I went into this book thinking it was a domestic thriller in the league of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window, and many similar books. But His Perfect Wife surprised me (in a good way) with some of its themes.
About the Book
Before she disappeared, Alexandra Southwood lived an average, happy life: devoted to her wonderful husband, Marc, and caring for her two beautiful daughters. But now, held in a room against her will, Alexandra is forced to think about all she’s lost and imagine how Marc and her daughters are coping in the wake of her disappearance. As she envisions Marc’s distress, she can’t help but remember their courtship and marriage—all that he saved her from and all they’ve built together.
Marc’s pain is visceral. He thinks of nothing but her. Even when the police discover Alexandra’s bloody belongings by the river, turning their missing persons’ case into a murder investigation, he cannot accept that she is lost to him. He shifts from total despair to frantic action, embarking on his journey through the dark maze of secrets she kept and passions he never understood. Following a trail that leads him to find answers to questions he never meant to ask, he’s forced to confront how frighteningly little he’s grasped about the woman he loves.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
His Perfect Wife Book Review
This is not a hard-core thriller. It’s a book that uses the hoary old Gone Girl-style plot device of a missing woman. However, it uses that premise to discuss feminist issues—the role of women in the house and in the workplace, the invisible work that women do, and how it is never really possible to have it all, even in these enlightened times.
I also liked how the author connected the mystery of the missing woman to performance art. This isn’t an art form I am familiar with, and it was interesting to learn about so many varied types of artists and the weird things they did that constituted art. Also, some of the artists and artworks she talked about are actual pieces, and looking them up on the web was quite interesting.
That said, the story is pretty predictable. Within the first 50 pages, I had a fairly clear idea of where the story was going. I hoped there would be some twists and turns, but this isn’t that sort of book.
I saw quite a few mixed reviews for this book on the internet, and I think it’s probably because it’s not as thrilling as it’s advertised. That said, I really did appreciate this book for its unusual take on the standard domestic thriller genre, and (a bit of a spoiler here) I loved how the dynamics of the couple’s relationship played out. It was a nice, quick read with a little something more that made me think.
Overall, enjoyable, but not really a thriller as advertised.
