My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney: Review

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney is a twist-heavy domestic thriller that grips hard… until it asks too much

Synopsis: My Husband’s Wife

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney is a twist-laden psychological thriller that plays with identity, obsession, and the terrifying fragility of truth.

Eden Fox is on the brink of success. Her first exhibition is about to open, and she has just moved into Spyglass, a beautiful, isolated house in the seaside village of Hope Falls.

But after going out for a run, Eden returns home to discover her key no longer works. A woman who looks eerily like her answers the door—and Eden’s husband insists the stranger is his wife.

One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.

Six months earlier, Birdy, a reclusive Londoner reeling from a life-altering diagnosis, unexpectedly inherits Spyglass from a grandmother she barely knew.

Drawn to Hope Falls in search of answers, Birdy soon becomes entangled with a secretive London clinic that claims it can predict the exact date of a person’s death, including her own.

As buried truths surface, Birdy is compelled to confront past mistakes and right old wrongs, no matter the cost.

As the two timelines collide, Feeney weaves a chilling tale of manipulation, blurred identities, and unreliable truths. My Husband’s Wife is a gripping, mind-bending marriage thriller that keeps you questioning every character and everything you think you know right up to its shocking conclusion.

Review: My Husband’s Wife

A twist-heavy domestic thriller that grips hard… until it asks too much

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney opens with one of those irresistibly simple, high-concept premises that domestic thrillers thrive on.

Eden Fox leaves her home for a routine run, only to return to a nightmare: her key no longer fits the lock, another woman answers the door, and her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.

Set against the eerie isolation of a Cornish coastal village, the novel immediately promises paranoia, gaslighting, and psychological tension and for most of its length, it delivers exactly that.

Feeney builds a claustrophobic and unsettling atmosphere, using the village setting to excellent effect. The sense that everyone knows everyone else, yet no one can be fully trusted, heightens Eden’s disorientation and vulnerability.

This unease is reinforced by a wide cast of supporting characters: a reclusive female detective, Birdy, whose guarded personality and loyal dog, Sunday, make her instantly memorable; an ambitious local policeman keen to prove himself; a morally questionable scientist more interested in profit than people an a daughter who has not spoken since a terrible accident.

Each of these characters adds another layer of suspicion and complexity, helping to keep the reader constantly second-guessing motivations and truths.

Plot and Pacing

For the majority of the novel, My Husband’s Wife is a genuine page-turner. The pacing is ok, the chapters are structured to encourage “just one more,” and the story moves forward with confidence. Feeney clearly understands how to maintain momentum, and the novel rarely drags.

Unfortunately, Feeney does this by, leaning heavily into its twists—reveals, reversals, and recontextualizations that are designed to shock and destabilise the reader.

Twists, of course, are a key expectation of the genre, and Feeney has built her reputation on delivering them. Here, however, they are very much the engine driving the book. While this works brilliantly for much of the story, there comes a point where the accumulation of twists begins to feel excessive. Domestic thrillers often ask readers to stretch their suspension of disbelief, but My Husband’s Wife occasionally pushes that stretch to breaking point.

Themes and Realism

At its core, the novel explores themes of identity, trust, marriage, and perception, particularly how fragile our sense of self can become when the people closest to us rewrite reality.

Gaslighting plays a central role, and Feeney captures the emotional confusion and desperation that come with it extremely well. Eden’s psychological unravelling feels authentic, even when the external events around her begin to feel less so.

The challenge arises when twists stack upon twists without enough grounding to anchor them. What initially feels clever and daring can start to feel overindulgent, especially toward the final act.

For some readers, this escalation will be thrilling; for others, it may tip the novel from gripping into implausible.

Who Should Read This Book?

My Husband’s Wife will strongly appeal to readers who enjoy:

• Fast-paced domestic and psychological thrillers
• High-concept premises with constant twists
• Unreliable narratives and gaslighting themes
• Isolated, small-community settings

Fans of Alice Feeney’s previous work will likely feel right at home here, particularly if they enjoy being repeatedly surprised—even if that means occasionally suspending disbelief.

Readers who prefer more restrained, character-led thrillers with fewer narrative shocks may find the ending polarising.

Conclusion

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney is, for the vast majority of its length, a gripping and highly entertaining domestic thriller. Its opening premise is excellent, its setting atmospheric, and its cast of characters intriguing. Feeney’s talent for pacing and suspense ensures that the novel remains compulsively readable.

While the final stretch leans heavily into increasingly extreme twists that may not work for every reader, this does not erase the strength of what comes before. If you enjoy thrillers that prioritise momentum, surprise, and psychological unease and you’re willing to go along for a wild ride My Husband’s Wife is still very much worth reading.

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Above all Keep Safe and treat people fairly.

Mark.