The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

The last few plot twists of the story are ones that are hard to see coming. Jane’s secrets are more gossip worthy, but the secrets Bea and Eddie had made the book turn from a mystery to a suspense mystery. Jane’s background is a secret she wants to keep, but it is nothing compared to the secrets in the upscale Alabama community she moves into. The summary below is short, and not full of the usual amount of details so that there are few spoilers. Highly recommended suspense, but not detailed gore, read for when you need something to keep you on the edge of your seat without too much of a scare.

Character List/Book Summary:

Jane – not her real name, the name of a dead girl from a previous life that she knew in Arizona. Had been in foster care as Helen Burns. Walks dogs in an upscale community, has a habit to steal items.

Eddie Rochester – almost runs Jane over one day while she is walking a dog. They get to talking and eventually date. Eddie asks Jane to move in with him and then proposes. Eddie has secrets of his own that are being kept from Jane. His wife Bea disappeared 6 months ago, is legally declared dead so that he can manager her multi-million dollar company as she would have wanted it to be run.

Bea Rochester – Eddie’s “dead wife” and founder of Southern Manor. Marries Eddie without a prenup. Goes missing the same time as her BFF Blanche (who was jealous of Bea), both are presumed to have drowned after falling off a boat at Bea’s lake house. Writes a message to Jane. Her secrets run deep, and Blanche thinks she may have killed her mother.

Tripp Ingraham – Blanche’s husband, thinks Blanche and Eddie were having an affair. Warns Jane about women near Eddie have bad luck. Police suspect Tripp when Blanche’s body surfaces from the depths of the lake months later.

John Rivers – Jane stays with him originally, he doesn’t respect her and tries to blackmail her once she moves out.