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Two Wives
Helen H. Durrant
284 Pages
Bookouture
Goodreads/Amazon/Bookshop.org
This was a very standard suspense novel, a good fast read, but little more than that. The premise is that there is a wife and an ex wife who are or have been married to a thoroughly unpleasant man. Actually, he is dreadful, and therein lies the first problem. Other than the fact that he is a doctor, there is no reason for any woman to want to be near him, no less legally connected at him. This is my first big caveat. Anyone that is triggered by abuse, mental or physical will want to steer clear of this book.
The second wife is a mother to a young child. The first wife moves next door (how likely is that, really?). The two women mix like oil and water. What they should do is get along because they both know that he is wretched. But they don’t. The story is largely narrated by the nanny who begins to see what is going on, though she has her own agenda and knows how unsavory he is.
First, the narration is problematic. In some senses, this is a story that should be shared between all three women. However, it is almost all told by the nanny. There is the very occasional chapter from the perspective of each wife. It is rather odd that it is only one or two chapters related by each wife. Typically, a book is either narrated by one voice or by a few. It doesn’t “dabble” in the other characters like this.
Second, none of the characters are particularly likeable. If the husband is such a bad person, we, or at least I, need to like someone. All of the women, to the extent they are developed, are cliché and annoying. They also sound like one another. Except for the fact that the chapter was labeled, I would not have been able to distinguish between them. They had the same intonations and way of speaking. They are not otherwise developed, except perhaps for the nanny. And I couldn’t stand her. Aside from this, there was not much that stood out about the setting or the story. There were a few twists; I will say that. However, there was not enough to really make it worth a reader’s time.
Thanks to NetGalley and to Bookouture for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel. All of the opinions expressed herein are my own. Two and a half stars, rounded to three.
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