The Third Wife: A Novel

BIG TIME SPOILERS HERE READERS.

Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advancing me a free copy of “The Third Wife” by Lisa Jewell in exchange for an honest review.

Talk about a novel that went on a bit too much only to become so boring and mundane. A novel with the most boring characters, none of whom I liked very much. Intriguing story? Yes. However, poorly executed.

The story orbits around one man, Adrian; a man who’s never been alone once in his entire adult life; a man who comes to the realization that he doesn’t know how to live life all alone, until his third wife passes on. Adrian’s been married three times and has five children, two from his first and three from his second. He married wife number one, Susie; left her for wife number two, Caroline; and left her for wife number three, Maya, the youngest of them all. Throughout it all, Adrian has been very happy and figures if he’s so happy, his ex-wives and children are as well. Well they must be as the wives and children all get along, the children so friendly with the wives they’re often at any one of the homes, they celebrate birthdays together, and they always take vacations together, everyone having a grand ole’ time. Life couldn’t be any better for Adrian except for having a baby with Maya. That is until Maya is killed by a bus. Questions arise. Was she killed? Was it suicide? Or was it an Accident? Trying to find the answers, real feelings, truths and admissions start to surface from within his huge happy family, in particular from his children. What I found most interesting about Adrian was that in addition to being so happy, he didn’t think he had any flaws. However, when it came to his children all he could see were the many flaws each child had, and can’t understand why. He also misleads his third wife telling her how much he hated the houses he left to his ex’s, how cold and soulless they each were; how his ex’s ignored the children for their own selfish reasons, etc. When in fact the opposite was the truth.

- Luke talking with his father:
““Remembering things is not the same as caring about them.
“Of course I care! How can you suggest I don’t? All I bloody do is care!”
Luke sighed and his cheeks twitched and hollowed as he considered his next point. “No. You don’t. If you cared you’d notice that Cat is stress-eating because she’s so unhappy. You’d notice that Pearl has no life and no friends and everyone thinks she’s weird. You’d notice that Otis is miserable and retreating into himself. You’d notice that I-” He stopped.
“Kids are kids. They go through phases. Moods. It’s normal.”
“There is nothing normal about our family, dad. I mean, what were you thinking? How did you think it was going to be OK just to keep building families and then leaving them?””

Adrian is the epitome of being one selfish, self-obsessed, and loquacious bastard. Always thinking the grass is greener on the other side. Never once reflecting how his actions may affect his ex-wives and children. Now alone and watching his ex-wives move on with their life with their careers and new companions, self-realizations being to occur.

“They had all belonged to him once; the houses, the wives, the children. And yet now he had nothing. A crap flat, a weird cat, a stranger’s phone. For nearly five decades he had lived with an unshakeable belief in the decisions he made. Every morning for forty-eight years he had woken up and thought: I am where I want to be right now. And now he was not. He did not want to be in this flat, with his cat and this phone and this feeling of cold dread. He’d made a bad choice somewhere along the line but he didn’t know where.”

Wanting the best of both worlds, he has his new younger wife, and his children he sees on the days he’s scheduled to be with them that conveniently live with his ex. He thinks he’s a great father, yet leaves all the responsibilities of raising them to his ex’s, and ignores the fall-out and problems that arise from his actions. So narcissistic is Adrian, he feels that he can’t help it if all women find him desirable. Unbelievable!

I honestly didn’t like any of the characters, and it goes without saying that I hated Adrian the most. That being said, he was he most well-developed character and for this I applaud the author when it came to wielding such a selfish, arrogant, and ignorant husband/father.

In the end, the novel was bland and predictable. And the whole mystery regarding his third wife’s death, a complete letdown. But what galled me the most is the HEA Adrian ends up with. Yes, it seems one of his ex’s took him back. I actually thought he deserved to be all alone. But hey, that’s me.

My Review: I absolutely adored Jewell's previous book, The House We Grew Up In so I was more than a little eager to read and review her latest book, The Third Wife. In this book Jewell takes on a mystery and the issues of multiple/extended families.

In her previous books, Jewell was able to hook me from the beginning with her characters and her writing style. Unfortunately with this book I struggled to connect with Adrian or any of the other characters and there seemed to lack energy in the overall story line. The mystery surrounding his third wife, Maya's death initially was quite interesting and I was eager to find out what had happened to her and who was stalking Adrian but in the end the result was lackluster.

