Title: The Wife
Author: Alafair Burke
Narrator: Xe Sands
Published: January 2018, Harper Audio
Length: 8 hours 9 minutes
Source: Library
Summary:
His scandal. Her secret.When
Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton,
she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many
relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise,
Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they
married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be
a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move
out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her
tragic past.
Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a
growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing
Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a
college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman,
Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their
perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and
Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take
a closer look at the man she married. And when she is asked to defend
Jason in court, she realizes that her loyalty to her husband could
unearth old secrets.
My thoughts: While I am still fairly new to Alafair Burke’s books – I’ve only read one of her stand-alones prior to this one – I do love her collaborations with Mary Higgins Clark in the Under Suspicion series. But let me tell you, she is quickly becoming a favorite with her stand-alones!
This book grabbed me from the beginning and never really let up. It was definitely a timely read – a story about a woman’s husband being accused of sexual harrassment by one woman and then sexual assault by another woman – but of course, it takes on a unique spin. The wife, Angela, has her own secrets from her past, secrets she doesn’t necessarily want coming out. Is she willing to stand by her husband?
I loved how this story was told, alternating between the wife’s point of view and that of a female detective’s point of view. It certainly keeps you guessing as to what is really going on, as the case against the wife’s husband builds. While all this is going on with the husband, there is also the secret that Angela is desperate to keep hidden – a secret that you can’t help but wonder if it has any bearing on what is going on with the present case.
While I did figure out a small part of the final puzzle, I was still shocked at how it all came together and the overall why. So, all in all, the story was in no way ruined for me. In fact, I think it was a lucky guess on my part…I just had a small inkling and actually thought I was way off base. But, I was still in awe of the ending and loved every bit of this book…it’s cleverly crafted and really is an addictive read.
Audio thoughts: I absolutely adore Xe Sands and so whenever possible, I listen to her narrations. So of course when I saw she was narrating Alafair Burke’s latest book, I knew I had to listen to it…and what a great experience it was! She just has a way with bringing whatever book she is narrating to life, bringing the characters and all their quirks and personalities to life. Her pacing with this was great as was her intonation. I loved listening to this audio book!
Thank you for this review.