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A review by stitchykitch
The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin
3.0
That didn't play out as I thought it would.
I love a good thriller and The Starter Wife does not disappoint. In fact, it delivers a bigger punch than I expected. What starts as marital bliss ends up as... well, I don't want to give it away.
Claire Westcott has it all; the beautiful house, a writing career, and a doting husband. But something seems to be a bit off. Nothing too obvious, but little by little you begin to realize that there's more to the picture than first meets the eye. This is the set-up for many a successful thriller, but what sets this one apart is its duplicitous nature. As readers, we depend on red flags to help us discern what is going on that the narrator fails to tell us outright. Nina Laurin is a magician with red flags, and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor and wonder how did she do that?
The novel is told from two points of view. The main voice belongs to Claire Westcott, who is always striving to live up to her husband's high standards. The other more sinister italicized voice belongs to an unnamed person who seems to know the whole story—a story involving a mysterious suicide. The alternating perspectives make for a heck of a read, and has you questioning everything you think is fact.
As far as characters go, I can safely say that I didn't like any of them. Claire Westcott, her literature professor husband Byron, even Colleen May, the deceased first wife—everyone seems to bring out the worst in each other. Laurin explores the limits of jealousy, obsession, and deceit in a way that seems like reasonable behavior. Byron Westcott may not be fully healed from the loss of his first wife, Colleen, and Claire maybe unfairly held to impossible standards by her husband. Does that mean the sneaking around and attempts to catch each other in a lie is warranted behavior? Sometimes, sacrifices are made for the good of a relationship. The question in The Starter Wife is how far is too far?
The Starter Wife is not a book you can put down and be done with. As I sat digesting the story, unresolved details would suddenly slip into place. It is satisfying to read something so deceptive as The Starter Wife and I recommend it to anyone who thinks they can't be fooled.
I love a good thriller and The Starter Wife does not disappoint. In fact, it delivers a bigger punch than I expected. What starts as marital bliss ends up as... well, I don't want to give it away.
Claire Westcott has it all; the beautiful house, a writing career, and a doting husband. But something seems to be a bit off. Nothing too obvious, but little by little you begin to realize that there's more to the picture than first meets the eye. This is the set-up for many a successful thriller, but what sets this one apart is its duplicitous nature. As readers, we depend on red flags to help us discern what is going on that the narrator fails to tell us outright. Nina Laurin is a magician with red flags, and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor and wonder how did she do that?
The novel is told from two points of view. The main voice belongs to Claire Westcott, who is always striving to live up to her husband's high standards. The other more sinister italicized voice belongs to an unnamed person who seems to know the whole story—a story involving a mysterious suicide. The alternating perspectives make for a heck of a read, and has you questioning everything you think is fact.
As far as characters go, I can safely say that I didn't like any of them. Claire Westcott, her literature professor husband Byron, even Colleen May, the deceased first wife—everyone seems to bring out the worst in each other. Laurin explores the limits of jealousy, obsession, and deceit in a way that seems like reasonable behavior. Byron Westcott may not be fully healed from the loss of his first wife, Colleen, and Claire maybe unfairly held to impossible standards by her husband. Does that mean the sneaking around and attempts to catch each other in a lie is warranted behavior? Sometimes, sacrifices are made for the good of a relationship. The question in The Starter Wife is how far is too far?
The Starter Wife is not a book you can put down and be done with. As I sat digesting the story, unresolved details would suddenly slip into place. It is satisfying to read something so deceptive as The Starter Wife and I recommend it to anyone who thinks they can't be fooled.