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A review by justinkhchen
The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell
3.0
3.5 stars
The unusual premise hooks me in, but the plot deflates significantly towards the end, as far as domestic mystery thriller goes, Lisa Jewell's approach is the select few that works for me—her characters feel believable, and she also manages to avoid the genre cliches and steers into less-explored territory (but still grounded and not as twisty/shocking as someone like Alice Feeney).
The Third Wife might be the first one I picked up from her where the 'drama' greatly exceeds the 'mystery'; even though I love the setup (it's pleasant to have a domestic thriller where the husband is not sketchy), and the exploration on cyberbullying, and psychological impact of divorce/remarriage, the overall narrative ratio feels off, with the answer to the central mystery being pretty lame and as 'non-answer' as it could get, and the book keeps going for a few chapters too long.
The Third Wife is serviceable if unbalanced, I was invested in these family members enough to see to the end, but if it is a good mystery you're seeking, don't pick up this one.
The unusual premise hooks me in, but the plot deflates significantly towards the end, as far as domestic mystery thriller goes, Lisa Jewell's approach is the select few that works for me—her characters feel believable, and she also manages to avoid the genre cliches and steers into less-explored territory (but still grounded and not as twisty/shocking as someone like Alice Feeney).
The Third Wife might be the first one I picked up from her where the 'drama' greatly exceeds the 'mystery'; even though I love the setup (it's pleasant to have a domestic thriller where the husband is not sketchy), and the exploration on cyberbullying, and psychological impact of divorce/remarriage, the overall narrative ratio feels off, with the answer to the central mystery being pretty lame and as 'non-answer' as it could get, and the book keeps going for a few chapters too long.
The Third Wife is serviceable if unbalanced, I was invested in these family members enough to see to the end, but if it is a good mystery you're seeking, don't pick up this one.