The Third Wife: A psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

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But strange things begin to happen to her widower, Adrian, who also happens to have two ex-wives and five children. I fell in love with Lisa Jewell's writing with her debut novel "Ralph's Party" (and I was Serbian editor of that title) and left her publisher after the publication. As Adrian starts to explore the reasons behind the death of Maya, we begin to see cracks in what he considers to be his perfect life. But when the tragic death of his third wife shatters his world, he begins to unearth disturbing clues that things were not necessarily as they seemed.

We get deeper into the mind of Adrian as time goes on, but more so too, how all the family seem to get on together even the ex wives. Like the The House We Grew Up In the focus is on one family and the damage that one parent has wrought on everyone around them. Things seemed like maybe they could be sinister because he hadn’t been paying attention to warning signs all along. Then the person, a woman, yes, in red shoes, tutted again and walked away, her heels issuing a mocking clack-clack against the pavement as she went. I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.What I found most interesting about Adrian was that in addition to being so happy, he didn’t think he had any flaws. In “The Third Wife” Ms Jewell delves into the psychology of a fractured family – one that on the surface looks magical, everyone having moved on and accepted the changes but underneath the surface there is a whirlpool of resentment and hidden secrets. I loved the mysteries in the book as time flits back to when Maya was alive and starts to share some of the back story to before her death, that was really good. Lisa Jewell really knows how to bring her characters to life on the page, there are many in the book (all those ex-wives and children! He is on a third, younger (and beautiful) wife Maya, but his previous wives and their five kids all remain in contact, share babysitting chores and even all go on holiday together.

It slowed as it neared her and she turned and saw a bus stop to her left, with people standing at it. The mystery surrounding his wife’s death exposes some hidden unsettledness within the family system, and casts suspicion on the true cause of her demise. The story orbits around one man, Adrian; a man who’s never been alone once in his entire adult life; a man who comes to the realization that he doesn’t know how to live life all alone, until his third wife passes on. He thinks he’s a great father, yet leaves all the responsibilities of raising them to his ex’s, and ignores the fall-out and problems that arise from his actions.Lisa Jewell presents us with yet another emotionally intelligent, brilliantly plotted and beautifully written examination of a very modern family that will keep you gripped to the end.

But after Maya's death, the cracks begin to show, the pieces begin to fall in the puzzle and the fun begins. At your next book club, discuss what keeps people in the cycle of addiction and what are some possible first steps toward sobriety. On page 90, the author describes Luke: “He’d always felt there was somewhere else he was supposed to be, other friends he should be hanging out with, some amazing life he was supposed to be living.True he is on his third marriage and true he has five children which he left without a dad living in their home, but he is successful, loving, and married to his third wife, Maya. Once again it is the characters that pop – all beautifully well drawn, absolutely realistic and with a sharp emotional edge that keeps you turning the pages to see what will happen to them. I am all for complex reconstituted harmonious families --I was part of one myself -- but I was annoyed by how Adrian is depicted as a really nice guy whose ex wives indulge and adore him. There are so many holes and implausible scenarios that to list them all would be a “spoiler” for the many readers who like this sort of light, fluffy fiction.