The English Wife

The English Wife

By: Lauren Willig

384 Pages

Description:

Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life in New York: he’s the scion of an old Knickerbocker family, she grew up in a Tudor house in England, they had a fairytale 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 named 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 try 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?

I've been a fan of Lauren Willig since the days of her Pink Carnation series. She has always weaved together fascinating stories that pull you in and keep hold of you until the very last word. The English Wife is no exception. Once again, she has written a story that captivates the reader while sending them on a journey. 

Every chapter of this book offered up another piece to the puzzle being put together. So many questions seeking answers that you get to search for, along with the characters. You step into the world that Bayard and Annabelle created. You're there for their first meeting. You watch as they fall in love and form a life. In fact, you're cheering them on as they do. And you are baffled when one is found dead and the other is missing. You have as many questions as the characters do. 

You bond with Janie as she decides to boldly seek the truth of what happened to her brother and his wife- no matter what the truth turns out to be. You are baffled with every clue that is uncovered, and you try to make the many pieces fit. 

The English Wife will set you on a course to uncover the truth you never knew was hidden. And, like me, you will be gripped with every clue you find as you try to put the puzzle together.