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Monday, February 19, 2018

The Wife - Alafair Burke

The Wife by Alafair Burke

First Paragraph(s):

In an instant, I became the woman they assumed I'd been all along: the wife who lied to protect her husband.
     I almost didn't hear the knock on the front door.  I had removed the brass knocker twelve days earlier, as if that would stop another reporter from showing up unannounced.  Once I realized the source of the sound, I sat up straight in bed, hitting mute on the TV remote.  Fighting the instinct to freeze, I forced myself to take a look.  I parted the drawn bedroom curtains, squinting against the afternoon sun.

My Thoughts:

I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Xe Sands, and liked it quite a lot.  I think the only other book I'd read by Alafair Burke was The Ex, which was pretty good.  Olivia Randall, one of the main characters in that one, is also part of this story as a defense attorney.  Angela Powell, the protagonist, is sort of hard to get to know.  She has reasons for wanting her life to stay private and the fact that her well-known husband is accused of sexual misconduct, well, that quickly becomes problematic.  The reader follows along and doesn't quite know what to think.  Has Jason, the husband, actually done the things he's accused of?  Is he lying to Angela?  Will her past be discovered and revealed by the media or even her husband as part of his defense?  Does Jason know everything about Angela's past?  Who do we believe?  And then, one of the women accusing Jason goes missing and the action ramps up even further.  I liked the SVU police detective that was investigating the alleged crimes.  I wasn't quite as sure about Angela and a couple of the other people in her life.  I did not like Jason.  I was wrong about many of my initial assumptions.  The puzzle was good here and I had a great time guessing this way and that.  In the end, I didn't quite have it all figured out, which made it fun.  I hope we'll see the detective in another book, and I look forward to what Alafair Burke writes next.   

Blurb:

When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past.

Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look—at both the man she married and the women she chose not to believe.

20 comments:

  1. What a timely plot, given all the accusations that are floating around in real life at the moment! Sounds as if it's done well too - I like the writing in the opening paragraph.

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    1. I did enjoy this one and yes, the topic is timely. Sadly. As in, I hate that these things happen, not that I hate that they have been revealed.

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  2. I love Sands' narration and keep hearing good things about this author. Audio might be the way to go with this one.

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    1. She was a good narrator. I don't think I'm overly picky about narrators, but sometimes I'm not pleased. This was not one of those times. :-)

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  3. I haven't read anything by Burke, but this one does sound like an interesting topical read. An old dilemma, but sadly, always current as a woman has to decide whether to believe her husband or an accuser.

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    1. Exactly. As I said above, sadly. I'm always wishing that people would just act responsibly and tell the truth. If you're done with a relationship, say so. Don't hide and lie. Yes, I can get on my soapbox. LOL

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  4. I will admit to being a bit burnt out on thrillers, especially thrillers that include rocky marriages. I have not yet read anything by Burke yet though, so perhaps she is one that shines above the rest these days!

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    1. I, too, am a bit burned out on the thriller angle. Am taking a bit of a break, though the book I chose and am reading is not a thriller, but it does have a broken marriage. Sigh. LOL

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  5. I feel like there have been quite a few books with these sort of dilemmas but they all sound interesting and I am especially interested in the resolution. Glad this one was a winner!

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    1. I liked it. Yes, there have been quite a few books with the same-ish type stories.

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  6. I find The Ex an OK read, but I'm intrigued with this one!

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    1. It does have that crossover character, Melody.

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  7. So many interesting questions coming out from this one! It's on my TBR so you've upped my interest in it heaps!

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  8. This one is intriguing and definitely timely. I'm not always a fan of timely books as it seems like we see so much of the real stuff all around of us and I sometimes don't want to see it in fiction too. This one does sound good so I think I'll wait to see your thoughts on the actual book!

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    1. I agree that sometimes 'timely' is not what we want to read about. And, actually, these were my thoughts. LOL

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  9. I haven't gotten to this one yet, but I'm definitely planning on it!

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  10. I really like Xe Sands as a narrator. I've only read one book by Burke, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I think I would like this one.

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    1. I bet you would. Yes, Xe Sands is a good narrator. I need to look for more books that she's voiced.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!