Lisa Jewell
In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide?
At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife’s death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought. But something, or someone, must have pushed Maya over the edge…
With psychological nuance that gets into the heart of its characters, The Third Wife is a gripping story about a man seeking the truth behind his seemingly perfect marriage and the broken pieces left behind (from Netgalley)
At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife’s death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought. But something, or someone, must have pushed Maya over the edge…
With psychological nuance that gets into the heart of its characters, The Third Wife is a gripping story about a man seeking the truth behind his seemingly perfect marriage and the broken pieces left behind (from Netgalley)
My Thoughts
Adrian has been married three times. First he marries Susan and has two children. Then, he leaves her to marry Caroline that resulted in three children. Next, he leaves Caroline for Maya and they have no children. This big extended family hangs out together, goes on vacation together, babysits each others children. Much of the coordinating of everyone’s activities falls to Maya and why not. She has no children and even though she works, she should still have time to take care of everyone else - right? From the outside, this looks like an amazingly blended family. But as we know, looks can be deceiving. One night, after some heavy drinking, Maya steps in front of a bus and is killed. What secrets was Maya holding on to that led to this fateful night?
I like the way Lisa Jewell develops her characters. Adrian is oblivious to how his behavior has impacted his family. He thinks if he’s happy, everyone else must be happy. I wanted to slap him.And poor Maya, I felt so sorry for her as her seemingly happy little life slowly falls apart. I enjoyed the suspense as Adrian pieces together the mystery that was his third wife. This was well paced and smartly written. No surprise from this very talented author.
My thanks to Atria Books, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
No comments:
Post a Comment