ABOUT THIS BOOK: In the early hours of an April morning, Maya stumbles into the path of an oncoming bus. 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. His first two wives, the children, and Adrian get along famously. They all seem to be one big happy family. His children seem to be resilient and coping with their lives and all seems to be moving along wonderfully, However, as in most things dealing with perceptions and real life, things are not so very wonderful. Another unforgettable psychological suspense novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone and The Family Upstairs .

They had all belonged to him once; the houses, the wives, the children. And yet now he had nothing. A crap flat, a weird cat, a stranger’s phone. For nearly five decades he had lived with an unshakeable belief in the decisions he made. Every morning for forty-eight years he had woken up and thought: I am where I want to be right now. And now he was not. He did not want to be in this flat, with his cat and this phone and this feeling of cold dread. He’d made a bad choice somewhere along the line but he didn’t know where.” Maya had a job she enjoyed; she had friends. They'd been in love. She even got on with his two previous wives and their children. In fact, they'd all been one big happy family. Adrian is a serial husband. There has always been somewhere for him to go. The next woman. The next house. The next family. I never know what to expect from Lisa Jewell. The only thing I can be 100% sure on is that she delivers a good awesome read, this one was without exception. However, I was bitterly disappointed. I could just not get into this at all, I found the storyline boring and only continued with the book to see if it did improve, but sadly no it didn't. I feel bad giving a negative review as like I've said I did enjoy another of her books but this just didn't ring true. My husband has an ex wife and kids and we have kids and there certainly isn't the camaraderie and friendship that this book depicts between all 3 wives and children. I know some estranged families can get on but I do believe they are few and far between and most are antagonistic. Even the 12 year old boy Otis has such a grown up head on him concerning feelings etc that just doesn't seem real - my 12 year old boy wouldn't know where to begin to express the feelings and emotions Otis did.And what does Adrian discover about Maya, Jane, his five kids, his two ex- wives...and also himself? Luke being a standout... expressing face-to-face to his father his his observation, insights, awareness of what is really going on with 'everyone' in the family. The story wasn’t really about Maya, or even the other wives and their children it is about Adrian. While there are POVs from the children and Maya it is told primarily from Adrian’s perspective who I found to be a frustrating and unsympathetic character. This was the first book I have read by Lisa Jewell, so I wasn't at all sure of what to expect. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be very interesting from the start, and I liked getting to know the characters. Some of them were very flawed, yet still sympathetic and likable. There were parts of the the book that made me smile, and parts that brought tears to my eyes. I'll definitely be reading more by Jewell.

If you’re after grown-up, brilliantly written intelligent fiction, The Third Wife should be your first choice Sun 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.” 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. Shelf Awareness.com One of the themes of this book is how the family system copes with the various changes and disruptions brought about by each of Adrian’s marriages and remarriages. In what ways do Adrian’s children adjust and react to each of his new wives? The Third Wife explores complicated family dynamics in a genuine way that is witty yet realistically nuanced." Shelf Awareness

She currently lives in Swiss Cottage, London with her husband Jascha, and daughters Amelie Mae (born 2003) and Evie Scarlett (born 2007). [4] Bibliography [ edit ] Novels [ edit ]

She closed her eyes, gripped the lamp post tighter as she felt her balance slip away from her. She smiled to herself. This was nice. All this color and darkness and noise and all these fascinating people. She should do this more often, she really should. Get out of it. Live a little. Go a bit nuts. A group of women were walking towards her. She stared towards them greedily. She could see each woman in triplicate. They were all so young, so pretty. She closed her eyes again as they passed by, her senses unable to contain their image any longer. Once they'd passed she opened her eyes. Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in north London with her husband, two teenage daughters and the best dog in the world. It can be embarrassing or it can be disorienting. But it’s always kind of awful. It leaves you wondering what else you’ve been wrong about. I was totally hooked into this family throughout – both of Adrian’s ex wives are wonderful to behold, the children all have their own little quirks and foibles and the emotional resonance of how the adult affairs affect them is insightful and often very sad. A complex tangled web of sentiment is unravelled slowly and surely before our eyes as the truth emerges from the fiction created by Adrian of how well adjusted everyone around him appears to be – the depth of his tunnel vision will at times astound you, and yet it is easy to understand why he suffers convenient blindness to the realities of how his actions have consequences. Then I thought of the children hes had with each wife, all except the last one. Maya hasn't had a child yet.

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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. Juliet Nicolson In an attempt to move on, after Maya’s death, Adrian tries to find a home for her cat. He meets a woman that opens his eyes to the possibility that maybe things weren’t as great as he once believed. Her role in the story and some of the secrets along the way, played out a little differently than expected. I felt like in the end the novel lets him get away with his behaviour without really paying for it, and that his family and wives let him off extremely lightly. The story wanted to show that he did learn his lesson, and maybe he did, but I just felt there were not enough emotional consequences for Adrian. He did not deserve a happily ever after. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.