Then there's the patriarch Adrian. Oh Adrian. He's a nice guy. He has good relationships with his ex-wives. His life seems pretty awesome from the outside but the problem is ... Adrian. Unfortunately I found that fifty year old Adrian came off as silly and immature with his head in the clouds when it came to how his decisions affected his marriage/former marriages and his children. It didn't help that his ex-wives, whom I wish had more page time, seemed to indulge his actions. The Third Wife essentially is Adrian's late in life coming of age story.

This book focuses on the very complicated issue of family. It was inspiring to read about a multiple divorce family getting along so well without the nastiness between the ex-wives but overall I felt a little let down with this latest book by Jewell.

My Rating: 3/5 stars
**This book review can also be found on my blog, The Baking Bookworm (www.thebakingbookworm.blogspot.ca) where I share hundreds of book reviews and my favourite recipes. **

Bestselling British author Lisa Jewell explores the dynamics of a blended family life in the riveting "The Third Wife: A Novel" (2015). Adrian Wolfe, the patriarch of a large family with two former wives and five children, was proud that his former wives and five children got along so well they vacationed and took their holidays with him and his current wife Maya. Maya was his beloved organized third wife that kept all the family information, schedules, activities and all birthdays on a large white board in their kitchen.

Things were not as wonderful they seemed. When Maya was struck and killed by a bus after drinking in a pub until dark thirty in the morning, there were some serious questions raised as Adrian mourned and grieved for his lost wife. What had caused Maya to be out so late and drinking? The investigator gently brought up the possibility of suicide, which Adrian outright rejected--yet nothing about her death made sense to him, as he began to search for clues in this compelling family drama. Jewell expertly develops the situations and character's in a realistic manner that will stay with readers long after the last page is finished. 3*GOOD **With thanks to the Seattle Public Library.

“You’re a love addict.”

Things aren’t always as they appear. That was the underlying theme throughout this twisted family drama that kept me enthralled, pretty much until the end. It was well-written, dynamic and left me wanting to pick up the author’s other books.

The story centered around a man, Adrian Wolfe, and his unique family situation. When the story started off, my heart broke for him. Here’s a guy that just lost his third wife. Yes . . . third. It’s hard to fathom, anyone could believe in love after two failed marriages, but this guy was convinced, he had finally found the one. The woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

Was Maya's death a terrible accident or was it a suicide? The circumstances of that night, didn't really fit with the person everyone knew. Or thought they knew.

From all outward appearances, Maya was the perfect fit for Adrian’s unconventional family. Still immersed in his ex-wives lives and juggling the schedules of his five kids, Maya didn’t have much choice but to be accepting and join in the chaos. It honestly was a strange dynamic. One, I couldn’t ever imagine any woman signing up to be a part of. But, sometimes love makes us do crazy things, right?

In an attempt to move on, after Maya’s death, Adrian tries to find a home for her cat. He meets a woman that opens his eyes to the possibility that maybe things weren’t as great as he once believed. Her role in the story and some of the secrets along the way, played out a little differently than expected.

By the end of the story, my feelings for Adrian had totally changed. I felt like I had been duped. It all boiled down to his selfishness and total disregard for anyone else’s feelings. He had convinced himself that just because he was happy, so was everyone else around him. In a way, maybe a typical guy, oblivious to the feelings of those around him?

The story was a little bit of a slow build, but the author really took the time to develop the characters and to ratchet up the suspense, which I appreciated. Where the story failed for me was the ending. It wasn’t satisfying. I wanted more. Something bigger and bolder. I won’t go so far to say it ruined the story, but it definitely didn’t live up to the expectations, I felt the rest of the story garnered.

I honestly was so disappointed with this book. I'm a huge fan of Lisa Jewell. Her books are usually exciting and leaving me wanting more. This one disappointed me and left me hating the main character. The book was also very confusing at times. Usually in Lisa case her books leave me with a satisfied conclusion but with the third wife is what the opposite. If the author goal was for me to dislike the main character and think of his as shallow then she succeeded. When the book first started my heart broke for Adrian. Here's a man that despite two fail marriages has yet to give up on love. Enter Maya who fits perfectly into his chaotic life style. But of course there's a mystery since the author is a mystery writer. How did Maya die? By the end of the book no one feels sorry for the Adrian. He becomes despicable and down right delusional. I didn't like this book. I couldn't identify with the character I found the book drag and I really was disappointed. This author can do better!!! She has in the past.

