The Third Wife: A Novel

This is an amazing writer! I loved the characters. Each character was so well-defined that you could almost see them. The story was riveting and kept you guessing. I have already recommended this book to several people and I look forward to reading more books by Lisa Jewell.

I liked this book very much. Not so much as a thriller but as a great description of human behavior. The characters are very well developed and it is easy to relate to them and to feel for them. The story has a good pace and it kept me interested till the end.

This was a great family drama/thriller with plenty of red herrings in the whodunnit but I had a hard time enjoying it when I wanted to yell at Adrian constantly. If you don't mind unlikeable characters, you will probably find this to be closer to 4 or 5 stars. I found it hard though, despite the story being compelling, really disliking the main character quite quickly.

Lisa Jewell is my new favorite author. I have downloaded free samples of books to my kindle and up buying if im interested. Her books follow a similar pattern but are all cliffhangers and great. If you like Harlan cone you will love her!

Good plot, characters and, of course to be expected from Lisa Jewel, very good writing. Enjoyed this read; takes the reader into the hearts and minds of a fractured family and its patriarch ... the kind of guy you can't live with and you feel you can't live without. A touch of mystery moves the story along.

I hate reading reviews where they tell you what the book is about and blah blah the storyline - for me thats what the synopsis is for. I just want to know if people enjoyed the read and if its worth the money to buy it. For me this was definitely a great read, not as good as "The house we grew up in" but lovely all the same. There were some dark moments there but thats what make Lisa Jewell such a great author. The family dynamic was complicated and intriguing. The storyline kept me hooked til the end - a perfect weekend read.

SPOILERISH: I enjoyed this book for the most part but the ending was terrible--no consequences for any of them that were involved in destroying Maya's life. Looked like the dad was just going to keep doing what he always did - jump back with another woman. A better ending would have been him living alone and learning to be by himself instead of his ex-wife being willing to jump back in with him. Maya was hardly even given a second thought. And the way the children treated her was horrible, especially Cat. The idea that Maya was ' in love' with her stepson, to me, was silly. That was more like a crush on his part and 'loneliness' on her part for a younger man.

This is more character study than mystery, and milder excitement than other novels by Lisa Jewell. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read/listen. The narration was done well and made switching between reading and listening pleasurable.

This is exactly the kind of book I adore – a multi layered offering which comprises in depth and intriguing characters, a dose of mystery and fascinating insight into the world of modern families and the way these characters live their lives. Adrian Wolfe appears to have a perfect life; married to younger wife Maya, he also has two ex-wives and five children, all of whom appear to get on famously; half siblings and wives all friendly and welcoming, so much so that they holiday together every year and socialise on other occasions – just one big, happy family. Tragedy however strikes when Maya drunkenly falls under a bus, leaving the question did Maya want to die or was it purely an accident? Despite believing that Maya was happy and fulfilled, Adrian can’t stop wondering especially after uncovering a secret. In the aftermath of Maya’s death and in the wake of an appearance by a mysterious stranger, layers are slowly peeled away, revealing that the big, happy family isn’t as perfect or as happy as Adrian always believed and as he fumbles through his grief, learning to live and cope alone for the first time, he has no choice but to open his eyes to the fact that there might be some rot at the core of his family unit. Through flashbacks to when she was alive we learn about Maya and her role in the family; in the present day we are presented with a very different view of Adrian’s supposed idyllic life as we are introduced to his children and ex-wives and their lives. As information is fed to us the mystery of Maya’s death becomes more intense, leading the reader to wonder and guess at what exactly has been going on. Nothing is given away until the end. Lisa Jewell has gone from strength to strength as writer; I have loved her previous books but her later novels focusing on the intricacies of familial relationships are truly something else. Written with a wealth of depth and understanding her characters are three dimensional, real people. The Third Wife’s cast of characters are colourful and individual with recognisable foibles and feelings that make them act as anyone would. I was caught up in the whole scenario of three wives coming together to make life easy for the man they have in common but then as layers are stripped there comes the confusion and guilt of Maya, the bitterness hidden by a bright smile of Caroline, wife #2, the all seeing vision of Susie, wife #1 who sees more than she lets on, the blinkered, selfishness that is Adrian and then the hurt, betrayal and jealousy felt by the children whether 3 or 23. It is an eye opening and thought provoking read that highlights just how broken people can be despite the fact that they might appear to have it all. Highly recommended, along with The House We Grew Up In, also by Lisa Jewell. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book.

Well done. My book club enjoyed it and it gave rise to an excellent discussion.

I've read also other books from Lisa Jewell, such as 'Watching you','I found you', 'And then she was gone' - the latter, I enjoyed the most. Unfortunately, this one is so boring and disappointing and, as other reviewers mentioned, it does not get to a point. The book is about an enlarged family, Adrian husband of one, former husband of two and father of five and he come to terms with his own life and existance when he finds himself widow after his wife Maya dies. Tha't pretty much about it. The secrets the family members hide are just some gossip elements which bring no addiction to the plot and/or to the other characters and nothing really happens in the whole book. I finished just because I was curious to find out if anythig a little more exciting came out, but it didn't.

Lisa Jewel never lets you down, the characterization is spot on, the story takes you along every step of the way. I am very busy but found it hard to put down.

Wie jedes Buch von Lisa Jewell einfach fesselnd. Auch dieses Mal wieder nur einen Tag zum Lesen gebraucht. Konnte es einfach nicht aus der Hand legen.