My Thoughts on The Wife Between Us

I will give my thoughts on the book The Wife Between. Please note that there are spoilers ahead.

Why I Chose The Wife Between Us

The reason I picked up the book in the first place was because I thought it looked mysterious. I found it at my local library. In the cover it says that it is likened to Gone Girl, and Girl on a Train. I thoroughly enjoyed these stories. I liked the mystery and having it unravel before me. I also liked the description of the story that they put. It wasn’t a description at all LOL. It was more of a reminder not to make assumptions based off what you’re reading. It was good for me to remind myself of that throughout the first part of the book.
I read this book in a little less than a week, I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know the mystery.
And by the second half of the book, I was hooked!
They let you in on the secret just a bit by revealing that Nellie was Vanessa.

Richard and Maureen

There were so many plot twists though. After I had finished reading, I'm not sure if I felt the story was complete.
How many ex-wives did Richard have?
Did his concussion lead to his behavior?
Why was his sister Maureen covering up for him?
Why hadn't she warned the women?
Did she feel any guilt at all?
I don't know how she couldn't have known or noticed anything strange. She was herself a highly educated Professor.
Richard also lied about going to get a sperm count…but he kept insisting that Vanessa stay on the fertility medication. Why did he lie?
Could Richard have children or not?
It could have been a way to make her feel inadequate because she thought she couldn’t have kids. I just wish they would have been clearer, and I wish they would have told you why Richard lied to her about that.

Emma

Emma turned out to be the professor's daughter that Vanessa had an affair with...
Why?
Emma wanted to break up Vanessa's marriage, the way she had done to her parents.
I thought for a second, am I reading the Kill Bill book?
There is just so so so so much going on, and I’m not sure if it’s actually believable. What I mean by that is, could there be a little girl so angry and her dad’s mistress, that YEARS later, she would try to break up the mistress’s marriage?

The Counselor

The counselor that Vanessa snuck to visit, was really Richard's ex-wife, Kate. Vanessa mentioned that she should just leave him, but Kate asked if she wanted a drink abruptly. She began to limp when she went to get the drink. Why the secrecy? Why couldn't she just come out and tell Vanessa what happened in their marriage?
It was so frustrating.
I understand wanting to keep the audience on their toes, but some things are just unnecessary.

The Rollercoaster of Plot Twists

From Vanessa's Past, to explaining about Nellie. To the abuse, to Vanessa plotting to trick Richard into loving someone else. To Emma TRYING to break up their marriage. To Kate, Richard's ex wife who had secretly been stalking Vanessa. To Richard's parents past, toward the end, I just wanted it to be over. The book is 343 pages. I felt that it dragged on longer than it should, and they kept adding plot twist just so they could be smarter than the reader.
Don't get me wrong, I thought some of them were really great, but not every single one. Ultimately, I feel when there are soooo many plot twists, there will inevitable be holes in the story.

Takeaway

I didn't feel all my questions were answered, and that everything added up the way I would have liked. I do think that you should be a little forgiving towards this book. There is a lot in the story that just isn’t realistic. For instance, the Emma storyline. I also find it strange that Maureen acted the way she did. But overall, I think it was a fun story to read especially if you like mystery and plot twists. This book will not disappoint you if that's what you are looking for. However, if you are a bit anal like me, and want the story to come together perfectly…and have everything explained well, it may not be what you're looking for.