Enjoyed reading this one quite a bit. It focuses on Adrian and his families. He sets them up with one wife and then leaves them to start anew. (Yuck, I know.) They have all done the impossible by swinging with the punches and becoming unlikely friends and extended relatives. The children of one wife babysit the children of the new wife, they all vacation together, etc. Even the new, third wife is fully accepted, despite having no children with Adrian, which she assumes will put her at the bottom of the heap of importance. She may be right. When she dies in chapter one, you get the sense life has actually improved for the rest of them, especially since Adrian has more time to spend with them all. Even Adrian seems to miss and mourn the idea of any young woman in his flat more than Maya in particular.

Enter a mysterious woman with suspicious motives. Does she have something to do with Maya's death? And then there are scathing emails apparently sent to Maya in the year before her death. Did the mystery woman write those, and why? What about the eldest boy's controlling girlfriend or Maya's weird, rich friend? No fear, Adrian has a brood of children willing to help with the detective work (anybody remember that old Chinese Scooby Doo cartoon called The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan?) It's great fun until the clues start pointing inward toward a member of the family itself.

I thought throughout, and then the author wrote the same thing, that this was a little like the old mysteries when the police detective gathers everyone in one lavish room and says, "one of you is a murderer!" And in that scenario, you have a lot of possibilities because everybody's scheming against each other and out for themselves, despite pockets of dubious alliances. Only in *this* book, everyone is part of a seemingly loving, close family. It ratchets up the unease thinking someone who embraces you in person could send you threatening emails that not only frighten but tear down your self esteem over time.

I always wonder if nothing new ever happens in mysteries or if I think that because I just plain don't like mysteries, so finding something that feels new was a great surprise, even if this was more of a genre-bending mystery/family drama in disguise as a mystery.

spoilers:
Do I love the ending? No, I want people who do bad things to pay. Adrian, who appears to feel genuine remorse -- finally-- for leaving his families behind, starts fresh by....giving up his cat? Boo! Then there's the idea of this average, late-40's man being irresistible to all women. Two divorces (each caused by his infidelity) and 5 kids would be a deal breaker for a lot of young, gorgeous women but he's just getting them right and left. And Cat? She has genuine problems, maybe even psychopathy. Not crazy about her riding off into the sunset with the rest of them.

But ultimately, the person who paid the most for Adrian's sins was the new wife, Maya, even though the kids mostly admit if it weren't her he cheated with and left for, it would be another woman. Her whole character is upsetting because she's just so meaningless. She's a stand-in until the next woman; she's the overlooked "help." Even the chapters with Maya's own thoughts show us how unimportant she is. She doesn't think she deserves to get to the bottom of the threatening emails she gets. She means so little that people don't even think to flush the toilet when she's around. And she finally had a chance to change that and live her own life but died instead, meaning even the author, who continually pointed out the injustices done to third-wheel Maya, remedied all that neatly by writing her off just as she gained self awareness. I once read a movie review that said "Hollywood doesn't like to leave messy, broken women alive. It prefers to bump them off so we don't feel uncomfortable about them having to work through things." There's a little bit of that here: Maya, the childless one, the oddball one, not quite young and not quite old, not quite plain and not quite beautiful, not quite settled in any way, has to go. I confess, even though it would have been hackneyed, I wanted her to pop back up, having been safely stashed away in some kind of police sting, living with the mystery woman or whatever, having some sort of power about her finally. One of the few books where I wanted better for The Other Woman than she gets. Another woman died so a man could have a whole story and a breakthrough; now THAT we've seen before, unfortunately.

Our story begins in Islington, England, in April 2011, when a young woman named Maya, in a state of inebriation and possible confusion, steps in front of a bus and is killed.

Adrian Wolfe was her husband, but she was his third wife. Like a serial adulterer or serial monogamist, he had the ability to move on whenever he felt as though the bloom had faded from his love life. Never mind that he had a total of five children: Luke and Cat with his first wife, Susie, and Otis, Pearl, and Beau with his second wife Caroline.

Now with Maya's death on his conscience, we see Adrian wallowing in his grief and asking the unanswerable questions. Did Maya purposely step in front of the bus, or did some action by others drive her to it? When Adrian finds out about a series of vicious e-mails that someone had been sending to Maya, addressed to "Dear Bitch," he wants to learn more.

