The Fourth Wife

Happy book birthday to Linda Hamilton‘s The Fourth Wife! This debut gothic novel takes readers to 1880s Utah and a polygamous Mormon family. Hazel and her childhood friend Elijah have long planned to marry only each other, but when she’s pushed into a marriage to another man, Hazel reluctantly accepts. She’s now Jacob’s fourth wife, living in the same run-down manor with his first three wives and their children. The wives vary in acceptance of Hazel, and the manor seems to awaken dread and disturbing nightmares in her. As Hazel starts to question what women actually get out of plural marriage, she also starts to fear that she may be in grave danger, both in this family and in this strange house.

What I Liked:

• Tensions within a polygamist family. Although Hazel was raised Mormon and believing in the supposed merits of plural marriage, I liked seeing how, in practice, it may not be so rewarding. Two of the three wives Jacob already has are rather hostile in their own ways, and competition and jealousy are palpable. Jacob himself only makes those fraught relationships worse, seemingly on purpose.
• A possibly haunted house. I’m a sucker for creepy old houses, and this book certainly brings the vibes with its setting. The isolated manor they all live in is old, dusty, and falling apart. It’s shockingly quiet, and yet there’s a malevolent presence there, too. Is Hazel going insane? Is this place actually haunted? Can anyone else perceive the piano music and creepy visions, or is it just her?
• Tentatively rebelling against Mormon patriarchy and sexism. Despite her upbringing, Hazel quickly starts to change her views on Mormon teachings of men as godlike, of women as content only if subservient, of plural marriage overall. She starts off naive and gullible, but I loved seeing her lean into increasingly feminist ideals and planning a new future for herself.

Audiobook:

Morgan Hallett narrates The Fourth Wife, and she captures Hazel’s voice so well here. From her youth and trusting nature to her surreal dreams to her feminist awakening, her personality comes off the page. The narrator also builds up the suspense well, and I love the difference voices she gives each of the sister wives.

Final Thoughts

The Fourth Wife is a memorable work of gothic horror, and I enjoyed seeing a new take on the genre. Religion is a rich source of horror themes, but this is the first time I’ve seen Mormonism specifically. I really enjoyed this and can’t wait for more from Linda Hamilton.

Special thanks to Kensington, RBmedia, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Fourth Wife here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton
Audiobook Narrator	Morgan Hallett
Audience	Adult
Genre	Horror; Gothic
Setting	Utah
Number of Pages	304
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	March 31, 2026
Publisher	Kensington

Official Summary

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets “Sister Wives” in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a young Mormon woman is haunted by a malevolent presence in the decrepit Salt Lake City mansion she shares with her new husband and his other wives…

Hazel Russon’s life in 1882 Utah territory is defined by three things: the Mormon church, polygamy, and the men who control both. She knows she’s supposed to suppress her sinful dreams of a monogamous life with her sweetheart, and her desire for the freedom to play her beloved piano. Every Mormon woman’s duty is to live obediently and meekly, devoted to her husband and her calling as a sister wife. Her eternal salvation depends upon it.

Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she’s never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob’s wives and children live in the same house—a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread. 

Despite Jacob’s tenderness, Hazel senses dark secrets and resentments among her sister wives. She hears strange music, sees blood oozing from the very walls, and glimpses apparitions that grow more terrifying every day. And as her nightmares worsen, Hazel can’t be sure if she has more to fear from the living—including her mysterious husband—or from a sinister presence that seems to animate the house itself . . .

Drawing on little-known Mormon folklore and the author’s own polygamous ancestors, this fascinating, suspense-filled historical novel debut is by turns darkly romantic, spine-tingling, and wholly unforgettable.