After all the hype I read about "The Wife Between Us"--the fact that it was already going to be made into a major motion picture (blah, blah, blah), I decided that I had to read it. Written in the aftermath of twisting psychological novels like "The Girl on the Train" and "Gone Girl" where the reader expects to be jarred abruptly from carefully drawn premises to realize that what has been crafted is just a sham--a character's skewed perspective, I figured the 'ah ha' moment in "Wife" would be well worth the reading hours.Well, I was wrong.As expected, Part One sets the story--abandoned wife still hungers for handsome accomplished hubby--and stalks husband's new love interest in an alternating first person and then third person narrative reflecting old wife, new girlfriend perspectives. When Part Two rolls around, the reader has already been prepared to accept a major twist which out of respect for future readers, I will not reveal here. I will only say that the change in pace is abrupt and unexpected but not in the thrilling manner we have come to expect from novels billeted as 'psychological' and 'jaw-dropping.' The anticipated 'ah-ha' moment was more like a dull 'oh'--not so disappointing as to stop me from listening on (I listened to the Audible presentation) but enough of a let down to warn me that the rest of the story wouldn't quite satisfy my craving.More turns and twists do occur, but again, the revelations are not all that exciting. In fact, once the villain is unmasked, the story peters out very quickly in terms of roller coaster thrills . . . and yet beyond that point two other secrets wait to be revealed. Yawn.The fact that this book is a bestseller tells me how important publicity is for without it, this book would never be discussed let alone be recommended by reading circles. The characters are two-dimensional--none are fully developed. The writing is precise rather than literary--I wasn't blown away by profound metaphors or masterful vocabulary. The passion described is indirect rather than visceral; the timeline, even after all the pieces have been uncovered and snapped together chronologically are blurry, skated over rather than detailed. The only part of this story that resonates with any emotion is Vanessa's relationship with her dog, Duke, and the solution to that mystery, rather than providing a sense of justice, is nebulous--left to dangle in the breeze when so many opportunities existed to make that one real connection sing with satisfying vengeance.After listening to 'Wife' for eleven hours, I'm moving out of the 'Girl'/'Wife' genre and graduating to 'Women.' Hopefully, what I find there will be more mature.
