The Replacement Wife

In the spirit of the season, I’d rather be giving a glowing review to this, but as it is I fear I’ll be more like the Grinch who stole Darby Kane’s Christmas.

Unlike her last book, Pretty Little Wife, which was built around two likable strong female characters, in this book she returns to the age-old, worn out chestnut of a weak, mentally unstable, pill-popping wife, Elisa, as the unreliable female narrator who’s doubted and condescended to by the male MCs - in this case her husband, Harris, and brother-in-law, Josh.

Long story short, Elisa suspects Josh of nefarious things regarding the ladies in his life, past and present, and Harris takes turns being supportive and suspicious of her, while frequently showing deference to his younger brother Josh, who he raised after their parents died.  Elisa’s efforts to reveal Josh for who he is puts her in his manipulative path, and that of his current girlfriend, Rachel, whose motives, like Harris, can seem supportive and suspicious in turns.

So - pretend with me - you’re at home trying to enjoy your day, and your possibly psycho brother-in-law and his girlfriend show up unannounced, let themselves in with their spare house key, or end up having dinner at your house seemingly every other day. Any attempt you make to question their behavior results in chastisement from your husband, gaslighting from your brother-in-law, and an inevitable argument and tension-filled evening for everyone.  

Got it?  Now put that on loop for 400 plus pages with Lila questioning her sanity at every turn and coming off like yet another perpetual female victim.  That is this story for me.  The plot had potential but it ended up being too one-note and repetitive, with no characters I could really get behind, and a lackluster ending that ventured close to my much hated Scooby-Doo confessional territory.  I admire Elisa trying to make things right, but her stress as a character became my stress as a reader, which I don’t enjoy.  

The one saving grace for me with this book was the insights it offered into trauma and how it affects people mentally and physically.  I appreciated the effort, and it lifted my rating just enough to bump it up to 3 stars instead of down to 2.

This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the right book for me. I believe Darby Kane is a good author, and I’ll still enthusiastically want to read her next book, but I hope the female characters will get a little more love next time around!

★★ ½  (rounded to 3)

Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, NetGalley and author Darby Kane for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. It's due for publication on December 28, 2021.