When a mysterious woman who calls herself Jane appears in his life, on the pretext of adopting Maya's cat, he wonders if there is a connection somehow.

A sweeping tale about learning to live with the consequences of one's own actions, and also figuring out how to reinvent one's own life in light of this learning, The Third Wife: A Novel has multiple narrators and time periods that flow back and forth, from 2010 to the present. As the story unfolds, we learn more about each of the characters and begin to understand more about Maya's actions, her thoughts, and what was going on with her at the end. We also see Adrian coming to terms with his own behavior and how he reframes his choices in order to make them fit with the fairytale narrative he has written for himself. A 5 star read for me, it will appeal to those who enjoy stories about family and relationships.

Interesting look at divorce as it relates to personal happiness and the repercussions of pursuing it. Adrian is married for the third time and the whole extended family, 5 kids and 2 previous wives all get along marvelously and even vacation together. When the third wife dies tragically, the facade begins to crumble. I thought it did a great job of distinguishing love in the long run from the glow of the "in love" euphoria. Defining genuine love and happiness versus the fleeting high of new love. I think it also spoke strongly to how we can deceive ourselves that the selfish choices we make are not harmful to those around us. I found it hard to put down and the fact that several characters could've been the culprit reminded me of And Then There Were None, a good remake just came out with Aidan Turner, which I had watched recently. Not long after the thought had crossed my mind I came to the line "Like guests at an Agatha Christie-style weekend house party, each one had a motive." Highly recommended. Very clean, no sex, the only real language is a series of harassing emails addressed Dear B****.

I was quite astounded by this story, imagining Adrian’s large extended families seeming to function so normally with one another. You would think that having two ex-wives with five children between them, would somehow make the new wife, Maya feel a bit uncomfortable. But, No! She would babysit for his children at his ex-wife’s home. If you are getting divorced and have children, this is a great way to live. It was really a beautiful thing. But, that is where my loyalties remained. I felt a bit all over the place not being able to attach to any character in particular.
The story opens up with Adrian’s present wife, Maya being hit by a bus and dying upon impact. There were so many questions surrounding the accident; yet, it remained being considered an accident….even when Adrian began looking in to the truth behind it. He was concerned it may have been more than an accident…it could have been a suicide or even a homicide. By the end of the book, you are hoping for an answer.
It was stated in the book that Adrian was “in love with love” and that he “liked being married”. So, I was rather bothered by the lack of emotion regarding what Adrian put his ex-wives through. He did not understand what it is to be in love or married…I mean, you have to make it through even the rough spots, and not keep moving on to the next woman when you feel you have “lost that loving feeling”. (Not to be cheesy, my apologies) But, he would always run. I felt that there was a plot here that could have been more established.
Well, suffice it to say, I fell head over heels for the Bird family in Lisa Jewell’s book “The House We Grew Up In” and really expected to have the same connection…but, that was not the case. I still want to read all of her other books, as her writing is still superb.

A special thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

British author, Lisa Jewell, once again has a thumb on today’s marriage, relationships, and blended families in her latest complex and emotional psychological suspense drama, THE THIRD WIFE.

Three women have one thing in common – Adrian Wolfe, a man, a father, a current husband, and former husband for two different wives, and five children between two of the former wives.

Fifty year old Adrian, an accomplished architect, married to this third wife Maya, with no children has now lost his wife, as she stepped in front of a London bus and was killed. Mysteriously, it was late one night and she was drunk. Why was she drunk at this late hour? Suicide or accident? Was she going through something, or troubled in some way; perhaps hidden her issues from her family?

Now a year after Maya's mysterious death, Adrian is pondering what really happened to his wife. He begins to track the days prior to the event, to try and put together the pieces of the puzzle to help him understand what his wife may have been experiencing, leading to such devastation.

As the book opens, Adrian places an ad around town and in the papers trying to find a new home for Maya’s cat, Billie. This mysterious woman Jane sees him put the ad and pretends to want the cat, and begins visiting the home of Adrian. She appears to be a stalker. How does this woman fit into the mystery? Adrian has always found some sort of blemish in all of his wives and immediately finds one small one with Jane; however, he is taken with her. In the meantime, Adrian finds a number of disturbing emails on Maya’s computer.

