The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins – Book Review (Shellby)

Wow wow wow! Rachel Hawkins does it again! This book was seriously so good.

I LOVE a book that has multiple POVs. This book is mostly in Jane’s point of view, but every few chapters Bea recounts her experiences leading up to the tragedy, as well as after the fact.

Jane moved from Arizona to Alabama, looking for a fresh start in a new town to escape her dark past. She rents a room from an annoying acquaintance, who ends up being a real tool to Jane and uses her past against her.

She starts a dog walking business in a rich neighborhood, where she meets Eddie, a well off, handsome man who is not like the rest of his uptight neighborhood. She learns about how his wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, Blanche, and they never found the bodies.

The mystery and “ghost-like” feelings around Bea intensify as Jane grows closer to Eddie.

She also learns from the other housewives of the neighborhood, that Bea and Blanche’s friendship was not all rainbows and butterflies. It was more of a love-hate relationship, to be honest.

I don’t want to give away too much, but you can probably guess based on the title, where Bea actually is during the present day scenes of the book. BUT! Everyone in this book has secrets they’re not telling.

While this book was quite predictable, there were many twists and turns that I didn’t always see coming. Rachel Hawkins is an excellent author and I truly enjoy her writing.

Shellby’s Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

SPOILERS AHEAD: I do have some ~questions~ after reading this book that didn’t quite add up while I was reading it. 1) How did not one person in the neighborhood see Bea come back with Eddie from the lake house? These are snoopy neighbors we are talking about. Even if he came home late at night, I am willing to bet all these people have security cameras. And 2) Where the heck did Bea use the restroom and shower while she was held hostage in the panic room?? The book made it seem like it was a tiny room with nothing really in it. And, if she did use the shower or toilet, you could easily hear that flush or water running throughout the rest of house. So, how did Jane not hear any of that? Was it soundproof? These were the real questions keeping me up at night 😂