Review: The English Wife

Title: The English Wife

Author: Lauren Willig

Release Date: January 9, 2018

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life: he’s the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor manor in England, they had a whirlwind romance in London, they have three year old twins on whom they dote, and he’s recreated her family home on the banks of the Hudson and renamed it Illyria. Yes, there are rumors that she’s having an affair with the architect, but rumors are rumors and people will gossip. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Bay’s sister, Janie, forms an unlikely alliance with a reporter to uncover the truth, convinced that Bay would never have killed his wife, that it must be a third party, but the more she learns about her brother and his wife, the more everything she thought she knew about them starts to unravel. Who were her brother and his wife, really? And why did her brother die with the name George on his lips?

My Review: Although the book started off slow and the story was a bit more of a soap opera than I usually I must confess that I truly enjoyed this book. Willig does a wonderful job of blending historical fiction and mystery together into one wonderful story. I loved the characters and found the mystery intriguing. The story is split between two stories, one in the past and one in the present. While this did slow down the plot a bit I didn’t mind the slower portions. The characters developed well and I especially liked watching Janie gain some footing and grow into a more capable woman who could stand up to her mother. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, particularly the gilded age in New York, mixed with mystery and intrigue.

*I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*