As we hear from multiple viewpoints, we find Adrian thinks everyone is one happy family. However are they really? Susie, his first wife living in the country and mother of Cat, and Luke, both in their twenties (these two are not so easy). Adrian left his first family for glamorous Caroline, who resides in a beautiful city townhome with three children all under the age of twelve: Beau, Pearl, and Otis. Believe it or not, they all spend holidays together and share custody.

As Adrian begins diving into Maya’s death, things are not as perfect as he thought. To further increase the intensity and complexity, we hear from Maya’s point of view. How difficult it was to be childless and be a part of this overwhelming family. More hidden secrets are uncovered and Adrian is sure this stalker woman Jane, may somehow be connected.

As the suspense builds, Jewell is a master at creating psychological gripping family drama, blending past with present for a mystery and a contemporary portrayal of today's blended family unit. A realistic examination into the complexities and emotions of modern day families.

I can relate to the story, as I have been a first wife, a second wife, an ex-wife, (never want to be a third wife), happily divorced for more than twenty-five years; a mom of two boys, and a former step-mom of three boys and they all resided with us (when we married all boys were under the age of 15). There is no end to the daily complications, when you have this many people emotionally connected.

Fans of psychological suspense, mystery, women’s fiction, chick-lit, and family drama, as well as those who enjoy authors, Amy Hatvany, Sarah Pekkanen, Jane Green, Liane Moriarty, and Jojo Moyes will appreciate Lisa’s clever and skillful writing style, as she manages multiple perspectives with ease.

If you enjoyed THIRD WIFE, I recommend The House We Grew Up In, another winner by Jewell.

The first part of this book centers around Adrian and is seen from his point of view. I did not like it and I did not like him. He's on wife #3 with five kids and they all take vacations together, love Adrian and get along...really? In what world does this happen? A Polygamist family? I would have stopped reading but I like Lisa Jewell's writing and kept thinking it would get better.

Then the book switched to Maya and we learn about the family from her point of view--and it's much more believable. The story gets better, the characters develop and the real picture comes together.

The impact of Adrian's selfish actions on the lives of his children really struck me. How often do we hear that children are flexible and resilient? How heartbreaking for a child who cherished early breakfast times with her Dad to suddenly be without him--eating breakfast alone while he's in bed with another woman. And for a boy who was a baby at the time to say years later that he wished he had been older so he could have tried to stop his dad from leaving. And for the two children of wife #1 to know Dad is living in a big house with wife #2 and their three kids are getting Dad full time.

Jewell did a wonderful job exploring relationships between children, siblings, parents and growing up. The children, their mothers and Maya are flawed but lovable and real. Adrian is a delusional mess.

Ebook courtesy of the publishers at Net Galley for review.

Adrian has been married three times. First he marries Susan and has two children. Then, he leaves her to marry Caroline that resulted in three children. Next, he leaves Caroline for Maya and they have no children. This big extended family hangs out together, goes on vacation together, babysits each others children. Much of the coordinating of everyone’s activities falls to Maya and why not. She has no children and even though she works, she should still have time to take care of everyone else - right? From the outside, this looks like an amazingly blended family. But as we know, looks can be deceiving. One night, after some heavy drinking, Maya steps in front of a bus and is killed. What secrets was Maya holding on to that led to this fateful night?

I like the way Lisa Jewell develops her characters. Adrian is oblivious to how his behavior has impacted his family. He thinks if he’s happy, everyone else must be happy. I wanted to slap him.And poor Maya, I felt so sorry for her as her seemingly happy little life slowly falls apart. I enjoyed the suspense as Adrian pieces together the mystery that was his third wife. This was well paced and smartly written. No surprise from this very talented author.

My thanks to Atria Books, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Adrian marries Susie. Has kids with Susie. Leaves Susie for Caroline.

Adrian marries Caroline. Has kids with Caroline. Leaves Caroline for Maya.

Adrian marries Maya. Maya walks in front of a bus.

Ah, got your attention now, don’t I?

That, quite simply, is the skeletal spine of The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell. No, it is not a thriller, although there is a point fairly early on where you might think differently. Not to worry. You can read this one alone, at night, with the door unlocked or the window open. You won’t have bad dreams or wake up thinking a killer is on his way up the stairs when in fact it was only one of the cats jumping down off something, landing loud and/or knocking that sailboat model to the ground that you didn’t much care for anyway…

The Third Wife is a domestic drama; the inner workings of the family, and it is fascinating. You, the reader, have quite literally walked into the Wolfe den(sorry, it’s everyone’s surname, couldn’t help myself). Somehow all three wives, all the children, and Adrian manage to not only get along well, but vacation together each summer…hmmm, right…something doesn’t sound believable…

But it is; believable that is. And easy to follow. With one son graduating high school next week and another preparing for major surgery AND a randomly peeing cat, my mind was all over the place. Yet easily, gratefully, each time I cracked open the spine of The Third Wife, even for just a few stolen minutes at a time, I knew what was going on, who was involved, and what could happen next. It was like a mini massage for my brain, and was exactly what I needed.

