Gailey’s upcoming release, The Echo Wife is a science fiction thriller which will devour you. Compared to “Westworld” and “Killing Eve” I knew I had to request this. Not to mention, I just genuinely enjoy Gailey’s writing and world building concepts. Keep reading this book review to see if The Echo Wife lived up to the hype.
Summary
The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of Killing Eve and Westworld
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.
And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.
Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.
Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty
When they said all happy families are alike, this can’t be what they meant…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: mentions of domestic abuse
I will read a hundred thousand books about women in STEM. This will be a short book review because The Echo Wife was a thrilling quick read. I didn’t even take that many notes, because most of what I was thinking was, “OMG”. I even told my partner all about this book, which I don’t normally do, because I was like, “Look, you gotta listen to what happens now!” That’s how you know I enjoyed it so much! It’s a Science Fiction thriller which makes me think of Orphan Black and Stepford Wives.
Talk about a page turner! As you continue reading, you can’t stop! While The Echo Wife is non-stop action, it also, at its core, discusses whether we can change our own programming and behaviors. Gailey allows readers to view both Martine and Evelyn struggling to grow. To change their habits, capabilities, and to grow before our eyes. The line between clone and human was one that Gailey continues to experiment and play with – challenging what we think of as our limitations.
Gailey is able to deliver a book which manages to maintain a balance between thriller surprises and science fiction exploration. I will be forever haunted by The Echo Wife. It’s a book that examines what forces shape us as people. How do we, as individuals, assert our sense of destiny and desire? Find The Echo Wife on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.
I wanted to like this one after absolutely loving Magic For Liars but I have to admit the worldbuilding with cloning was really unsettling for me. It didn’t help that Evelyn was deeply unpleasant (intentionally so, but still).
haha yeah, she was not one of those characters that I was like, “Must protect my precious” and there were moments that gave me unsettling shivers for sure!