Crystal's Reviews > The Wife's House

Not long after Juan buys his wife Cliffside, a beautiful mansion overlooking the ocean, he dies in an accident. Despite now being a widow, she vows never to leave her dream house. But, by doing so, she is now alone and slowly slipping into paranoia, depression and alcoholism. She's convinced someone is spying on her with a drone, leaving her ominous messages and even breaking into her house. Then she meets triplets, who tell her they used to live in her house and start ingratiating themselves into her life. Sadden by the siblings story of a dying mother and homelessness and desperate to have companionship, she invited them to stay in Cliffside with her. Did she just invite in friends or foes? Has her loneliness blinded to her to the real danger?

Firstly, I'll say what I did like about the book. The setting at Big Sur and the town of Carmel is absolutely stunning! The descriptions of the house and the views transported me there and were enjoyable to read.
That being said, a beautiful setting can't save a book from mediocre storytelling.
The protagonist (who remains nameless throughout) is supposed to be well educated with a successful career, however, she just comes across as naive and helpless. She doesn't appear self sufficient, she believes anything anybody tells her and continuously makes stupid decisions throughout the book. I just wanted to scream at her! A goldfish has better sense than this woman!
Additionally, this feels like a book I've read before. It didn't really bring anything new to the table in terms of the psychological thriller/domestic noir genre. I found it unsatisfying in it's predictability. About 5% in I pretty much knew how it would end. I'm not sure if the writing was that transparent or if I've read this exact plot before.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.