Though this one
had been on my wishlist for quite a long time, I had almost refrained from
picking it up as I had almost thought this one was a parody novel. The title sounded
quite similar to another International Best Seller (The Family Upstairs- Lisa
Jewell), and the author also seemed like the namesake of another Best Selling
Author (Paula Hawkins). But a little bit of googling told me that the author is
already a known name in young adult paranormal romance, and it’s just that this
particular title is her debut work in adult fiction.
Set in
Birmingham, Alabama, and narrated from multiple perspectives, The Wife Upstairs
is the story of Jane, a broke, small-town girl with a past who is now a dog walker
in an upscale neighborhood. She chances upon Eddie, the rich widowed millionaire,
and love blossoms between the two, and Jane cannot believe her luck when she
proposes to her. Bea, Eddie’s first wife, had died in a tragic boat accident
with her best friend Blanche a couple of months ago while they were on a girl’s
out during the weekend. But pretty soon, Jane realizes that it had all been a
farce and Eddie might have had something to do with their death. So, is she in real
danger?
Besides Jane,
Eddie and Bea, there are only a few characters in this 250+ pages Novel. We
have Tripp, Blanche’s drunkard husband; Emelie and Co- the posh, rich, gossipy
wives in the neighborhood whom Jane befriends; John, Jane’s former tenant and
who is nothing but a creep and the Detective who turns up with strange
questions just before each significant plot twist. None of the characters are likable,
and ironically, I could feel a little bit of sympathy for Trip Ingram, who is portrayed
as a drunkard and a perpetual nuisance in the neighborhood.
Though pretty
generic, the book is well-paced, and the multiple narrative technique has come
out quite well. Hawkins has managed to retain the suspense for a larger part of
the narrative with limited characters. The twists though a few, are done
decently, but I must confess that I had figured out the final reveal (which was
also a bit underwhelming) before the author intended it. Though the writer has
tried to portray Jane as someone with a dark past, by the time this supposedly ‘dark
past’ is revealed, you can’t stop asking what the big deal was about it all,
though! But having said that, I liked how Hawkins drew parallels between Bea
and Jane. The climax also felt abrupt, and the author seemed unconvinced to take
sides.
On the whole, The
Wife Upstairs is an average thriller. It’s nothing extraordinary, but not
bad, either!
-nikhimenon
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