Book of the Month

Chele’s Pick
by Michele Tester

My Husband’s Wife | by Alice Feeney  | psychological thriller novel

I love psychological thriller novels, and this one did not disappoint. It had me guessing the whole time, with lots of twists and turns. I am usually very good at predicting the ending twist in the books I read; however, in this one, I never saw it coming. In this story, nothing is as it seems.

The book begins with the main character, Artist Eden Fox, going out for a run before her first art exhibition. She returns home to find her key doesn’t fit the front door lock; a stranger answers the door, looking a great deal like her and claiming to be her husband’s wife; and, if that’s not enough, her husband insists he doesn’t know who she is. The whole time reading, I’m thinking to myself, What the heck is going on? I was hooked from page one.

Eden Fox lives in a historic coastal estate, Spyglass, in Hope Falls—a fictional seaside village in Cornwall, England—with her husband, Harrison. But on this day, Eden’s world is turned inside out. Everyone insists that the other woman is Harrison’s real wife and the mother to Gabriella, their disabled, nonverbal 18-year-old daughter. Everyone insists Eden is an imposter. Someone is lying.

The novel alternates with events from six months earlier. A woman named Birdy inherits the same seaside home, Spyglass, from a grandmother she never knew. Birdy visits a mysterious clinic that actually predicts her date of death, and sinister secrets begin to emerge. The dark reality of Spyglass and its residents unravels into a haunting narrative of stolen identities, fixation, deceit, and betrayal. Then, a woman’s body washes up on the beach, turning the story into a tense investigation. No one is what they seem. This thriller splits its narrative between multiple points of view and two timelines. For me, it was one of those books that I didn’t want to put down.

Alice Feeney develops and sets the stage for each character very well, and you’re along for the ride, trying to figure out what is what and who is who.

If you like twist-heavy, fast-paced psychological thrillers, then this is worth the read. Some readers suggested that there were too many plot twists, making the story hard to follow or far-fetched. I didn’t feel that way. But what feels like “too many” turns to one reader can feel fast-paced or exciting to another. Happy reading!