The Wife - Alafair Burke

Oh, Alafair Burke, you have outdone yourself with your new novel, The Wife! Brilliant, addictive, full of twists - and that last line ending? Perfect!

I was hooked from the opening line: "In an instant, I became the woman they assumed I'd been all along: the wife who lied to protect her husband."

The husband, Jason, is a celebrated public figure. When one of his interns makes an accusation against him, the foundations of his public and private lives begin to crumble. His wife, Angela, has secrets in her past that she wants to keep out of the public light. And she doesn't want her son exposed to any of it. What will Angela do to keep that secret? To protect her husband? Her son? Is Jason guilty? Or is he the victim of a campaign to discredit him and his work? Ahh, a delicious premise and one I couldn't wait to dig into!

The Wife falls into the genre of 'domestic thriller'. This has fast become a favourite for me. I love not knowing who is telling the truth, the possibilities of whodunit, the turns and twists that jump out of a chapter to surprise me, and unexpected endings.

"To know something, he argued, was not the same as to be certain beyond all doubt. And to believe something was definitely not the sane as to know it."

Burke's characters are so well drawn, coming alive in my imagination. Angela is portrayed as a sympathetic character - but does she deserve it? I was happy to see Olivia Randall in this novel. She's a high powered defense attorney last seen in Burke's previous book, The Ex. (And I hope we see her again.) The dialogue flows easily, the plotting is addictive and the prose are so very 'readable.'

The Wife benefits greatly from Burke's legal background. (Burke teaches criminal law) The case, the police investigation and the legal machinations are so well portrayed and unfold in a believable manner. Suspense, mystery, police procedural and some social commentary - The Wife has it all. This is one you're going to want to pick up. I loved it!

You can connect with Alafair Burke on her website, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.