Synopses & Reviews
Fans of Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes will be captivated by this riveting family drama with a dark mystery at its core, from the
New York Times bestselling author of
The House We Grew Up In.
In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide?
At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife’s death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought. But something, or someone, must have pushed Maya over the edge.
“Jewell’s last few novels have been a revelation—emotionally sophisticated and complex,” says Kirkus Reviews. “Like Liane Moriarty, she manages the perfect blend of women’s fiction and nail-biting suspense,” hails Booklist. The Third Wife is “an emotionally intelligent, brilliantly plotted and beautifully written examination of a very modern family that will keep you gripped to the end” (London Daily Mail).
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Praise for The Third Wife:
“Lisa Jewell presents us with yet another emotionally intelligent, brilliantly plotted and beautifully written examination of a very modern family that will keep you gripped to the end.... Take this to the beach, or indeed anywhere — I promise you won’t regret it.”
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Praise for The House We Grew Up In
“Clever, intelligent, and believable on a subject few of us really understand. Lorrie is one of the most vivid—and complex—characters I've read in years. Wonderful.”
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“You'll be desperate to find out what messed this family up so badly.”
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“A dramatic look at siblings, parents, and hoarding.”
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“...prose so beautiful that it glitters on the page. Lisa Jewell lays down piece after piece of mosaic, revealing the heart of the Bird family, filled in equal measure with love and loss. Unforgettable.”
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“Lisa Jewell’s quixotic Bird family functions like an operatic ensemble—each voice distinct, each singing his heart out, seemingly oblivious to the others. Yet somehow by the end of this engrossing, beautifully crafted novel, their separate stories will draw them back together, reminding us that, however hard we struggle against them, family ties are not easily undone.”
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“A gorgeous, powerful, affecting tale of a family both ordinary and extraordinary. Lisa Jewell is a wonderful storyteller, and The House We Grew Up In grips you from the first page to the last. I'm afraid to say it made me neglect both my children and my husband. The Bird family might be dysfunctional, but I was strangely sorry to leave it.”
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“Jewell cleverly frames the destruction of the Bird family ….an absolute page-turner.”
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Praise for Before I Met You
“Unputdownable.”
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“Beautiful, moving, and unputdownable.”
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“What a delightful novel! I was truly absorbed by Betty and Arlette. A wonderful perspective on the curiosity, confidences and deep affection that can exist between the generations. The story is ingeniously and seamlessly balanced within two different time frames, and the care Lisa Jewell devotes to the sense of place and the detailed fabric of each age gives her book a richness that both charms and moves.”
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“Jewell’s many fans should eagerly embrace this story about two different women living in two different times whose lives converge in the most unexpected way.... Family dynamics, the search for love and personal meaning, and the simple yet evocative daily motions of each woman keep the pages turning. Sure to be a popular title.”
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“Lisa Jewell’s latest escapist love story is heartbreakingly good.”
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“GH favourite Lisa Jewell leaves the chick-lit tag firmly behind with Before I Met You, a poignant story about a young woman uncovering her grandmother’s bohemian life in 1920s London - and finding her own place in the world in the process.”
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“This is another emotional clever read from Jewell, beautifully written and populated with carefully constructed characters you’ll be rooting for as you race through it.... I couldn’t put it down.”
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“Rich, delightful, heartbreaking and a joy to read….Through her skilled storytelling, Jewell has proven to me that she's to London, what Maeve Binchy was to Ireland and Scotland. I highly recommend this book for fans of historical fiction, but also fans featuring beautifully layered, strong coming-of-age stories.”
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Praise for The Making of Us
“Compelling and heartbreaking. . . . I couldn't put it down.”
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“Utterly brilliant!”
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“An engaging tale of choices made and not made, families lost and families gained, this should appeal to fans of Jewell’s work as well as such authors as Jodi Picoult.”
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“Jewell’s moving novel immerses readers in the lives of these unique characters through the universal themes of family and a search for belonging. Jewell has written a compelling and entertaining novel.”
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“Filled with heart and humor, this latest from British bestseller Jewell raises all those big questions about identity, family and fitting in.”
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“The stories of Lydia, Dean, and Robyn are each engrossing on their own; combined with the over-arching storyline of their father, they make for an irresistible read. Anyone who has ever pondered the nature of family or imagined finding a long-lost sibling will be captivated by The Making of Us.”
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“Jewell's last few novels have been a revelation—emotionally sophisticated and complex—and this latest, which gradually rewrites the history of a 'perfect' family, is a fine follow-up.... Taut pacing and complicated characters shape this rich examination of the modern family.”
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“Taut pacing and complicated characters shape this rich examination of the modern family.”
Review
Jewell excels atjuggling multiple perspectives to slowly peel back the layers of supposeddomestic bliss. Like Liane Moriarty, she manages the perfect blend of women’sfiction and nail-biting suspense, throwing enough red herrings in the reader’spath to keep the pages turning.
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“A great choice for readers seeking a mystery with a blended family twist.”
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“...reminded us of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies.”
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“The Third Wife is a summer gem. The story is complex… the many characters well drawn.... Readers of Donna Tartt and Tana French will recognize Jewell’s pacing for what it is: essential.”
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"The Third Wife explores complicated family dynamics in a genuine way that is witty yet realistically nuanced."
About the Author
Lisa Jewell was born and raised in north London, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She is the internationally bestselling author of twelve novels, including Before I Met You and The House We Grew Up In. One of the UK’s most talented contemporary novelists, she has sold more than 2 million books in the UK and is published in more than twenty countries. To find out more about Lisa, visit Facebook.com/LisaJewellOfficial, or follow her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK.