Widespread and prolific YA creator Rachel Hawkins has now branched out together with her first grownup novel, The Spouse Upstairs, a enjoyable, thrilling, web page turner that has been rightfully billed as a 21st century Jane Eyre twisted right into a home thriller.
Set in a present day prosperous suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, The Spouse Upstairs introduces us to Jane. Jane is new to Birmingham, and to us, the readers, she makes it clear that her identify isn’t actually Jane however explains that typically it’s best if we depart our pasts previously and allow them to be historical past. Whoever she was earlier than, at present she is Jane and although she is broke now, she has turn out to be a dog-walker in a ritzy gated group. Jane operates below the concept wealthy folks all the time need what their neighbours have, so she has watched her dog-walking enterprise develop and develop, neighbour by neighbour.
Whereas dog-walking, Jane meets Eddie Rochester, who’s a little bit of a thriller to his upscale neighbours, having been not too long ago widowed when his spouse and her greatest buddy disappeared within the lake following a boating accident. Jane sees the chance she has been searching for when she meets rich, good-looking, lonely Eddie and shortly the one canine she is strolling is her personal canine (effectively, Jane and Eddie’s canine) by means of the luxury suburban neighbourhood. As their relationship grows, nevertheless, Jane finds her life haunted by the tales of Eddie’s earlier spouse, Bea. The bored housewives within the neighbourhood, who appear to need to gossip about virtually anybody are surprisingly tight-lipped relating to talking of Bea or her buddy Blanche, depriving Jane of the knowledge she is craving, to assist her perceive the life Eddie and Bea had previous to Bea’s demise. There are additionally lingering questions on he boating accident itself, and what precisely occurred that night time.
Whereas our story begins from Jane’s perspective, Hawkins flips the script (greater than as soon as) and switches up who we the reader get every part of the story from. We get much more data this manner, versus having every part come from just one character, however on the similar time we get a way more private view of the story, together with tons of neighbourhood gossip, than we’d if your complete story had been instructed by means of a 3rd particular person omniscient narrator. This storytelling system works completely in The Spouse Upstairs and can hold you glued to the pages.
Hawkins has stated that, “Twisting Jane Eyre’s well-known love triangle right into a home thriller set within the up to date South is definitely probably the most enjoyable I’ve ever had as a author,” and the enjoyable she had very clearly exhibits by means of. What was nice enjoyable for Hawkins to write down may also be nice enjoyable for readers to learn!
The Spouse Upstairs is out there from Amazon, Book Depository, and different good ebook retailers, like your native bookstore, as of January fifth 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A scrumptious twist on a Gothic traditional, Rachel Hawkins’s The Spouse Upstairs pairs Southern appeal with atmospheric home suspense, excellent for followers of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.
Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated group stuffed with McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The type of place the place nobody will discover if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewellery off the aspect tables of her well-heeled purchasers. The place nobody will suppose to ask if Jane is her actual identify.
However her luck modifications when she meets Eddie Rochester. Not too long ago widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His spouse, Bea, drowned in a boating accident together with her greatest buddy, their our bodies misplaced to the deep. Jane can’t assist however see a possibility in Eddie––not solely is he wealthy, brooding, and good-looking, he might additionally provide her the type of safety she’s all the time yearned for.
But as Jane and Eddie fall for one another, Jane is more and more haunted by the legend of Bea, an bold magnificence with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly profitable southern way of life model. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And might she win Eddie’s coronary heart earlier than her previous––or his––catches as much as her?
With scrumptious suspense, incisive wit, and a recent, feminist sensibility, The Spouse Upstairs flips the script on a timeless story of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a spouse who simply gained’t keep buried. On this vivid reimagining of certainly one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her glad ending?
