The Third Wife

Weak Characters…Especially the husband. Spoilers: He seemed to be a collector of wives and families and just wanted to jump from one family to the next, but also keeping everyone close by. Spoiled children. The end was terrible, even after finding out that his kids were sending the emails he took the blame and let them walk all over him. His poor third wife just seemed to be forgotten. Sad.

I have read three of Jewel’s books prior to this one (and am currently reading another- before I met you ). I loved the first three I read especially “then she was gone” and “watching you“. I don’t know what happened to her with this book. It fell so flat. The whole story is not realistic: the man married three times and everyone gets along so well (in what world!?) but that was not what bothered me the most – the worst is that the story is really empty and to add insult to injury the characters are not likable at all (none of them). If this is your first Jewel’s book and you disliked this book, don’t let it impact your opinion of the author- her other work is better.

I found this book to be very real and relatable. A man has recently married his third wife and is initially successful in believing that his children from both previous marriages are all on board and even happy for him. He has good relationships with both exes and is oblivious to how #3 is treated at tri-family gatherings and how she feels about being expected to just step in and fit into everyone\’s expectations. Lisa Jewell knows people and she writes real! I especially liked how she had his children convey how they felt about his decisions and choices. Realistic.

This story was too melodramatic. Adrian came across as immature, a perpetual ladies man and manipulator. I felt empathy for Maya but then frustration because she was so gullible. Adrian taking the blame for sending dozens of belligerent, illegal e-mails harassing and threatening his wife was crazy and enabling behavior considering who was at fault. The whole story seemed like something from a Lifetime movie of the week. Adrian always seemed to say the right thing at the right time to all his kids and ex-wives and while his intentions were good, most of the time I thought he sounded too rehearsed.

This novel was an interesting portrait of a man who falls in love, marries, has children, and then leaves for greener pastures. He is on his third wife when she is killed when struck by a bus. Was it an accident? Or did she did it on purpose? The story revolves around Adrian attempting to unravel the mystery of Maya\’s death. He thought they were happy and trying to have a baby. Was any of it true? Gradually, many secrets are revealed. While I didn\’t LOVE this book, I did like it a lot. I especially found it very interesting that all of Adrian\’s families and children are involved with on another even to the point of vacationing together. I\’ve never seen that happen in real life! The mystery begins when Adrian decides to find a new home for Maya\’s cat and posts a note on a bulletin board at the post office. A woman answers the add (we first learn she watched him post the ad and she takes it with her) but ultimately decides not to adopt the cat. BUT…she leaves her phone at Adrian\’s apartment and he tries to find her. I did think the story weakened near the end and some details were not explained (if Maya left school at 16 how did she become a teacher at a posh girls\’ school?), but it moves along and is interesting. I guess the basic theme is \”what goes around comes around.\” Adrian has a lot to learn.

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