The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

 

Jane is new to the Birmingham Alabama area and is trying to start a new life.  She has a secret about her past life, one she is running from, and this keeps you guessing about her past.  She is employed as a dog walker in this ultra rich community where women casually discard their diamond earrings in a bowl as they enter their mansions.  The neighborhood is basically full of millionaires who haven;t experienced hardship.

One day Jane is staring at one elegant home while walking a dog and Eddie Rochester careens out of his driveway, almost running Jane down.  Eddie is newly widowed, very handsome and fit. Her invites Jane inside for coffee and apologizes for almost killing her.  This is the start of the Eddie and Jane storyline.

The very title called The Wife Upstairs is a bit of a spoiler and that crazy scenario is revealed early in the book.  

I was interested in this book because a Jane Eyre comparison was mentioned.  It's not a ripoff story but you'll see a nod to the names and some of the relationships.  Jane, Rochester, Bertha plus the poor character of Jane who had a horrid upbringing.

This story has mystery, two big twists in the narrative (be patient and wait for it!) and a warning to those who are offended by the F-bomb.  It's not used as much as in The Big Lebowski but you've been forewarned :-) Doesn't bother me and was, in my opinion, approprite for the scenarios.