The Other Wife

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Throughout I found myself wondering which wife has been betrayed the most, and who has the more difficult journey ahead. The glimpses into their respective marriages shed a fascinating light on who Richard was and also suggest why he behaved as he did. And who is the strange woman crying at William's bedside, covered in his blood - a friend, a mistress, a fantasist or a killer? I really enjoyed this book. It is not a thriller, nor a love story, not an urban fantasy or a ya coming of age. It is just a greatly written story about the wrong person to love and the possible consequences. Did I mention dead bodies? There are some. There’s also infidelity, manipulation, spying, and A LOT of lying. I mention this because one or more of these subjects could be triggers for some.

The Other Wife (TV Mini Series 2012– ) - IMDb The Other Wife (TV Mini Series 2012– ) - IMDb

The beginning was a little depressing as the narrators were in dark places mentally. Each were grieving in their own way. However, not all is doom and gloom as lighter quips popped up at unexpected times. This one was a favorite:

Now, the good points. I loved how the author chose to parallel the women so similarly so that we could see just how this revelation affected each of them. I thought it was very interesting. I also really liked how each of them had such extreme impressions of the other but when they finally meet, they realise that everything they thought to be true was not.

Review: The Other Wife by Michael Robotham - Booktopia Review: The Other Wife by Michael Robotham - Booktopia

One wife is looking for the woman that took everything away from her. The other is looking for the that finally made her happy. Neither really knows who they should be looking for.I suspect that in the book, Rebeca Kendall (her character) is meant to be a dignified woman, calm and collected. Sadly, Worner's Rebeca comes across emotionally stunted instead, and that's only if you decide to force yourself to see her monotonous droning as realistic, and try to figure out what sort of state a human being must be in to behave like that. (Worner looks and sounds the same whether Rebeca's giving advice to her daughters, flirting with her husband, mourning his death, OR raging at his infidelity). Even if Rosamunde Pilcher did write the character as incapable of expressing emotion (it's quite possible), what's the excuse for what amounts to over 80% of the rest of the cast? This book is very much about the father Joe realises he didn’t know at all. And there’s something rather sad about that… Eleanor has been married to Richard for 38 years. Of course, the excitement of the first years is gone but they have a good, solid marriage, two adult children and a grand kid, enough money not to worry, no special health problems. A good life. That is what she thinks waking up one morning, looking at his dear face. She looks again -something is wrong, very wrong. Richard died in his sleep and she will walk into a complete nightmare, unraveling her life, making her question everything she held for true.