By: Cara Reinard
Narrators: Lauryn Allman, Amelia Sciandra
ISBN: 9781835259566
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 06/17/2024
Format: Audiobook
My Rating: 5 Stars (ALC)
The little boy runs into the kitchen in his pajamas. He is swept up into a hug and gorgeous auburn hair falls across his face. I shiver, staring through the glass, my cheeks wet with tears as I gaze at the beautiful woman holding my son. That should be me. It will be me again.
We were the perfect family once. Shep, my handsome husband. My darling little boy… and our tiny baby girl. The night she died I lost everything. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would never, ever have hurt her. I was trying to save her. But nobody believed me.
So, I can only watch through the rain-streaked window as Shep’s new girlfriend plays mother to my son. Hugs him, holds him. Does he even remember me?
Now I am finally out of the hospital, I will make sure everyone knows what really happened. I will get my son back. The doctors might say my nightmares are dangerous…
But the woman in the window has been planning to take my place for a long time. And she doesn’t know how far I will go to protect my family…
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist that will keep you up all night! Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, A.R. Torre and The Girl on the Train.
My Review
Cara Reinard's THE WIFE AT THE WINDOW is an edge-of-your-seat twisty domestic suspense thriller!
“A compelling portrait of grief, mental health, and guilt— from a mother's fearless investigation to save her son through the lies, deception, secrets, and the past framing her life.
About...
This dazzling psychological thriller is a love triangle tale (not the norm) of two women with a past and one man.
Emerson-wife/mother
Talia-live-in girlfriend
Shep-husband/boyfriend/father
After the death of a child, a mother is not allowed to see her son due to mental illness. However, no one believes her. Both have dark pasts. The husband's new girlfriend is manipulative and controlling. Plus another storyline from the past rises to the surface. Let the games begin.
The author keeps you in suspense, ratcheting up the tension, when the past and present collide for an explosive finale in this captivating twisty suspense, exploring the unwavering power of motherhood.
One year earlier:
Emerson (an artist and children's book illustrator) is married to Shepherd Kingsley (an architect). They have a beautiful home in Newton and two children, Leo (a son) and Thea (an infant daughter).
Emerson is at home alone with her two children and sees an intruder in her house. She ran to check on her son and to the nursery to check on her baby. The man grabbed her arm as she ran for the steps with the baby, and down they went. When she woke up, the baby was in her arms. She fell. She does not remember. Her baby is dead.
No one believes there was an intruder and says the tragic accident was caused by the mother's fall chasing a dream, and blames it on her mental health and sleep disorder. She then is stripped of her family. Shep, her husband never stood by his wife when she needed him.
Present:
Shep lives in the family home and has a live-in girlfriend, Talia, (delusional) with his son Leo. Talia is obsessed with Shep and Leo—a monster. She will do anything to keep Emerson away from her new family. She even shares custody with Shep. Talia worked her way into Shep's life, knowing he was married with a family. She says she is protecting Leo.
Emerson had been diagnosed with a series of sleep disorders, hallucinations, and night terrors, but she knows this was not a dream, nor was she sleepwalking when the traumatic event occurred. There was a predator in her house. She also has a past with issues as a teen when there was a fire.
However, Emerson has spent time in a mental hospital and under a therapist's care. She is released from the mental hospital, Meadowbrook, and living at a halfway house. She wants nothing more than to reunite with her son. However, Talia is doing everything to keep her away.
Emerson is worried about her son and the destructive influence (rightly so) and stands outside on the street watching at the window.
Emerson has been granted visitation with her son; however, Talia cannot allow this. She tries to turn Leo against his mom and convince Shep to protest the court order for visitation. Emerson is trying to get back on her feet to be a good mother and a talented artist, a children's book illustrator. Then, someone keeps her from getting this job.
How far will Talia go to keep Shep and Leo? There is something sinister about Talia and her past.
We also learn about Talia (an assistant to Gus, her boss) at the architectural firm where she and Step work. There is a death at the firm, and Talia manipulates everyone, including Leo's visit with Emerson, and goes on the run. But her plan may backfire.
Enter Kent Bessler, a paranormal researcher based in Connecticut. His stepson went missing at age 10, and he wants to buy her old childhood summer home to film. Is her house cursed? Other secondary characters add to the intrigue and mystery.
Hang in there... a sinister turn when Emerson takes a trip back to her childhood summer home, where a devastating event took place years ago, and the beginning of the night terrors. Then, the hospital administrator drowns suspiciously.
However, is it Emerson or Talia who has a dangerous past? What dark secrets do each hold? Secrets will also come out. Someone wants revenge. Will Leo be collateral damage?
Will Emerson reach her son in time to save him? If she loses another child she will not survive. Never underestimate the power of a mother's love.
From past to present, all the sins of the past are unraveled. Who will win out in the end when nothing is as it appears? Who is the sociopath? The final twist is one you do not see coming!
My thoughts...
THE WIFE AT THE WINDOW is an edge-of-your-seat twisty domestic suspense thriller—from creepy paintings, a haunted house, manipulation, gaslighting, and dark past secrets.
An intense haunting who and whydunit, psychologically deft and full of hairpin turns, twists, and emotions. Will Emerson be able to solve the case of the intruder to prove she was not responsible for her daughter's death?
You think the book is going one way, but the author cleverly takes you in a different direction, keeping you glued to the pages. A tangled web of secrets, lies, and deception.
Fans will root for Emerson all the way. Talia is a piece of work, and Reinard has created an evil, manipulative person with gaslighting at its finest. The author also handles emotionally charged topics of mental health, grief, past trauma, and the death of a child with compassion and sensitivity.
This is my first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more. I enjoyed her writing style. I hope we see more of Leo and Emerson in a future book as he ages.
Audiobook...
I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by the dynamic duo—Amelia Sciandra and Lauryn Allman for an engaging and intense nail-biting performance for all voices.
Recs...
THE WIFE AT THE WINDOW is for fans of love triangles, dual POVs, twisty plots, motherhood, and domestic suspense. It is also for fans of authors Freida McFadden, Miranda Rijks (The Insomniac), A.R. Torre, K.L. Slater, Christina McDonald, B.A. Paris, Daniel Hurst, and Emily Shiner. Thriller and mystery fans should add this twisting tale to their summer list.
Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC for an honest review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 17, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
About the Author
Cara Reinard is a screenwriter and author of domestic suspense including, SWEET WATER (2021), which hit #1 on the Amazon Kindle bestseller list.
Cara graduated from the business school at Gannon University and and has an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University. She is employed in the pharmaceutical industry and lives north of Pittsburgh with her husband, two children, and Bernese mountain dogs.
