"The Wife Stalker"

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“The Wife Stalker”

Written by Liv Constantine

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

“The Wife Stalker” is the fourth book I have read by the two sisters that use the pen name, Liv Constantine. Their first book, “The Last Mrs. Parrish” is a phenomenal psychological thriller, and unfortunately, none of their later books have never held up to “Parrish’s” gold standard. I anticipated “T.W.S.”, because of its plot premise. The premise boasts a scorching thriller about Piper and Joanna, two wives of Leo, the second and the ex respectfully. Piper found Leo, enticed him with her wiles, which stopped his attention for Joanna. However, Joanna refuses to let her husband leave without a fight, choosing to terrorize him and Piper and stalk them. The wife stalker becomes the stalked. In a final, maddening but satisfying twist, we learn about who Joanna really is and her final intentions.

 

I admit, I enjoyed this more than I originally anticipated. The plot was intriguing and certainly entertaining, however, because this was a slow burn story, the reading experience dragged in some areas. The suspicion and the blame alternates between characters, as you desperately hope for the safety of the children. What’s in those green smoothies? Why is the nanny taking suspicious phone calls? When the final reveal came forth, I was ecstatic for a plot twist that finally made sense. I chose to re-read certain passages in the new light, seeing how there were certain clues. This reminded me much of my experience with “The Sixth Sense”, “The Wife Between Us”, and “The Silent Patient”. The dramatic turn reminded me of what I loved so much about “The Last Mrs. Parrish”. The Constantine sisters went back to the roots of what made their first novel so excellent and created a great new one.

 

There’s always a ‘but’, so here it is. Due to the twist, a new character was implicated as the villain the whole time. Because of this, the characters’ intentions in certain dramatic moments were left unexplained. So, there was nothing in the smoothies? Sometimes, when we have certain reveals, they are remembered through the perspective of the villain or the character with new understanding, like in “The Sixth Sense”. However, there were too many unanswered questions for me to find this book to be as perfect as “The Last Mrs. Parrish”.

 

I eagerly recommend this to my readers and anyone reading this review, even if thriller is not often the genre you enjoy reading. You can read this with a critical eye, or you can lazily read it by the beach with a cocktail. I think that this book has many sides and edges to it, that can appeal to anyone. Naturally, I also recommend the Constantine sisters’ first book. Their two in the middle were flat and unimpressive, and please feel free to read my reviews on them: “The Last Time I Saw You” and “The Network”.

From me, this book receives a four-star rating out of five stars, due to its occasional slow pace and unanswered questions.

 

I received a complimentary finished copy from Harper Books in exchange for reading and reviewing. Thank you to the publishing house for the opportunity.