The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks Summary

The Wife Between Us is a psychological thriller by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen that explores marriage, betrayal, and shifting perspectives. The novel follows a seemingly jealous ex-wife watching her replacement, but delivers multiple jaw-dropping twists that challenge readers' assumptions about truth and memory. Rather than a simple tale of jealousy, The Wife Between Us examines how people can share experiences but carry away markedly different perspectives and emotions.

The Wife Between Us was co-authored by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, who crafted the novel together as a writing duo. Greer Hendricks previously spent two decades as a senior editor at Simon & Schuster, where she edited Sarah Pekkanen's seven solo novels before they became writing partners. Their unique author-editor relationship evolved into a collaboration that produced this #1 New York Times bestseller in 2018.

The Wife Between Us is worth reading for fans of psychological thrillers who enjoy unreliable narrators and unexpected plot twists. The novel spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, which called it "jaw dropping" and "unforgettable". Praised as a "fiendishly smart cat-and-mouse thriller" by the New York Times Book Review, the book delivers suspense that keeps readers guessing until the final pages.

The Wife Between Us appeals to readers who enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. Fans of domestic thrillers with skewed psychology, shifting perspectives, and complex female characters will find this novel compelling. The book suits readers who appreciate stories that challenge their assumptions and deliver multiple plot reversals rather than straightforward narratives.

The Wife Between Us explores how memories are shaped by individual perspectives and how truth shifts based on whose viewpoint you're reading. Key themes include the complexity of marriage, the danger of assumptions, betrayal, control in relationships, and the unreliability of perception. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen examine how people can share identical experiences yet interpret them in drastically different ways based on their emotional lenses.

The Wife Between Us employs shifting points of view to deliberately mislead readers and create suspense throughout the narrative. Unlike typical thrillers that alternate chapters between characters, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen structure perspectives to gradually reveal shocking truths that reframe earlier events. This technique of unreliable narration forces readers to question everything they think they know about the characters' relationships and motivations.

The Wife Between Us subverts the familiar "jealous ex-wife" trope with unexpected twists that transform readers' understanding of the story. Publishers Weekly noted the novel is "not another eye-rolling story about the jealous ex-wife stalking her replacement" but instead delivers unforgettable revelations through the epilogue. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen crafted the thriller to be "as twisty, complex, and fresh as possible" by constantly challenging reader expectations.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen wrote The Wife Between Us by crafting every line together in real-time using Google Docs and Hangout. Unlike most co-authors who divide chapters or characters, they simultaneously wrote and talked through each scene, often coming up with identical thoughts or word choices. The authors also met monthly for 36-hour plotting sessions where they covered hotel walls with Post-It notes to map the thriller's complex twists.

Critics praised The Wife Between Us as a "fiendishly smart cat-and-mouse thriller" with Publishers Weekly calling it "jaw dropping" and "unforgettable" in a starred review. Booklist highlighted the "dizzying back-and-forth" that keeps readers guessing who to root for as suspense builds to a powerful conclusion. Glamour told readers to "buckle up, because you won't be able to put this one down," while Library Journal recommended it for fans of psychological thrillers with complex twists.

The Wife Between Us has been optioned by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment for film adaptation, with Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen writing the screenplay. This major Hollywood deal reflects the novel's commercial success and cinematic potential with its multiple plot twists and suspenseful narrative structure. The adaptation brings the psychological thriller from page to screen with the authors maintaining creative control through their screenplay involvement.

The Wife Between Us shares Gone Girl's DNA with unreliable narrators, marriage secrets, and shocking plot reversals that reframe the entire story. Library Journal specifically recommended The Wife Between Us for readers enthralled by Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl due to the skewed psychology and shifting perspectives. However, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen create distinct twists focused on how memory and perspective color truth rather than Gone Girl's revenge narrative.

Books similar to The Wife Between Us include Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. Readers should also explore Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's subsequent collaborations:

• An Anonymous Girl
• You Are Not Alone
• The Golden Couple

These novels deliver similar psychological suspense with complex female characters. These novels share domestic thriller elements with unexpected twists and unreliable perspectives.