The Echo Wife

October 19, 2020
This creepy, exhilarating science fiction outing from Gailey (Magic for Liars) dissects an unconventional affair that violates both a couple’s marriage vows and scientific integrity. Dr. Evelyn Caldwell is startled to discover that her husband, Nathan, has been seeing another woman—and even more shocked to learn that the other woman is a clone of Evelyn herself. Nathan created Martine to be everything Evelyn isn’t: attentive, submissive, and family-oriented. Adding insult to injury, Nathan used Evelyn’s own research to do so. An explosive confrontation among the three ends in Nathan’s murder, leaving Evelyn and Martine forced to work together to cover up the crime. It’s a situation that is not entirely unfamiliar for Evelyn, whose troubled past is teased out bit by bit. The women slowly discover that Nathan was hiding more secrets than either of them knew, forcing Martine and Evelyn to think on their feet in order to save themselves and the odd little family they create along the way. Gailey’s story unspools as a series of dark reveals that leave both the characters and the audience reeling. Readers won’t want to put this one down.

Xe Sands narrates with a quiet tension that suits the slow creep of this sci-fi domestic thriller. Evelyn is an accomplished scientist in the field of cloning human adults, although her victories in advancing the controversial work feel bittersweet. Her husband, Nathan, is having an affair, but the sweet-voiced Martine isn't just another woman--Nathan has used Evelyn's own research techniques to create an obedient, domestic, and illegal clone of Evelyn herself. Evelyn wants nothing to do with them, and in short order Nathan is dead, and Martine is in trouble. Sands delivers all the slowly building suspense with her smooth first-person narration as the author delves into the ethics of cloning and the legacy of trauma while executing plot twists that make for a satisfying, if disturbing, story. E.E.C. � AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Starred review from May 1, 2021

Evelyn, a no-nonsense doctor who has learned how to create human clones, is recovering from a divorce that blindsided her; her husband left her for another woman, Martine. Evelyn is shocked to find that Martine is a clone of her, but made soft, feminine, and very obedient--qualities Evelyn lacks. We learn that Nathan has taken Evelyn's research and used it to create his perfect version of her. When Martine comes to Evelyn's house in a terrible panic one night, the two women must work together to cover up Nathan's murder. Inevitably, things do not go as neatly as Evelyn planned. Evelyn is an intensely unlikable character; her dealings with her cloning subjects are clinical and cruel. But Martine forces Evelyn to see her not as a specimen but as a person. Xe Sands narrates the psychological thriller with intensity and perfect pacing. She has a creepy, cold way of voicing Evelyn, who analyzes every situation with a detached tone. Martine starts out tentative and deferential but slowly learns to express anger and opinions. Sands also ably conveys Nathan's self-serving, misogynistic character. Listeners won't want to stop until they reach the ending of this enthralling and unique meditation on the ethics of cloning. VERDICT Highly recommended for all collections.--B. Allison Gray, Goleta Valley Lib., CA

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