The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

BOOK STATS

Rating: ☆☆1/2
Title: The Wives
Author: Tarryn Fisher
Genre: Thriller
Audience: Adult
Format: Hardcover
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Graydon House
Release Date: December 30, 2019
Source: Purchased (Book of the Month)
Triggers: miscarriage and infertility are central to the story

SYNOPSIS

Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.

MY THOUGHTS

The Wives was my December Book of the Month pick. Overall, I found it to be an underwhelming, disappointing, generic domestic thriller. This started off promising, with an unusual premise that seemed unique, but the execution fell flat for me.

I quickly realized I did not care for the main character. As an avid thriller reader, I don’t expect to like every MC, but I did not connect to her at all. I felt no sympathy when she suddenly became unhappy with the arrangement for her husband to have two other wives that she had agreed to.

About halfway through the book there was a major twist that came out of nowhere, and from that point I had no idea what was going on–not in the good, suspenseful way, but in the confusing, why-is-this-happening way.

The last few chapters left my head spinning as about a dozen different versions of “the truth” were revealed before settling on an unoriginal conclusion that left a bad taste in my mouth. What started off as a seemingly original story went down the same path that many domestic thrillers follow.

I gave this 2.5 stars instead of just 2 because despite my lack of satisfaction with the story, it was still fast-paced and gripping enough to keep me turning pages until the end.