The Wife Between Us (St. Martin’s Press, $26.99) is a collaboration between Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Pakkanen has written seven previous novels while Hendricks has been an editor at Simon and Schuster. As Anita Shreve touts on the cover, the book is “fiendishly clever.” For once the hype is right.
If you read while teenagers slam doors in and out of the house, or while keeping an eye on March madness, you may not catch the differences in the narration. Things are not what they seem. One woman is describing her former marriage to Richard, while another tells us about her courtship and plans for marrying him. But pay attention.
Richard appears to be a handsome, rich, affectionate man, but immediately we sense something is wrong. He buys a house for his fiancé without asking if she likes it or even bothering to show it to her. Nor even inquiring if she wants to leave Manhattan. He plans their honeymoon without telling her where they’re going. As the marriage progresses he becomes verbally abusive, more manipulative, and finally physically abusive.
One of the women telling her story has a mysterious tragedy in her past, providing an intriguing subplot, something from college in Florida she can’t resolve. The hints are obtuse and when revealed, are surprising. A different book could have been written around this story. Somehow the writers manage to weave the subplot back into the main story which occurs many years later.
It’s hard to describe much more of the book without giving it away. Suffice to say both women involved with Richard are clever and while at first victims, learn to stand up to him.
This is not a crime novel. Some readers may be disappointed in the ending’s lack of a satisfying shot to the gut, but the denouement is cleverly creative and satisfying. I would rate the book either B+ or A-, depending on whether you like revenge served hot or cold.
Steve E Clark as seen in the New York Times is Author of Justice Is for the Lonely and Justice Is for the Deserving, Kristen Kerry Novels Of Suspense. You can purchase his books via SteveClarkAuthor.com/BuyBook or request it at your local book store. Want to know more about Steve Clark, read more reviews or speak directly with Steve? Learn more about Steve at SteveClarkAuthor.com
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