The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Gist
I have not felt this torn about a book since I read Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, except this time I am even more at odds with what to write.
Let me set the scene. I decided to write this review a few hours after finishing the book, before the few strands of coherent thoughts about this book vanish into thin air.
I have done my stretches. Literally rolled out my workout mat to loosen up some stiff joints. I made myself a tea. I took out the meat to thaw for dinner. I grabbed some frozen berries to eat in an hour. And most importantly washed my hands a good fifteen times.
I guess I have procrastinated as much as I possibly can. So here it goes: I have no clue how to review this book. Zero. None. Zip.
I have read mixed reviews about it and I have to agree with most of them on various points. Let me elaborate in the following sections.
The Details
None of the characters were particularly likeable, which isn’t such a big deal, considering the genre of this story.
We have an unreliable narrator, who tells, rather than shows the vast majority of the happenings.
We also have very shifty sounding secondary characters that make it difficult to decide whether the protagonist is really as messed up as it appears or if there are other motivations at play.
I found there were a lot of characters in this story. Some entered the narration later, some were only briefly mentioned, but they all meant something to the bigger picture. At least that’s the impression I got.
I liked the atmosphere the author created. The story starts late in the fall, which is my favourite season. It also gave me a mental break from the heat we are experiencing right now. I’m miserable most days in this heat and imagining the crisp, cool fall winds, the rain and colourful leaves made the latest heat wave a little more bearable.
I don’t, however; know exactly what this story was meant to achieve. I had a difficult time getting started. One reviewer admits having stopped at the 30% mark and I was about to give up around there as well.
After that the story picks up and my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to know what was going to happen and how the author intended to end it.
Around the 70% mark there was a shift. It is hard for me to pinpoint where the shift occurred; it could have been the general narration, the focus the narrator adjusted, or the slight genre change from psychological thriller to cold case investigation.
I was a little confused to say the least and began to lose interest.
The Verdict
Overall, as I said, I’m not quite sure what the point of this story was supposed to be. I was confused yet intrigued. I didn’t really like it, but I felt compelled to finish.
The Last Wife certainly gave me the creeps at times, as I would hope a psychological thriller would deliver. For that I would recommend it.
About the Author
Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium and Italy and worked as a flight attendant for many years. Karen is a
recent graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. She is also the author of the international bestseller The Perfect Girlfriend.