I received a galley of this from the publisher--this is my honest review

Although I enjoyed reading this book a lot, it left me feeling troubled. (Spoiler alert - don't read further if you haven't finished the book.) I believe there was a crime committed here, and the author lets the perpetrator off with some "counseling." In fact, everybody in this sordid family should be getting counseling at the minimum. And yes, Adrian has his little "Daddy's Empire" shaken up, but the book fails to come to terms with the fact that someone actually died. He and the rest of them aren't somehow absolved because he now gets to live in an architecturally designed carriage house, whereas before he only had enough money to put up Maya in a dark hovel. This seemed like a celebration of selfishness, and no consequences, even for causing death.

A strong beginning to this book that instantly got my intention. I mean - someone gets hit by a bus, how could it not? I wanted to know why she was drunk; did she walk in front of the bus intentionally, or was it a horrible accident?

The story moves back and forth in time and switches point of view - a format that seems to be especially popular lately. Once I got into the rhythm, I could appreciate it for the ease with which the author built suspense with each tidbit she revealed.

I liked all the characters with all their flaws and quirks. I even liked Adrian who had the most flaws of all! The descriptions and character development were very good and the writing was excellent. I was surprised at the ending - not disappointed, but it was just different than I expected it would be.

This is a great read and I expect it will be a best seller!

After being disappointed by several books by favorite authors, I'm more of a fan of Lisa Jewell than ever. She creates characters that live and breathe, that you care about and she never stoops to plot manipulation or making those characters act out unbelievably as so many writers seem to do for the sake of a plot twist. The ending felt a tiny bit rushed and wrapped, but the story of how one man's romantic fickleness affected so many is a real life whodunit and you can't help wondering if this story isn't playing out in a family near you.

This is a surprisingly memorable novel. It's hard to keep track of all the characters at first, but that issue sorts itself out as the plot progresses. I liked the combination of complex family drama and compelling mystery. I liked, even more, the depiction of personal transformation, as the central character not only gains deep insight into himself and his relationships, but also finds the courage to act on what he has learned.

Lisa Jewell has once again outdone herself at creating impossibly "real" characters. This time it's Adrian, a middle aged man who is selfish and really should not be half as likable as Jewell makes him. This story, written by just about any other author, would leave me feeling rather annoyed and thinking "why do people have endless children when they don't have time for them?" but this was a beautiful and tender story. I loved it.

I really liked this book. It was a heartfelt mystery. I felt like I knew all the characters. Normally, with this many players in the game, some get lost. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Jewell's writing is wonderful. This novel, however, let me down about three quarters of the way through. Adrian, Maya, and all five kids were well developed. Less understandable was Caroline. Something just wasn't quite right in this big blended family and it isn't going to be solved with a resolution which rewards reprehensible behavior. I've liked Jewell before and I'll read her again but this one is not a favorite.

I liked that this book had love and romance, mystery and plotting, but also life lessons! It was well written, the characters developed well and kept me guessing until the end. Lisa Jewell has just risen to the top of my favorite, current authors list!

This book started off rather interesting, but then it slowed down and was difficult to continue. I'm glad I stuck with it though because I did end up enjoying the story and mystery. Not a favorite book of mine, but I found the characters to be realistic and I cared about them and what happened with their lives.

** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Okay girls, drag out the deckchairs, pour the Pimms, settle your self and wile away a couple of hours in this book about Adrian and his families.

Adrian has been married to Maya a couple of years before she wanders drunkenly into the path of a London bus and is killed. He is distraught and seeks comfort in his other two families. Yes - that's right -because Adrian, silly shambolic, selfish man has been married twice before. He left wife number 1 (Susie) and his two kids for Caroline who became wife number 2, bearing three children during their years together, then Caroline and kids were dumped for young, slim, beautiful Maya. They apparently all loved each other, spend holidays together, regularly have family gatherings, the older kids babysit the younger ones. All is wonderful - until Maya is killed.

