There’s something fascinating about polygamy. You might think I’m crazy, but then why are shows like Big Love and Sister Wives so popular?
Personally, I can’t imagine. I mean, sure, it might be amazing to have some sister wives to help with the cooking, cleaning and laundry. But it would be so weird to act cordial to other women who were also in a romantic relationship with my husband.
And on the flip side, I can’t imagine a man wanting multiple wives. Sure, there’s that whole variety thing on the most primal level. But dealing with multiple wives? I’m pretty sure my introvert husband would not be able to hack it. I perplex him enough and there’s just one of me.
You may or may not have guessed it, but today I’m reviewing The Wives, a book that tells the fictional story of three sister wives and their shared husband. And things get sticky.
From the Publisher:
You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself.
But one day, while you’re doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket—an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it’s another of the wives.
You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can’t help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretenses, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then, Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realize she’s being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you’ve never known him to be violent, ever.
Who exactly is your husband, and how far would you go to find the truth? Would you risk your own life?
And who is his mysterious third wife?
My Review:
Imagine if you had a husband. And he had two other wives, except you knew nothing about them. All that you knew is that you got to see him on Thursdays and they got him the other nights. Would that make you feel insecure? Would you wonder about the other women?
Tarryn Fisher breaks down this hypothetical in The Wives. The story is told from the perspective of the second wife. It’s an interesting place to be, the second of three. And when she first met Seth, she was so swept off his feet that when she found out he had another wife, she told herself it didn’t matter. What’s more, he actually legally divorced his first wife to marry her, so she was able to comfort herself by being the “legal” wife.
Second wife works as a nurse and leads a pretty busy life, and tries to keep herself occupied. Because she only gets her husband one night a week. I’m not sure exactly how the breakdown works, but the other wives do seem to get him more often because they both live in Seattle where he works, while second wife lives down the coast in Oregon.
And it all works pretty well, until the second wife starts to let her mind wander. She starts to wonder who the other women are. She starts to follow them- first online, then in person. And the more she learns, the more she questions who the man is that she married.
This one is definitely worth the read and had some pretty surprising twists and turns. Near the end of the book however, a couple compelling details were put in that were later kind of scooby-dooed out, which was the only reason I didn’t rate it higher.
I definitely recommend this one to fans of domestic thrillers and of course, Sister Wives and Big Love. Special thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Graydon House for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one releases December 30, 2019. Get your copy!
Women in Trouble Book Blog 
Leave a Reply