law, Josh, is a murderer. Josh has a dead wife and his fiancée recently went missing. Elisa can't believe Josh has already moved on to his next relationship. Fearing for his new girlfriend, Elisa sets out to prove once and for all Josh is a killer.
The story has a good premise and I loved the mini bombshells at the end of some of the chapters. The author kept me on my toes for awhile but eventually some fairly big breadcrumbs were dropped that will most likely be picked up by any frequent reader of this genre. In the book's favor though there are enough moving pieces so it doesn't feel like the ending is phoned in, if that makes sense. I'm slightly disappointed how things unfolded but the last few pages made a bit of a comeback so I can't complain too much.
To sum it up, a decent domestic thriller but doesn't quite make my favorite list.
Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
The book gets off to a great start as it hooked me from the get-go. By the midway point though, I was getting an inkling I was in for a less than satisfying conclusion. It turned out I was half-right or half-wrong depending on how you want to frame it. While I don't love everything about the final chapters in the book, I finished with a smile on my face which doesn't happen all that much with psychological thrillers.
Elisa Wright is convinced her brother-in-law, Josh, is a murderer. Josh has a dead wife and his fiancée recently went missing. Elisa can't believe Josh has already moved on to his next relationship. Fearing for his new girlfriend, Elisa sets out to prove once and for all Josh is a killer.
The story has a good premise and I loved the mini bombshells at the end of some of the chapters. The author kept me on my toes for awhile but eventually some fairly big breadcrumbs were dropped that will most likely be picked up by any frequent reader of this genre. In the book's favor though there are enough moving pieces so it doesn't feel like the ending is phoned in, if that makes sense. I'm slightly disappointed how things unfolded but the last few pages made a bit of a comeback so I can't complain too much.
To sum it up, a decent domestic thriller but doesn't quite make my favorite list.
Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
November 9, 2022
I know that any review is simply the thoughts and likes or dislikes of a single reader and their reaction to it. The enjoyment or dislike of any story may be far different by different readers from mine. That’s perfectly okay. Thats the joy we all have of reading and while two people may read the same book, they will each get a different assessment of each paragraph, each chapter and finally the last sentence, revealing how they viewed the entirety author's work...and I know that writing a book is not easy and writing a book that everyone will like is next to impossible. This being said...I have to say that I wish I could have liked this book more. I didn't hate it...it just didn't speak to me in any good way. It took me almost three weeks to read half of it...I can usually read a book in 12 hours or less...but this one took me FOUR ENTIRE WEEKS! During that time, I found that I could not like one single character in this entire book, and that included the obnoxious, usually out of control, little boy. Harris, Elisa’s husband defends his brother, Josh, even though Elisa is fully convinced that Josh is a serial killer. She believes he is killing his wives and girlfriends and then replacing them. Harris brushed Elisa's concerns off time and time again, often helping Josh with his plans, perhaps without fully believing or understanding what was happening. Was there any love or devotion portrayed for Elisa by anyone? Was any of her concerns even listened to? The entitlement and constant undermining and belittling of Elisa guaranteed that this guy would go to the top of my "Most Hated Character" list and would NOT be winning "Husband of The Year" anytime soon. The brother-in-law, Josh, and his current wife... Rachel??? How could Harris or anyone that met him not see that Josh was slimmer and slipperier than an eel, without a single redeeming quality in his whole body? I wondered just how many women connected to him had to disappear before someone questions it and why in the world wasn't anyone listening to Elisa?? Then we have Rachel....Josh's current "love of his life". I never knew what her game was or which side she was on, good or evil. Then Elisa, who should have been a sympathetic character, someone to root for as she finds her way to the truth of her friend’s disappearance and whether Josh is in fact a killer. Yet she came off as unlikable or at least non-understandable. She almost invited the bad guys to use her, tormenting her for...."surely, she deserves this" all because she couldn’t save her friend. I did finish the book, even if I did wonder what I just read and not quite knowing what to make at the end of this story.
December 25, 2021
I was completely blown away by Pretty Little Wife so I was pretty dang excited to read Darby Kane's sophomore suspense novel The Replacement Wife. I do have to say I liked this one less, but ultimately, I still really enjoyed it! The majority of the story is told from Elisa's viewpoint with the occasional chapter from an unknown narrator. Elisa is very unreliable as she is dealing with the aftermath of something terrible that happened, and I spent the whole book wondering if she was right about Josh or if there was something else at play. This is a story FILLED with unlikable characters and even Elisa grated on my nerves, so I would go into this one with that in mind.
The biggest frustration for me was that it felt like Josh and Elisa's interactions were just the same thing repeated over and over again so the story ended up being really repetitive to me in that respect. I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room multiple times, but it is also impressive that Kane was able to make me feel that much emotion. Plus, despite my annoyance with all of their interactions, I still didn't want to put the book down and had a very strong compulsion to keep reading. The Replacement Wife is definitely domestic suspense combined with a psychological thriller, and while it isn't SUPER twisty, there are a few things that I wasn't expecting, especially at the end. It ended up being pretty satisfying which was nice, and I liked Elisa a bit more by the end. Read this if you are looking for a book to keep you guessing and one that you won't want to put down.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The biggest frustration for me was that it felt like Josh and Elisa's interactions were just the same thing repeated over and over again so the story ended up being really repetitive to me in that respect. I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room multiple times, but it is also impressive that Kane was able to make me feel that much emotion. Plus, despite my annoyance with all of their interactions, I still didn't want to put the book down and had a very strong compulsion to keep reading. The Replacement Wife is definitely domestic suspense combined with a psychological thriller, and while it isn't SUPER twisty, there are a few things that I wasn't expecting, especially at the end. It ended up being pretty satisfying which was nice, and I liked Elisa a bit more by the end. Read this if you are looking for a book to keep you guessing and one that you won't want to put down.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Want to read
January 30, 2021No blurb? ASK ME IF I CARE! I'll be reading it no matter what it is.
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