Evelyn Caldwell is a respected scientist, and on the night of her win on a prestigious award, she can’t help but think about her greatest failure. Her marriage. She had loved Nathan. And then she hadn’t. But for him to walk out on their marriage, on all the years they lived and worked together? She had never expected that. And now she’s at the awards ceremony alone, having to smile and tell people why Nathan wasn’t with her for her big night, over and over.
She went home with her award, to her new home still filled with unpacked boxes from the house she had shared with Nathan. But it wasn’t until she got to the lab where she works on cloning that she got the even bigger gut punch. Martine had called, and she wants Evelyn to meet her.
Martine is Nathan’s new partner.
Evelyn wants to blow her off. She knows that she could. But for Martine to call her and ask for a meeting is big. There must be an important reason. So Evelyn agrees to meet her in a local coffee shop. And when she shows up, Evelyn finds out why Martine wanted to see her. Martine is clearly pregnant.
Evelyn can hardly put into words all the things she’s feeling, of how wrong it is that Martine is pregnant. Evelyn is stunned. She’s angry. She can’t believe that Nathan would do such a thing, putting all her hard work on the line for such a huge ethical violation. She can’t be pregnant. Clones should never get pregnant. She is very careful to put a failsafe in place every time, so this could never happen. But Nathan is not as careful. Or maybe he planned for his new wife, a clone of his first wife, to have his baby.
Evelyn tries to stay calm. She tries to stay aloof. She manages to keep it together and not tell anyone about Nathan’s egregious behavior. She tries to swallow it down. She goes on with her life. But the next time Martine calls, she sounds so desperate that she feels she has to go to her again. That’s when Evelyn is met at the door by Martine, who is holding a bloody chef’s knife. And Nathan is bleeding out on the kitchen floor. Evelyn has to join up with her husband’s pregnant partner to bury him.
And that’s where The Echo Wife begins.
You should know: this is not your typical domestic thriller. Clearly, author Sarah Gailey is taking this story to places you’ve never imagined. I’m not sure which is more compelling—her thoughts of where cloning humans can take us or the nuanced descriptions of emotions in these relationships.
I loved this book. I was told it would appeal to fans of Killing Eve (which is enough to hook me immediately), but it also made me think of Samantha Downing’s My Lovely Wife, in that twisty marriage sort of way. The bottom line here: this is an amazing novel, and whether you’re in it for the sci fi cloning part or the domestic twisty part, you will be more than satisfied with The Echo Wife. It’s fascinating, it’s ingenious, and it will stick with you for long after you’ve finished that last page.
Egalleys for The Echo Wife were provided by Macmillan (Tor Books) through NetGalley, with many thanks.
