Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Wife Upstairs

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

16 reviews

annainthedark's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.5

I did not find this to be an interesting book. There was about 10 mins at the end where it got a bit more interesting, but the previous 9 hour 50 mins were dull.

Pretty much every character in it sucks, and none of them even suck in an interesting way. There is a brief glimmer in those final 10 minutes but that is it!

Maybe this is a more interesting book if you have not a lot of knowledge about abuse? But Adam's abuse is absolutely textbook paint by numbers, it's like the diary scenes documenting it were done off a checklist. Those scenes were a bit difficult to listen to, but mostly incredibly dull. Maybe the intention is for it to come across as shocking or building up the tension, but the I feel that's a little bit defeated by us already knowing the outcome of the abuse.

The treatment of Victoria as a disabled character at the start especially is quite unpleasant to get through. As is the treatment of Eva, who if I'm remembering correctly is the only character of colour in a book that is at least partially set in New York city? She's one of the few characters in the right, and yet completely absent from the resolution.

All in all, I did not gel with this book or this author, this was not an enjoyable way to spend 10 hours of my life.

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txsweetheart's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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yankeegirl22's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

5.0

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jenheitland's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

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niamhmc23's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This was easy and fast to read, but at one point, I was frustrated - too much gaslighting, too many twists, and not even very good ones at that. Characters were also terrible. She’s written much better books than this.

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