The Wives

by Tarryn Fisher

[Kim Deister]

I finished The Wives last night, after an evening of being almost physically incapable of putting it down. And still, hours later, I have no idea what I just read. And I mean that in the best possible way. I’ve been on a bit of a thirller kick lately, and this one did NOT disappoint.

The story is told from the point of view of Thursday, Seth’s legal wife. As the blurb suggests, this is an important distinction as there are two other wives, one before and one after. It’s an arrangement she agreed to because she is in love with Seth. But as time goes on, the loneliness of having her husband a single night a week begins to weigh on her. But everything changes for her when she finds something that she never should have.

Details would spoil the surprises, so I will it at that. Suffice it to say that the story is incredibly engrossing! There are a lot of pieces in the story, and they come together in expected ways, shatter apart, come together, and shatter again. When it all finally comes together, it is masterfully bonkers.

For me, part of what made it such an experience to read was the fact that Thursday, despite being the “heroine” of the story, was generally pretty unlikable for much of the story. She was far from perfect. That may not sound terribly selling as a lead character, but stick with me… her characterization, unlikable parts and all, were what made her story so interesting.

The easy way she accepted this nontraditional marriage, something that had never been a part of her ideology, could be seen as unbelievable. After, all, everything she did became about Seth, her desperate to desire to be who he wanted most in the world. On the days he wasn’t by her side, she drank too much and pined for him, wondering obsessively what he was doing with his other wives. She completely gave all that she was over to him. But instead of being unbelievable, it was who she was, her dynamic within both their relationship and within the story. Did it drive me nuts, the subjugated role she made for herself? Absolutely. But without Thursday being exactly who she was, the rest of the story could not have existed.

And the ending? I. LOVED. IT.

My recommendation: If you love a great thriller with a lot of twists and turns, this is a great book! It’s a fast-paced read with no end of surprises!