#ReadThis #TheWifeStalker by @LivConstantine2 #LivConstantine @HarperCollins
Previously on Whom You Know, Liv Constantine was lauded:
Our favorite author with a name that is singular but means plural (two sisters) is back with a total winner and they've shown us they are at the top of their game with The Wife Stalker.
With the majority of the book taking place in Westport (home of Paul Newman who raced at Lime Rock) in the great State of Connecticut, The Wife Stalker is brilliantly written. It evolves at a perfect pace and is a case study in how to write successfully between two main characters: rivals Piper and Joanna, back and forth. It is an art form to do this well and few do it this well.
In the style of Agatha Christie, particularly with Roger Ackroyd, Liv Constantine had us entirely sucked into thinking a certain situation most of the way through the book and sucker-punched that thought many times in Macy's firework finale style at the end, providing much delight during an otherwise largely literally gray weekend in New York.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
This book cover alone sells the story before you open it; it is the best book cover we've seen in months. The graphic combination of hot pink and silver with sunglasses and lipstick enticed us immediately.
Accidents, tragedies, and pure excitement await you as you crack open this winner which can be read cover to cover in a day if you clear your schedule. We strongly suggest you turn off your phone because you will be that into it. As the volley of chapters between Piper and Joanna expands, you will find yourself trying to figure out what to believe. Certainly it all cannot be true.
This book is structured so well it truly outshines the competition. It crescendos at the right points.
There is at least one whackadoodle character that you will love to laugh at who says things like "Don't nourish your myth" who is constantly trying to "center" herself (maybe she should drink some Assyrtiko to help) and to add fuel to the fire she does not say cheese for the camera, but rather, PLATYPUS. Please. This is definitely fiction because people from Connecticut don't say that!
What we were disappointed with was the poor choice of wine by the characters. Pinot Noir wins the prize here for least favorite wine-you might as well be drinking water- and Chardonnay is a close second. Chardonnay is yesterday we say and we strongly prefer ASSYRTIKO with Dimitris Nakos at AMMOS (come on guys we thought you are Greek! Stay tuned for the latest and greatest hits from AMMOS!!!) and VERNACCIA with Gianfranco Sorrentino at IL GATTOPARDO. People from Connecticut are far more evolved in wine choice than these characters suggest.
The best character without a doubt is young boy Stelli, who is a riot a minute. We love that he does not consider salad to be a main course, that he is a picky eater (if he were old enough to drink wine he would be making the right choices we suppose!), and that he correctly identifies "big babies."
Whoever buys the movie rights to this book should loop us in for the movie review.
The Wife Stalker is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
THE WIFE STALKER
By
Liv Constantine
The bestselling Liv Constantine, author of THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, returns with an explosive new psychological thriller about a woman struggling to hold onto her marriage, and the lengths she’ll go to in order to keep it intact.
How far would you go for true love?
When Liv Constantine exploded on the literary scene in 2017 with the debut thriller The Last Mrs. Parrish, readers around the world were delighted with the “escapist” (Reese Witherspoon pick), “wicked” (People Magazine), “utterly irresistible” (USA Today), and “can’t put it down” (The Skimm) novel about a coolly manipulative woman who worms her way into the lives of a wealthy “golden couple” from Connecticut. The novel is currently under development for a TV series, and their second book The Last Time I Saw You which came out last spring, has been optioned for a feature film. The sisters and best friend writing partners Lynne and Valerie Constantine, who write under the name “Liv,” are beloved in the mystery/thriller community and their legions of fans have been waiting patiently for a follow-up. Their new novel THE WIFE STALKER (Harper Paperbacks, ISBN 13: 9780062967299) will not disappoint. This addictive psychological thriller is about a woman fighting to hold onto the only family she’s ever loved—and how far she’ll go to preserve it.
Breezing into the tony seaside paradise of Westport, Connecticut, gorgeous thirtysomething Piper Reynard sets down roots, opening a rehab and wellness space and joining a local yacht club. When she meets Leo Drakos, a handsome, successful lawyer, the wedding ring on his finger is the only thing she doesn’t like about him. Yet as Piper well knows, no marriage is permanent.
Meanwhile, Joanna has been waiting patiently for Leo, the charismatic man she fell in love with all those years ago, to re-emerge from the severe depression that has engulfed him. Though she’s thankful when Leo returns to his charming, energetic self, paying attention again to Evie and Stelli, the children they both love beyond measure, Joanna is shocked to discover that it’s not her loving support that’s sparked his renewed happiness—it’s something else.
Piper. Leo has fallen head over heels for the flaky, New Age-y newcomer, and unrepentant and resolute, he’s more than willing to leave Joanna behind, along with everything they’ve built. Of course, he assures her, she can still see the children.
Joanna is devastated—and determined to find something, anything, to use against this woman who has stolen her life and her true love. As she digs deeper into Piper’s past, Joanna begins to unearth disturbing secrets . . . but when she confides to her therapist that she fears for the lives of her ex-husband and children, her concerns are dismissed as paranoia. Can she find the proof she needs in time to save them?
As with The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You, readers will be pulled quickly into the story, but they should not get too comfortable—THE WIFE STALKER is filled with chilling, serpentine twists. The publication of their newest page-turner showcases a writer at the very top of their game.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Together, they are the bestselling author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, The Last Time I Saw You, The Wife Stalker, and The Stranger in the Mirror (coming July 2021). Their critically acclaimed books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Lynne and Valerie are national and international bestselling authors and their books have been translated into 27 languages, are available in 32 countries, and have been optioned for both television and film. Lynne Constantine is also the author of the political thrillers The Network and The Silent Conspiracy under the pen name L.C. Shaw. Lynne lives in Milford, Connecticut; Valerie in Annapolis, Maryland. For more news on the authors, visit them on Facebook: @LivConstantineAuthor, on Instagram: @livconstantine2, on Twitter @LivConstanteine2, and at http://livconstantine.com/.
THE WIFE STALKER
By Liv Constantine
Harper Paperbacks/HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN13: 9780062967299
Hardcover; 320 pages
