Love and Marriage

MY HUSBAND’S WIFE by Jane Corry

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This is a psychological suspense novel that spans several decades and involves the complex interplay of people who just happen to live next door to each other and become involved in a very personal and destructive way over the course of a decade.

Despite the far-fetched plot, this book has a way of making the events within seem convincing and is very detailed in its portrayal of the main characters, esp. Lily the lawyer and Carla, the young, complicated Italian girl. I fact, it’s too detailed, and there’s lots of things that could be edited out without any loss, esp. the subplot about Lily’s son, which seems totally unnecessary to the story whatsoever – I still can’t work out why it was there: if it was to humanise Lily, it failed.

Which brings me to the main problem with this book: none of the characters are remotely likeable. If you’re going to write a book about terrible characters, don’t make it this length, it’s unsustainable.

This book started brilliantly but lapsed into repetition. It took me a long time to finish this book – never a good sign – and I ended up hating Lily, the narrator, more and more as the story tried to explain away her awful, self-obsessed morality. Maybe it was an attempt to show how horrible all lawyers are but I couldn’t stand her. There’s also a tragic incident in her past which seems very unlikely – in fact her whole backstory seemed unlikely, including her bizarre relationship with her husband.

However, it is very well written and the young Carla at the beginning breaks your heart with her unfortunate circumstances and various unfulfilled yearnings. But the male characters are all clichéd cardboard cut-outs – alcoholics, philanderers, murderers, etc. – apart from one I can’t mention without spoiling the plot.

There’s some interesting legal stuff but not so much it gets dull and Corry’s clearly put a lot of effort into this book but it lacks focus, needs editing and doesn’t seem to have a point.

Overall, this was an infuriating experience that starts brilliantly and descends into repetitive silliness without the likeable character necessary to make you want to read on. I hate being negative about writers’ work but I have to be honest about my reading experience on behalf of everyone thinking of spending their precious time reading. Such a shame because it could have been so much better if it was more focused.

3/5