A review by bnsfly
The Wife by Alafair Burke

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed the book overall but I do think that the eventual revelation that the women were lying, while maybe necessary to keep the twists coming and reveal the _big_ twist (which was an interesting if not entirely unpredictable one), wasn't really twisty itself and is obviously problematic. I spent a lot of the book wondering if the author would reveal their politics, and while I don't think the twist is an endorsement, it builds up these women to a real extent, somewhat intelligently presents all the things people tell themselves so as not to believe the victim, while presenting them in a way that seems to indicate it's not a great thing… and then says "yep that's right they weren't a victim" and that sucked

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