The Last Housewife: A Novel

Product Information

Stupid ass Shay decides to leave her rich housewife life in the dust and jet off to New York so she can team up with Captain Save a Hoe aka Jamie the Podcast Man to figure out if her old college bestie Laurel really k!lled herself or was murdered. While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay's built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel's death―delivered, of all ways, by her favourite true-crime podcast crusader―she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever. Of course there’s no chance for me to give this book less than five stars! This is one of the best thriller reads of the year I highly recommend it! As I mentioned, this book dives into some dark topics, which may be triggering for some readers. There’s a whole list of content warnings at the beginning of the book. I honestly do not know how to review The Last Housewife and do it the justice that it deserves. It went straight onto my favourites of 2022 list in February, and it is not out until August! I could not wait any longer to read it, and there was squealing involved when I got approved for an early copy on Edelweiss by Sourcebooks Landmark - thank you, thank you thank you!! I still can't believe I was approved.

WOW! My jaw is literally on the floor. There is so much to digest after this one. This book is not for the faint of heart and is VERY dark. Be sure to read the content warnings beforehand. For me, The Last Wife would best be described as a domestic drama, I certainly wouldn’t call it a crime novel per se; although within the course of the journey, a few people do come to an untimely end. It is told by the protagonist, a young(ish) single woman, named Marie, and is a dark journey. The plot meanders all over the place forever and the ending makes no sense in any known universe. Marie and Camille end up killing Greg because he has guessed that Nina and Camille killed Charlie. Why in the world would Greg care so much about a man he SUSPECTED was murdered overseas 10 years ago, when the woman he SUSPECTED of killing him was also dead? Could he possibly prove that? Shay begins to stitch her life story together for Jamie on his podcast. Through this we get a better understanding of Shay and her choices. We see how she was controlled by men in the past, and also present day by her husband- although the situations are very different. As a massive fan of Winstead's 2021 debut "In My Dreams I Hold a Knife", her newest thriller "The Last Housewife" was easily my most anticipated read of 2022! Ashley truly has a gift in storytelling, and her characters, setting, and plot progression are commendable. While this wasn't an immediate favorite like her previous novel, I did enjoy the drama and salacious nature of the narrative.Also the true crime podcast element - perfection. Especially the way it was used at the end 👀 I really enjoyed reading transcripts of interviews interspersed between the story. where this missed the mark for me is the MC. i could not stand her and, if she was a real person, i would never want to interact with her. ever. and while i think thats the point, to show she is a product of her past traumas and so she treats others at collateral damage, its done so well that i just did not care for her. The book has hugely compelling characters and plot but what I loved most about it was the through-line of important feminist ideas. Really the book is not about a cult, but about our society, and the way many people (including powerful and famous ones) still believe men have to right to dominate women. The book also really skillfully explores why so many women not only participate in the domination but maybe also enjoy it, both sexually and emotionally. A difficult subject for sure but the book handles it extremely thoughtfully and always from a feminist perspective. In the process of reading about this philosophy in the cult, you'll bear witness to a lot of violence and horrible treatment of women, which is not easy. (But then again, if you live in this world and if you are a woman, you've already seen and experienced this yourself on a regular basis.) The content is disturbing and hard to read at times but for me the feminist perspective and the thoughtfulness with which it was presented actually made it an important read. I gave a lot of thought to issues I had never considered before in this way.

Final Thoughts: The ending is one huge mess. I didn't like that the author didn't mention that she drew some inspiration from NXIVM when clearly there are a lot of similarities throughout.

Games

Maybe I'd performed for so long I wasn't capable of recognizing my real feelings. Were there even such things, or was everyone always reacting in ways we understood we were supposed to? When did the performance ever end?" My insides are rattling , my hands can’t seem to shaking . The Last Housewife, is not for the faint of heart . This book is fascinating, dark, deep, and like nothing I have ever read before . While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay's built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel's death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, the predators more dangerous than ever.

