The Replacement Wife

July 1, 2021

With one dead wife and one missing fianc�e, brother-in-law Josh looks like a murderer to Elisa Wright, who's worried about both the fianc�e (a good friend) and the well-being of the woman Josh is now dating. But even as incriminating evidence piles up, Elisa recalls a terrible incident from her past and wonders if she's simply losing her mind. From the author of the internationally best-selling Pretty Little Wife, a LibraryReads pick; with a 100,000-copy paperback and 30,000-copy hardcover first printing.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 25, 2021
Elisa Wright, the protagonist of this convoluted domestic suspense novel from Kane (Pretty Little Wife), is in a fragile mental state following a traumatic occurrence at her former job in administration at a Philadelphia hospital. Now, 11 months after the incident, she’s working from home part-time as an accountant and not venturing far from her neighborhood. Elisa becomes even more stressed after she learns that her brother-in-law, Josh Wright, just seven months after the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, her friend Abby, is serious about a new woman. She’s shocked by Josh’s cavalier disregard for Abby’s fate and begins to believe that Josh knows more about Abby’s whereabouts than he’s admitting. When she voices this opinion, Josh and her husband urge her to see a therapist or get additional medication. Are these remedies what she needs, or are they merely a means of distracting her from discovering the truth? Kane does gaslighting scenes well, but they get repetitive after a while, and Eliza takes too long to take even tentative steps toward regaining her sense of self. Kane has enough talent to suggest she can do better next time. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary.

December 15, 2021
Elisa Wright is convinced that her brother-in-law, Josh, has murdered his missing fianc�e, Abby. It's crystal clear to Elisa: Josh's first wife died in a suspicious accident, and now he's showing no concern for Abby, blithely declaring his love for another woman he secretly dated before Abby disappeared. To everyone else, Elisa is caught up in PTSD-sparked paranoia; her slow recovery from a devastating workplace shooting makes her easy prey for Josh's relentless gaslighting campaign. Fortunately, Elisa has a secret weapon: Abby's computer holds correspondence linking Josh to the murder of another wife, Lauren, who's been hidden from the investigation into Abby's disappearance. Elisa determinedly battles increasingly powerful panic attacks to unveil Josh's murderous past and bring Abby home. Gaslighting and unreliable narrators are common in contemporary psychological thrillers, but Kane uses her relatable characters and tightly calibrated pacing (as she did in Pretty Little Wife, 2019) to give her story a compelling edge.

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December 3, 2021

Kane (Pretty Little Wife) returns with another domestic suspense novel that explores the relationships among extended family members and the question of loyalty. Does one's family always deserve the benefit of the doubt when a relative displays behavior that is downright suspicious, and perhaps murderous? Elisa Wright struggles with this dilemma because her husband's brother, Josh, who has a dead wife and a missing fianc�e, has begun dating another woman. Elisa was very close with Abby, Josh's fianc�e, before she disappeared and cannot believe he would give up the search and move on. So, despite her husband's incredulity and continued defense of his brother, Elisa begins investigating. What she finds raises even more questions, though others are beginning to question her stability. As she battles the pushback from her husband and Josh, and also an increasingly worrisome illness, the truth remains tantalizingly out of reach. Is the new girlfriend in danger, and is her own family at risk? VERDICT Kane delivers another fast-paced domestic thriller that's sure to please fans of psychological suspense and family drama.--Cynthia Price, Francis Marion Univ. Lib., Florence, SC

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.