A review by annainthedark
The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

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! 

Spoiler 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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