Such a Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
copy for review; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: Melanie Hale is a devoted mother to her two children, a diligent caregiver to her ailing mother-in-law and a trusted neighbor in their wealthy Louisiana community. Above all, she’s a loving partner to her wonderful husband, Collin.
Then there are the parts of herself that Mel keeps hidden. She’s exhausted, worried and unfulfilled. So much so that one night, after a writers’ group meeting, Mel begins an affair with a successful local author named Luke. Suddenly she’s transformed into a role she doesn’t recognize—a woman who deceives with unseemly ease. A woman who might be capable of just about anything.
When Mel finds Luke’s dead body in his lavish rented house, she realizes just how high the stakes have become. Not only does she have to keep her affair a secret in order to preserve her marriage, but she desperately needs to avoid being implicated in Luke’s death. But who would want to kill him? Who else in her life is keeping secrets? And most terrifying of all, how far will they—and she—go to keep those secrets hidden?
Review: Such a Good Wife is a bit of a slow-burn mystery. I was definitely curious as to who would have killed Luke, since we know that it wasn’t Melanie herself. Since this book had a mix of likes and dislikes for me, I thought I’d do a pro/con list for my review.
Pros-
* It’s not a case of an unreliable narrator. We can trust the POV of Melanie.
* I thought the unravelling of the mystery in the end was done rather well, even if the culprit was someone I’d guessed – I was never 100% sure.
* I appreciated the author really showing Melanie’s everyday life, with kids and a husband and taking care of her husband’s sick mother, etc. It’s easy to see how Melanie could get burnt out and long for a more exciting, adventurous life.
Cons-
* There was never any good reason for Melanie to cheat on her husband, so it just made you kind of dislike her for doing that. Collin is a really good guy – and Melanie states that over and over in the book. Obviously we aren’t supposed to feel too much sympathy for Melanie, but you kind of wish you could throughout the book.
* There’s some weird behavior from Collin’s mom. She has dementia, so she doesn’t always do or act in the manner you’d expect, but it felt like there was more going on with her throughout the book and that was never cleared up.
* As I said in the beginning, this is a very slow-burn mystery. That might work for a lot of people, but honestly, it was tough for me to keep reading sometimes. I just wanted things to move along!
All in all, I’d give Such a Good Wife 3 stars. I think other readers might enjoy it a lot more than I did.
Sounds like a great plot for a thriller. I love it when the narrator is NOT unreliable. That trope makes me insane and frustrated. Bummer the mother-in-law behavior was never explained. Loose ends make me nuts but also it sounds like it could’ve been a cool subplot!
I’m intrigued by the idea of this NOT being an unreliable narrator book. I’m kind of over that lol
Karen @For What It’s Worth
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Sounds like Melanie’s bad choices and her deception landed her in a precarious situation. Interesting premise but I think the slow pace would be a deal breaker for me.
Hmmm. See, I don’t like that Melanie is a jerk just to be a jerk. I am not even one of those people who finds cheating to be a dealbreaker in books, but it does have to make sense! I also think the slow plot would be rough for me- especially coupled with an unlikable narrator! Great review!
Thanks for sharing your honest review, Lauren! It sounds interesting and I always am a sucker for a murder mystery. I may check it out (though I can’t say I’m a fan of a slow burn these days… time is precious. Move it along already! Lol)
That’s a shame about the slow pace. The premise of the story sounds really interesting but I think the slow pace would lose me.
I love me a good thriller! Need to get my hands on this one!
Your reviews are always on pointe. Thank you for sharing this book and your thoughts about it. Will pin this for consideration with my book club.
I love a thriller but don’t like a slow-paced read either. Thanks for sharing your review!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Yeah- some slow-burner mysteries make me want to read more and some get really hard to finish. Thanks for the recap on this!
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[…] the past month, I also did full length reviews for Such a Good Wife and Where I Left Her, so check those out too if you like […]