The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
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The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Thriller

The Wife Upstairs

Early Release

by Rachel Hawkins

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Quick take

A twisty Southern gothic about a rich husband, his hot young fiancée, and unanswered questions about his missing wife.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Creepy

    Creepy

  • Illustrated icon, Whodunit

    Whodunit

  • Illustrated icon, Suburban

    Suburban drama

  • Illustrated icon, Based_on_a_Classic

    Based on a classic

Synopsis

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie—not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past—or his—catches up to her?

Read a sample

Get an early look from the first pages of The Wife Upstairs.

The Wife Upstairs

Part I: Jane

1

February

It is the absolute shittiest day for a walk.

Rain has been pouring down all morning, making my drive from Center Point out here to Mountain Brook a nightmare, soaking the hem of my jeans as I get out of the car in the Reeds’ driveway, making my sneakers squelch on the marble floors of the foyer.

But Mrs. Reed is holding her dog Bear’s leash, making a face at me, this frown of exaggerated sympathy that’s supposed to let me know how bad she feels about sending me out in the rain on this Monday morning.

That’s the important thing—that I know that she feels bad.

She still expects me to do it, though.

I’ve been walking dogs in the Thornfield Estates subdivision for almost a month now, and if there’s one thing I’ve definitely figured out, it’s that what matters most is how everything looks.

Mrs. Reed looks sympathetic. She looks like she absolutely hates that I have to walk her collie, Bear, on a cold and stormy day in mid-February.

She looks like she actually gives a fuck about me as a person.

She doesn’t, though, which is fine, really.

It’s not like I give a fuck about her, either.

So I smile, tugging at the bottom of my army-green raincoat.

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A Flicker in the Dark
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The House Across the Lake
The Maidens
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The Silent Patient
The Family Upstairs
Girl A
The Hunting Wives
Just Another Missing Person
First Born
Breathless
You Belong Here
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Where He Left Me
Anatomy of an Alibi
The First Time I Saw Him
My Husband’s Wife
It’s Not Her
The Exes
Her Last Breath
Thriller
View all
Famous Last Words
The Boyfriend
Count My Lies
First Lie Wins
King of Ashes
The Man Made of Smoke
A Talent for Murder
Beautiful Ugly
One Perfect Couple
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Retreat
Kill for Me, Kill for You
Bad Tourists
Murder Road
Daughter of Mine
The Fury
The Soulmate
The Only One Left
Dark Corners
Blacktop Wasteland
All the Dangerous Things
The Broken Girls
We Were Never Here
The Golden Couple
The Stranger Upstairs
Gone Tonight
Too Good to Be True
You Are Not Alone
Rock Paper Scissors
Not a Happy Family
A Flicker in the Dark
Reckless Girls
The House Across the Lake
The Maidens
You're Invited
The Last Party
Sharp Objects
The Silent Patient
The Family Upstairs
Girl A
The Hunting Wives
Just Another Missing Person
First Born
Breathless
You Belong Here
Forget Me Not
59 Minutes
Where He Left Me
Anatomy of an Alibi
The First Time I Saw Him
My Husband’s Wife
It’s Not Her
The Exes
Her Last Breath