Audio review: The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

For fans of Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes comes a riveting family drama with a dark mystery at its core, from the internationally bestselling author of The House We Grew Up In.

In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide?

At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife’s death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought. But something, or someone, must have pushed Maya over the edge…

With psychological nuance that gets into the heart of its characters, The Third Wife is a gripping story about a man seeking the truth behind his seemingly perfect marriage and the broken pieces left behind.

Paperback, 336 pages

Published February 23rd 2016 

 by Atria Book

2.5/3 out of 5

 

I become a die hard Lisa Jewell fan ever since reading I Found You back in 2016, while current with her new releases I am working my way through those I have missed.  I went the audio route with The Third Wife for a change.

 

Coming in at 9 hours and 22 minutes its a relatively quick listen and I am glad I went in that direction.  While the story was interesting enough, with a cast of 3 families, there were enough characters to make me suspicious of each as I tried to resolve the mystery.  But it was the story itself that I struggled with. It just seemed to perfect that Adrian could have such amicable relationships with his former wives and their children. Well I guess they didn't really, because someone definitely had other ideas.  

The Third Wife is story about relationships, growing up (and not just the children, but its never too late for an adult to grow up also) and secrets.  While this isn't a favorite Jewell book, I will still continue on my journey to read more.

This book was part of my '2020 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge'.