So as you may gather, the subject matter is difficult. But if it's interesting to you in any way and particularly if you're a feminist I encourage you to give the book a try. It may not resonate with you but you also might be like me and find it very much something special. I saw another review that says this book does a lot of telling rather than showing and I don't disagree with that; but I liked that tone, because it was able to discuss a lot of interesting philosophical and theoretical ideas and even academic and arts-based theories along with the extremely compelling characterizations, plot and action. I thought there was tons of action and life in the book but there was also some theorizing and philosophy, which I personally also love. I thought you couldn't bring anything into the tongue cut sparrow but how did the Nicole bring her purse into the place. The podcast sections that detail Shay’s life BEFORE are very long, which keep the reader in passive action, rather than moving the plot forward. While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay's built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel's death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever. Jennifer Hillier, author of the bestselling Little Secrets “A stunning, disturbing thriller that will have your mind and heart racing. The Last Housewife is a clever, twisty, unnerving ride through feminism, patriarchy, and power, and it had me gasping for air.”But her past is about to catch her: Jamie’s last podcast episode is about Laurel’s suicide: her best friend and partners in crime who ran away from a cult 8 years ago! The same year their close friend Clem also took her life! The same year Shay realized she couldn’t keep her promises to her friends and best way to stay safe was disappearing into thin air! The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton is a thriller that centers around jealousy and deceit. This one is the story of two women who were once best friends, or so it seemed. This book is a feminist thriller in every way. It is about a patriarchal sex cult, but the male patriarchy doesn't end in the cult, it seeps into our society today. With topics of female agency, desire, victimhood, autonomy, and most of all power, Ashley's commentary about women in today's world is at the forefront of this story. I’m not stressed, I’m seething, but there are no words, no decent ways of breaking the news to him that his perfect wife seems to have had secrets.’

Okay I'm gonna try to wrap this up. Essentially, this book STANK. It read like a Ted Talk by Boss Babes. Shay is definitely a prime target for pyramid schemes. Hamilton really had me on the edge of my seat in “ The Perfect Girlfriend”. I loved the “ Single White Female” vibe of the obsessive, possessive and completely psychotic main character. “The Last Wife” started out the same way; Marie, always jealous of Nina’s life, gets the chance to take over and literally replace Nina, and jumps at the chance. The novel starts, from Marie’s perspective, describing her thoughts and dreams to literally take what Nina has. Here comes another unpopular, exiled to the minority kingdom review! After reading so many things about the book and past works about the author, as a die-hard thriller fan, I went blind to this reading but I couldn’t decide which character was the worst one! Don’t get me wrong! I always enjoy reading unlikable, twisted characters’ adventures but this time: they were unrealistically despicable. They reminded me of 80’s Dallas, Falcon Crest, Dynasty kind of villains: full of clichés and over exaggerated characterization. When Shay was at these sex parties, it felt like she was in no real danger, she would walk away easily every time! And when she actually allows herself to be branded? And then just leaves right after?Then we found out the podcast called transgressions is hosted by her childhood friend Jamie: they have a complicated relationship. Shay left her past behind, living under the radar, using pen name for her writing gigs, lost connection with her old friends! The Last Wife is my second helping of British based author Karen Hamilton’s work. I really enjoyed Hamilton’s 2018 debut, The Perfect Girlfriend. While it did take some time for me to settle into this one, I’m glad I persisted, it was a steady and revealing race to the finish line! I thought it was odd how everytime she got freaked out and managed to leave that she kept getting invited out and no one punished her. Also why TF did the author use italics to denote Shay's thoughts WHEN THE WHOLE STORY IS TOLD IN FIRST PERSON???????? Where TF was the editor. And shit like " Move. I told myself. Run ." Bro you literally could've just written "Move. Run." and we would've been knowing that's what she said to herself because once again THIS IS FIRST PERSON NARRATION!!!!!! This book was one of the most intense, dark, bleak, absolute eyes popper- nail biter- soul crusher- mind blower- nightmare caller- jaw dropper!