A loving husband, Patrick. Two adorable children. A comfortable home.
So when PC Becca Holt arrives to break the news that Patrick has been killed in an accident, she thinks Louise’s perfect world is about to collapse around her.
But Louise doesn’t react in the way Becca would expect her to on hearing of her husband’s death. And there are only three plates set out for dinner, as if Louise already knew Patrick wouldn’t be home that night…
The more Becca digs, the more secrets she uncovers in the Bridges’ marriage – and the more she wonders just how far Louise would go to get what she wants…
Is Louise a loving wife – or a cold-hearted killer?
I'd like to thank HQ Digital for my copy of The Perfect Widow via NetGalley to review.
Firstly I must apologise to the author and publisher as I was supposed to review this last week as part of the blog tour but I got my days mixed up and it's only now that I've had the chance to finalise my thoughts about the book.
The Perfect Widow begins with a knock on the door that no-one ever wants to receive, the arrival of a couple of police officers to inform Louise Bridges that her husband Patrick has been killed. But if they were expecting to see a distraught woman at the news, the opposite is what they get. Louise is very calm at the news which sparks a doubt in the mind of Becca, one of the police officers, that Louise knows more than she lets on.
The story is written in the past and present tense, 'Then' introduces us to Louise and we see what life was like for her as a child and how she was determined to rebuild a life for herself that was the complete opposite of what she has known to date. A fresh start sees her moving, starting a new job, transform herself totally and eventually catch her man after setting her sights on Patrick. But was the hard work worth it, is everything as golden as it seems?
In the present day 'Now' we follow both Louise and Becca in the days and weeks after the death notification. Despite learning more about Louise's past and marriage, and the lengths she will go to protect everything the life she had built for herself and her children, I still didn't warm to her as she had such a cold personna. Becca on the other hand seemed to go to extreme lengths, some outside of the law, to try and prove that her gut feeling was correct. She didn't have a life outside of work so was like an woman possessed in her determination to get to the truth no matter what it cost, her obsession could cost her her job but she just couldn't ignore her suspicions.
I have to confess that I really struggled with this book for three-quarters of the story, I wasn't really invested in either woman and felt like I was wading through water just waiting for that moment when everything fell into place. But I guess that's what the author intended, neither of the women were meant to be likeable or relatable characters, it's more about understanding the human pscyhe and why people act the way they do.
The final quarter of the book more than made up for what came before and I flew through these chapters as piece by piece we discover the true personna of Louise, how she was more of a chameleon than at first appeared, and the lengths she had gone to create her perfect life. Is she the loving wife or a cold-hearted killer?, well you'll have to read for yourself to find out.
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