The Wife's House by Arianna Richmond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Synopsis
Expected publication date: August 24th, 2020
Like a modern day Rebecca, we never find out our protagonists name, only that she is Mrs. Trujillo, wife of Juan Trujillo.
Our nameless protagonist has recently lost her husband. She spends a lot of time alone in her large glass mansion, called Cliffside. The house and a particular spot in the woods behind it haunts her. She mourns her late husband, drinks too much wine, and avoids her critical mother and friend as much as possible.
One day while walking in the woods, she meets a trio of young adults- triplets Dan, Kate, and Jennifer. Their mother is dying of cancer in Zurich, and their father passed away when they were just babies. Our protagonist welcomes the triplets into her home with disastrous consequences.
This book sinks into you and does not let go. The writing itself, and the construction of Cliffside, is extremely reminiscent of Du Maurier’s Rebecca. The beginning is has creepy haunting vibes, despite being set in California. The descriptions actually made me shiver, and I was reading this outside, in 80 degree weather.
The last portion of the book almost felt like it was written by a different author, though, and became more twisty and less realistic.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and would still recommend it!
Expected publication date: August 24th, 2020
Like a modern day Rebecca, we never find out our protagonists name, only that she is Mrs. Trujillo, wife of Juan Trujillo.
Our nameless protagonist has recently lost her husband. She spends a lot of time alone in her large glass mansion, called Cliffside. The house and a particular spot in the woods behind it haunts her. She mourns her late husband, drinks too much wine, and avoids her critical mother and friend as much as possible.
One day while walking in the woods, she meets a trio of young adults- triplets Dan, Kate, and Jennifer. Their mother is dying of cancer in Zurich, and their father passed away when they were just babies. Our protagonist welcomes the triplets into her home with disastrous consequences.
This book sinks into you and does not let go. The writing itself, and the construction of Cliffside, is extremely reminiscent of Du Maurier’s Rebecca. The beginning is has creepy haunting vibes, despite being set in California. The descriptions actually made me shiver, and I was reading this outside, in 80 degree weather.
The last portion of the book almost felt like it was written by a different author, though, and became more twisty and less realistic.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and would still recommend it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Excerpts:
"And his lies and secrets sat like heartburn thick in my throat."
"Why did I even care what strangers thought? But I did. The fallout of being judged by someone was my Achille's heel. That feeling could be ignited by the smallest thing. A look. A raised eyebrow. A sigh. A laugh."
In-Depth:
This book really truly reminded me of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca.
- The nameless main character, only known as Mrs.
- The Mrs. is a lonely woman- quiet, shy, naive, and she cannot believe her rich, handsome husband ever chose her.
- A husband, hiding a dark secret.
- The creepy, fancy, giant house- Manderly and Cliffside.
- The creepy woods and body of water behind the house.
- The housekeeper, who is a grouchy woman who seems to intimidate the MC.
- The gloomy, noir feeling.
- Bye, bye, nice house.
And then it veers off in a completely different direction!!
Spoilers for Rebecca:
We of course find out that the husband, Maxim, has murdered his former wife, Rebecca, whose presence haunts Manderly. Mrs. Danvers, the creepy housekeeper, sabotages the unnamed MC at every turn. After Rebecca's body is found, and Maxim confesses to the murder to his wife, Mrs. Danvers lights Manderly on fire! Maxim and the still unnamed MC basically run away and start a new life, as equal partners, as she is finally on even footing with Maxim.
Spoilers for The Wife's House
-please don't read further unless you want the book spoiled for you!
Mrs. Trujillo and her husband, Juan, move into the beautiful Cliffside. Just before dying, Juan becomes the owner of a whole crap-ton of money, which he buries in the backyard with Mrs.' help. Then the triplets move in, and it turns out they're insane and want the Mrs' money and Cliffside. And also, that they are Juan's son, from his first marriage- which he never even told Mrs. about. The triplets- whose mother has supposedly died, leaving them orphans- trap her and make her miserable and cause her to become addicted to pain meds, but she is able to run away to Pippa. But then she overhears a phone call and deduces that Pippa is actually working with the triplets. But then... it turns out Juan's ex-wife is alive. She digs up the money and the cartel(?) comes for her. ln the midst of a mudslide, which leaves Pippa, the triplets, their mother, and several police officers dead. But then, a very-not-dead Juan rescues Mrs. and they escape to a small Mediterranean island. Mrs. tells us that it has taken some time, but she has forgiven Juan and they now have a little one on the way, living in a house that Juan has restored since coming clean with her about all his past.
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