Saturday Suspense: The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

 

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,

   

  The Third Wife is written by Lisa Jewell and is published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. In it, we are introduced to Maya Wolfe one cold early morning, as she stumbles drunk down Charing Cross Road in London. She is a woman on the edge, and her personal demons are out this early morning. She lurches forward, taking in all the sights she sees, including a bright light heading toward her. And minutes later Maya lies dead in the road, having been hit by a bus.

   Her husband, Adrian, is beside himself with grief. He lives for months in his small home with Maya's cat, Billie. Unshaven, thin, and inconsolable, Adrian decides the time to move on has come. He hangs an advertisement in the local post office for someone to adopt Billie. This brings Jane into his life. She is young, pretty, and gets along with Billie rather fast. But Jane is nosy. Jane asks a lot of questions, but not about the cat. She wonders about his family, even reading the message board he uses to keep track of his family. He is suspicious, but she is lovely. After returning a second time she decides that Billie would best serve as a companion for Adrian and leaves. 

  Strange things begin to surface, including poison emails directed at Maya are found. Jane is found watching a family member and seems to be stalking the Wolfe family. Adrian wonders if Maya's death was not an accident and if she was driven to suicide. The secret life of Adrian Wolfe's third wife is about to be known and Jane may have more answers than he is ready for.

  The Third Wife was a riveting narrative of family drama and secrets. From the first few pages I wanted to know what had caused Maya to walk in front of a bus at three o'clock in the morning. As I began to dig deeper into Maya's story (cleverly delivered with a personal narrative), I began to grow more and more suspicious of those around her. I needed to know who wrote the emails. I was intrigued by Adrian's twisty family history and who Jane really was. Lisa Jewell has a knack for writing excellent stories of family drama and suspense. I was never bored during this book, and I enjoyed the ensemble cast of Wolfe family members. The mystery surrounding Maya Wolfe was more than I expected, and the reveal of the author of the hateful emails had me reeling. 

  I read this novel in part with the amazing narration of actor, Joe Jameson. He had an even voice that left the story balancing on emotion and a sense of urgency. His transition between character voices never left me confused, and I enjoyed his presentation a lot. 

  In the end, the Third Wife was a four-star read for me. Once again I finish a Lisa Jewell novel that I cannot stop thinking about.

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