The Pumpkin Eater’s Wife
by Tannis Laidlaw
Domestic violence, both physical and psychological abuse, identity theft, HIV, immigration offences, an estranged child. This book has them all.
It is the story of a woman escaping a very bad marriage and carrying the knowledge she is a murderer. We follow her as she escapes to another country breaking many laws along the way as she attempts to make a new life for herself.
Predictably, it all works out well for her because she is our heroine. She gets the life she wants and the baddies get their comeuppance. How she gets away, finds jobs and friends all seems a bit too easy to me but it keeps the story moving along and the pages turning, which is what we ask of thrillers.
At the beginning the author apologises to North American readers for using New Zealand English. Why? Do American authors ever apologise to us for using different spelling and syntax? Maybe this novel was aimed at the American market as the name refers to the American Nursery Rhyme “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater”.
I would probably class this an airport novel.
by Tannis Laidlaw
Domestic violence, both physical and psychological abuse, identity theft, HIV, immigration offences, an estranged child. This book has them all.
It is the story of a woman escaping a very bad marriage and carrying the knowledge she is a murderer. We follow her as she escapes to another country breaking many laws along the way as she attempts to make a new life for herself.
Predictably, it all works out well for her because she is our heroine. She gets the life she wants and the baddies get their comeuppance. How she gets away, finds jobs and friends all seems a bit too easy to me but it keeps the story moving along and the pages turning, which is what we ask of thrillers.
At the beginning the author apologises to North American readers for using New Zealand English. Why? Do American authors ever apologise to us for using different spelling and syntax? Maybe this novel was aimed at the American market as the name refers to the American Nursery Rhyme “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater”.
I would probably class this an airport novel.
Review by Rewa Vivienne
Title: The Pumpkin Eater’s Wife
Author: Tannis Laidlaw
Publisher: Forth Estate Books
Available: as e-book only, via Amazon (B06XK2QVGH), Kobo and distributors
Author: Tannis Laidlaw
Publisher: Forth Estate Books
Available: as e-book only, via Amazon (B06XK2QVGH), Kobo and distributors
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