My Husband’s Wife
By Jane Corry
Pamela Dorman Books, Hardcover, 9780735220959, January 31, 2017, 384pp.
The Short of It:
History repeats itself.
The Rest of It:
The title of this story is a little misleading and it’s not fully explained until the last third of the book but what started off as a rocky start, turned out to be quite a page turner.
Lily is married to Ed. Their marriage is riddled with problems. Ed doesn’t have a full-time job because he’s an artist trying to make a name for himself. Lily, resents having to be the sole breadwinner but when she takes on her first murder case everything takes a backseat including her marriage.
Carla is the little neighbor girl who lives next door with her mother. She’s alone much of the time because her mother chooses to entertain her “boyfriend” Larry in order get the things she needs like rent money, clothes and tuition for her daughter. After Lily and Ed offer to watch Carla, a bond grows between Carla and Ed as Carla becomes Ed’s artistic muse.
This book could be split into two separate novels. Carla’s childhood is interesting enough but once Carla is grown, the story takes a different direction as we follow her into adulthood and see how her mother’s actions impact her later in life. In addition to Carla’s story, there’s Lily’s story and how a murder case from the past affects her years later.
As you might have guessed, Carla and Lily’s stories are intertwined due to Ed but the way they come together is not smooth and dare I say it, a tad awkward. The transition between childhood and adulthood needed a little finessing in my opinion and some of the plot points weren’t realistic but the last third of the book had me flipping pages left and right to see how the story would end.
I think this book tried too hard. It tried to be many things ( a murder mystery, a psychological thriller, a book about relationships, etc.) It lacked focus even though the last third of the book was pretty riveting. All in all this book was just okay for me. It missed its mark.
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
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Book Chatter 
Ti, I’d seen this book around, but was hesitant to pick it up. I’m glad that I didn’t read it. Sounds like a miss to me. Thanks for posting about it. Hopefully your next read will be ace. By the by, how goes Ulysses?
Yeah, if the author had narrowed the focus down a little, I think the story would have been tighter and more believable.
As for Ulysses. Was Joyce drunk when he wrote it? I am about 220 pages in and not yet halfway into book 2. It’s coming along but the thought process in that one is non-existent.
I’ve got the audio of this one and am hoping that will work well. Have seen kind of mixed reviews of this one, but I was interested enough to pick it up. We shall see.
It might be pretty good on audio. You’ll have to let me know.
Aw, too bad. I had high hopes for this book.
It had potential. I’d read her again if she wrote another book. I think this was fiction debut.
Totally agree with you…I didn’t even finish it.
It did get better towards the end. I just feel as if the author wasn’t all that sure what direction the story should take. I would have liked it better had the “Larry” story been left out entirely.
Sorry you didn’t like this book more!
Perhaps a different editor would have helped because the writing wasn’t bad but the story needed some pruning (IMO).
Sounds like there is a LOT going on in this.
And I didn’t even mention the details of the murder case. That’s a story on its own as well!
It sounds like it has such a good premise. It’s funny, I find that if the last part of a book is really good, I am usually willing to forgive the faults in the earlier parts.
That’s kind of how it is with this one. I gave it three stars on Goodreads. I’d read her work again. They are comparing it to Gone Girl, as so many people try to do these days. It’s not at all like Gone Girl. I think it could have been really good though had the focus been tightened up a bit. I’m not an editor though!
I don’t like when books try too hard to be complex. I’d rather have a polished book.
Maybe it WAS trying to be a little too complex. It had the opportunity to be a couple of different stories for sure, possibly even three! All of them interesting but put together, a little too much.
Well that’s disappointing, but at least I know I’m not missing out on anything by not reading it.
It sounds like it tried to pack a lot in. These stories can get a bit crazy. The title is a bit of a stumper. but it keeps you thinking about it.
The title isn’t entirely accurate but it WAS explained, at least. I thought maybe it was about someone leading a double life. Nope.