When Elisa Wright married Harris, she accepted his little brother Josh as her own brother. He was still in school when they lost their parents, and Harris did the best he could with his little brother. And after some rough years, Josh went to college, got a good job, and grew up. Now it’s years later. Elisa’s and Harris’s son Nathan is seven. Harris is a very successful veterinarian with several offices. And Josh is dating a woman named Rachel.
When Elisa questions his dating again so soon, Josh is confused. Maybe it was less than a year ago that he had been engaged to Abby, but she was the one who had left. He had the right to move on. Only, Elisa doesn’t think that she left on her own. She thinks Abby is missing. And she thinks that Josh is responsible.
Josh had been married before, and Candace had died from a freak accident at home. And now Abby is missing, and no one has heard from her. Abby had been a friend to Elisa, and then she suddenly went quiet. Elisa could use a friend. After a terribly workplace incident, she had been suffering from PTSD and anxiety. She could hardly leave home. So when she confronts Josh about Abby’s disappearance and his moving on so quickly, he accuses her of letting her paranoia get away with her. This causes a rift in Elisa’s happy family, and the last thing she wants is a rift in her family.
But then she found out a big family secret. It was a secret about Josh, and Harris had kept it from her. And it changed the way Elisa thought about Josh. It changed the way she thought about her marriage and her family. And it changed the way she thought about herself.
She starts catching Josh is lies. She gets to know Rachel a little better, and she thinks that Rachel understands the potential danger of getting involved with Josh. But then Elisa overhears something she clearly wasn’t supposed to hear and has doubts about Rachel. Things at home are getting moved. There was a window left open. Pills were left out. Elisa feels dizzy and worn down. She doesn’t understand what is happening. But although she doesn’t have much strength, she uses what she has to keep fighting for what she thinks is the truth.
Even if it destroys her.
The Replacement Wife is a domestic thriller filled with secrets and questions. Author Darby Kane offers readers a story packed with possibilities and reveals, with detours and derailments. Just when you think you know what’s going on, the floor shifts beneath your feet and it all changes.
I couldn’t put this book down. I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen next, but there were some really big twists that I just could not anticipate. If you’re needing a red-hot thriller for those stone cold winter nights, curl up with a thick blanket and The Replacement Wife. You won’t be sorry, but you might not sleep any time soon.
Egalleys for The Replacement Wife were provided by William Morrow through NetGalley, with many thanks.
