The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane review: A twisty thriller you need to read
If you need another thriller to add to your book collection, you need to buy The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane. Here’s a look at all the reasons why.
Just how many dead wives and girlfriends does someone need to collect before family starts paying attention? It seems like Josh is getting away with a lot. Or have the deaths and disappearances all just been a coincidence?
Elisa Wright seems to be the only person in the family convinced that something is going on. Josh has to be guilty, but nobody else seems to think so, and the police don’t even seem to be that interested. When a new girlfriend is introduced, things start to take a strange turn of events.
The gaslighting brother-in-law has secrets
One thing that is very clear with The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane is that Josh is hiding something. He consistently gaslights Elisa, and at times, he can seem convincing.
When Elisa finds out that there was a wife before the “first” wife, she realizes there is much more to the story. And it seems like there is evidence around his house. Everything seems to point to this man.
One thing I adored was that there was far more to the story. Don’t ignore everything Josh is doing, but it’s not all about him.
A twist I didn’t see coming in The Replacement Wife in Darby Kane
I don’t want to give away spoilers. All I can say is that there is a much bigger twist at the end. It’s something I didn’t even guess. I love when thrillers keep me on the edge of my seat, making me try to figure it all out and then bring a big twist.
There are a lot of clues leading up to the point. However, we have a main character who isn’t all that reliable. Elisa questions herself multiple times, making us question her. It’s only thanks to a private investigator that we get to the bottom of things. Shelby is the one who helped me figure out what was really going on. Reading again, I’ll probably see more of the clues along the way.
It’s not all tied up in the end, which isn’t a bad thing
This is certainly a book to read again. There are some events mentioned at the end that I want to read about again. After all, Elisa doesn’t get all the answers she wants at the end.
Elisa not getting all the answers isn’t a bad thing. We all have moments in our lives that don’t get full answers. Fiction always seems to need to tie everything up, but it’s always felt convenient for me. I love that cases are reopened by the police at the end. While we don’t get answers, it does offer us hope that there will be answers for Elisa. We don’t necessarily need to get all the details.
However, it’s not a complete happy ending. Not all characters get the just desserts they deserve, but again, it brings a sense of reality to the story. Give me more thrillers that are like this.
The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane star rating: 4 out of 5.
Next. The School of Mirror by Eva Stachniak review. dark
What did you think of The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane? Share your thoughts in the comments below.