Publishers Weekly
09/28/2020
YA author Hawkins (Her Royal Highness) makes her adult debut with this spirited reboot of Jane Eyre. Shortly after starting to walk dogs in tony Thornfield Estates, a gated community in Birmingham, Ala., the penniless young woman calling herself Jane meets dashing recent widower Eddie Rochester—whose wealthy wife, Bea Mason, went missing and was presumed drowned in a boating mishap, along with her BFF Blanche Ingraham, six months earlier. Sparks fly, but plain Jane has a tough time living up to the legend of the glamorous Bea, who created the Southern Manors lifestyle brand. Then Blanche’s body is found, and it’s clear from the massive skull fracture that her death was no accident. As the police reopen their probe, an increasingly concerned Jane starts investigating Bea’s fate and what part, if any, Eddie played. Hawkins shows real wit in outsider Jane’s sharp-eyed take on the entitled ladies of Thornfield Estates, but the mercenarily motivated characters will put off some readers. Nonetheless, this suspenseful domestic thriller will keep readers turning the pages. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
"A Southern Gothic twist on Jane Eyre that’s full of suspense, twists and turns...the story of this twisted love triangle will have you on the edge of your seat all the way until the end." ––CNN
"A delightfully surprising and suspenseful twist on Jane Eyre." ––Newsweek
"Consider us enthralled." ––The Skimm
"A clever page-turner...this modern Gothic novel proves that creaky houses that harbor big secrets never go out of style." ––Oprahmag.com
"A delicious thriller that you'll likely want to read in a single sitting." ––TimeOut
"Thesis: Any thriller that has the word "wife" in the title is going to be good. And proof comes courtesy of Hawkins' modern retelling of Jane Eyre, which is the year's first irresistible page-turner that will keep you up at night." ––E! Online
"What would have happened if Jane Eyre had not been a naïve innocent with a heart of gold? Grab this page-turner and find out." ––Vulture
"A thrilling, suspenseful tale of will-they-or-won't-they that will keep you on the edge." ––Woman’s Day
"Read to find out whether either of them can ever escape their secrets, or if their forbidden tryst is doomed to failure." ––Good Housekeeping
"With an even darker twist, this novel delivers a one-of-a-kind take on a well-known gothic tale. In addition to the suspenseful story line, the distorted love triangle and the impassivity of the Thornfield residents will have readers feeling simultaneously discombobulated and fulfilled." ––Library Journal (starred review)
"The Wife Upstairs is a thrill ride [and] the pace is hurtling...I felt implicated, dubious, off-kilter as I navigated this elaborate masque of a story." ––Southern Review of Books
"This compelling retelling of Jane Eyre deftly serves up a delicious mystery with a side of biting social commentary." ––Shelf Awareness
"When I say I couldn't put down The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins, I mean that I read it on my lunch break, while working out, instead of sleeping. It is seriously that good." ––PopSugar
"An inspired riff on the gothic classic." ––Goodreads
"...this suspenseful domestic thriller will keep readers turning pages." ––Publishers Weekly
"Hawkins twists together the suspense and storytelling of Jane Eyre with the atmosphere, tension, and odd characters of a Southern-gothic into a tale of a young woman trying to escape her past...an altogether sinister novel that will make readers of Jennifer McMahon, Ruth Ware, and Donna Tartt shudder." ––Booklist
"A feisty Southern charmer that’s twisty enough to make dinners late in kitchens everywhere...a modern, rip-roaring thriller best enjoyed on a sandy beach with a tall, salty-rimmed beverage nearby." ––Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Expect the forbidden romance you loved in the original tale with all the modern, shiny trimmings." ––MarieClaire.com
"...chances are you’ll fly through 'The Wife Upstairs' both because you’re intrigued by the unfolding story itself and because you’re putting together all the nods to its inspiration, Charlotte Bronte’s 'Jane Eyre.'" ––St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A great beach read." ––Austin American-Statesman
"Get ready for a lightning-fast read with familiar characters in an altogether unfamiliar setting." ––Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Hawkins delivers a sharp, fresh twist on a classic in this darkly funny, suspenseful story of murder, ambition, and love. Creepy and fast-paced, The Wife Upstairs kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the very last." ––Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author
"I was completely blown away by The Wife Upstairs. This is a compulsive, irresistible retelling of Jane Eyre with a modern, noir twist – and wow, does it work." ––Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author
"The Wife Upstairs is everything I’d hoped—sharp, smart, tricky and fast-paced. Rachel Hawkins’ debut thriller puts you in the steps of an outsider, an insider, and an imposter, but which is which? You won’t know til you’re up way too late turning the final pages." ––Kelly Harms, nationally bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler
Library Journal - Audio
★ 03/01/2021
In her first adult title, YA author Hawkins presents a twisted Jane Eyre, reimagined and set in a modern-day affluent gated community in Birmingham, AL. Penniless Jane is a dog walker whose wealthy customers include Eddie Rochester, a widower who has recently lost his wife, Bea, to a mysterious drowning accident. Strangely, Bea's body has not been found. Jane falls in love with the rich and handsome Mr. Rochester and moves in with him. She is obsessed by thoughts of the successful and beautiful Bea and wonders if Eddie will ever love her as intensely. Narrators Emily Shaffer, Kirby Heyborne, and Lauren Fortgang do an excellent job reading this gripping and intriguing mystery. Patrons who have read Jane Eyre will enjoy the similarities between the two books and be delightfully surprised by the unexpected twists in the modern story. VERDICT This well-narrated, suspenseful psychological thriller is recommended for the audiobook collections of all public libraries.—Ilka Gordon, Beachwood, OH
Kirkus Reviews
2021-06-16
Jane Eyre gets a modern, Alabama-based reboot in Hawkins’ latest thriller.
Dog walker to the elite and sometime petty thief, Jane will do what she must to survive. Growing up as a witness to violence in various foster homes, she’s tougher than she looks. Then she meets Eddie Rochester, who's recently lost his wife, Bertha, and his wife’s best friend, Blanche Ingraham, in a tragic boating accident, their bodies never found. Dating Eddie gives Jane the social capital to move from dog walker to equal within the neighborhood, and soon, copying the style and mannerisms of the status-conscious women around her, she is welcome on their committees and at their parties. Bea Rochester, who was the glossy creator of a fashion brand, gets her own sections of the story as well. Given the names, it quickly becomes clear that Hawkins is basing the novel on Jane Eyre. While reimagining the classics is always fair game, there must be a point to it; that is, the original text must in some way enhance or add complexity or interest to the new text, and vice versa. In this case, Hawkins’ novel falls short. Given the title and all the existing criticism of Charlotte Brontë’s original, Hawkins had the opportunity to explore the ideas of feminism and exoticism through a 21st-century lens; to critique ideas of masculine strength and mental health; to overlay a more complex idea of family and parenting and status. Instead, the characters are themselves mere caricatures whose only claims to having layers are the names they share with the originals. The Gothic creepiness is mostly lost; the subtext is nonexistent; and perhaps worst of all, Jane, though never perhaps a heroine to emulate, loses the opportunity to change and evolve. With no one to feel for, or even cheer for, the novel offers little true enjoyment and never really takes off as an original mystery.
Skip this one and read Wide Sargasso Sea instead.