Adrian, still grief-stricken a year on, advertises Maya's cat, Billie - he feels she needs a new home. Enter the enigmatic and stunning Jane. Adrian is immediately smitten and sets out to discover who she is.....and so the mystery, such as it is, unfolds. Slowly, verrry slowly.

This book is overly long by about a hundred pages, but it's an easy non-thinking person's book easily read in a couple of days, if that. The plot is so thin I could see right through it from the early stages; the characters, none of whom is likeable, are one-dimensional - the children are all beautiful, nauseatingly so, they live in desirable houses in Hove and London; it's the sort of lifestyle depicted in exactly this type of fiction and women's' magazines. There are so many holes and implausible scenarios that to list them all would be spoil things for the many readers who like this sort of light, fluffy fiction. I do not. It is not particularly well written - a bit clunky here and there, occasional grammatical errors, which I find grating - "whom" instead of "who" is one I find especially irritating.

Described as a "psychological thriller" it is anything but - it is popular, light summer chic-lit reading which will be lapped up by a certain type of reader who doesn't want to think too much and enjoys fairy tales.

I was reading this for the store Vine specifically to review, otherwise I wouldn't have gone near it.

This book waz okay. Too long, and essentially sad. The 'moral' of the story was good, but the telling of it was kind of boring in places. I got from the library, so no money lost. If I'd paid for it, I'd be sorry I bought it.

I really enjoyed this book! I read The Third Wife in one day! I spent my Memorial Day Holiday on my deck enjoying this book and the sunny day.
I found the book to be on par with Close My Eyes, The Daylight Marriage and The Good Girl.

I’m not sure if the author’s intention was for this book to be a psychological thriller but that was my take-away. And since psychological thrillers are my favorite genre (and everyone else’s) right now, this book was a win for me. The setting is London, also a popular location for thriller’s right now.

The reason why I’m speculating that the book was not intended to be a psychological thriller is how the book ended. Without giving away any spoilers the ending was not what you would expect in a mystery/thriller. It was more “feel-good’ than I expected.

Maya is Adrian’s third wife who is ran over by a bus one night after a night of out-of-character binge drinking/clubbing. Initially it looks like just an unfortunate accident but after a few months clues start popping up that indicate that Maya’s death may have been more sinister.
The majority of the book is narrated through Adrian. Adrian is a likeable guy who has remained friendly with his x-wives and kids throughout his marriages, divorces and remarriages. Everyone gets along so great that they all go on vacation together, attend family events together and hang out at each other’s flats. Adrian’s philosophy is that a replacement wife or a new baby is “another person to love”. And at first it does appear that Adrian’s family is very mature and has taken the high road and that Adrian is a genuinely nice guy.
As the book goes on we realize that the players in this book are not as accepting or unscarred as they appear. And although Adrian stays likable through the story it does come out that basically he is a selfish clod who moves from relationship to relationship when he’s just not felling it anymore.

I thought that the story was well put together; my only negative was it was obvious that Adrian’s story was written by a woman (which it was). Adrian noticed entirely too much about the woman’s outfits to be a plausible male. When Adrian was attracted to a very beautiful blonde woman, one of the details that he noticed were her ankle boots. I don’t know about most man but my husband does not know what ankle boots are. However, since the book’s intended audience was women maybe the fashion details were purposeful.
I loved the book! Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This book is labeled a psychological thriller, but I didn't find anything particularly thrilling about it. The "twist" had no shock value. The big mystery seemed to have not even been the emphasis of the book. None of the characters were particularly likeable. If you're looking for a great book by this author I would recommend "I Found You". I do plan on giving some of the author's other books a try.

All self-involved characters and the only one to realize her true character was Maya. Really, all is forgiven in the end, everyone is redeemed and all it took was poor Maya dying? Another book about a middle aged man who thinks he can get any woman.

"The Third Wife" begins with the death of Maya, the third wife of protagonist Adrian, and moves backward to discover what caused Maya's death. The novel moves along at a steady pace and absorbs the reader. An interesting tale of family dynamics.

​The Third Wife gradually pulls you into the lives of the 3 families with the straying husband/father that they have in common. Ms Jewell's back and forth in time and characters helps us make sense of where we are now in time. You do care about some of the characters but in some respects the families are too large to really do them justice. I was given an early copy to review.