|
|
BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
|
|
A Lost Wife's Tale
by Marion McGilvary
A woman creates a false
identity, leaving her past behind. Once Agnes, she becomes the
widow Edith Lutz. Edith takes a job as a housekeeper for Adam
Davenport, a wealthy divorced publisher. Adam knows nothing of
her past and yet he finds himself attracted to Edith. Without
even trying, Edith insinuates herself into Adam's life and yet, the
closer they become, the more her past threatens to catch up with
her. And what about Adam's past? At first, his divorce
seems a distant reality but the status stated in the job interview
changes. Will the stories Edith makes up about her identity catch
up with her? Will Adam find out the truth about her? What
about the husband Frank whom she claims died? With so many lies
behind her, what are Edith's intentions? When the world outside
Edith and Adam's isolated domestic bliss comes crashing into their
lives, Edith's past comes back in a way she never could have imagined.
Marion McGilvary's debut novel A LOST WIFE'S TALE is page-turning
suspense with an emotional, psychological richness that builds
alongside the action. Gradually revealing the psychology hiding
behind Edith's cover identity, Marion McGilvray uses the literary form
of the narrative to give additional insights into Edith. From the
beginning, the reader knows Edith's identity is false. Her
motives are suspect, her actions odd and her character untrustworthy
and even unlikable. Narratives of her past break into the present
first person narrative, creating even more mystery. As Edith's
romance with Adam grows, however, the reader's perspective
changes. One hopes with her that somehow against all odds the
happy domestic scene will become permanent yet in the back of one's
mind, a reader waits for past to catch up with Edith and the odd,
almost fairy tale romance to come to an end. Even knowing a twist
awaits, several surprises await the reader as the past comes into focus
with shocking truth upon dark truth. Layer by layer, the
narrative moves from the surface of Edith's cover identity to an inner
vision of the character. As Edith tells her story, the reader
moves from outsider to insider. The story itself changes Edith.
A LOST WIFE'S TALE works on multiple levels. As pure story, the
suspense mesmerizes. The more I read, the more I wanted to
read. The more I thought I knew, the less I knew. Yet by
the end, the reader's vision becomes fuller than plot alone. How
exciting for a fiction and suspense lover! I expected a kind of dark
twist on FATAL ATTRACTION and/or RABECCA, but what I got was different
and much
richer for that, not only in terms of the story but how the author uses
the form
of the narrative to move the reader, changing one's expectations
alongside the narrator's. A LOST WIFE'S TALE is an exceptional
mixture of women's fiction, suspense, and literary fiction all in
one. Brilliant!
Publisher:
Harper (March 16, 2010)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
|
|
|
