The Third Wife - Lisa Jewell (2014)

The story begins with Maya, the third and youngest wife of Adrian Wolfe - who is extremely drunk when she gets hit and killed by a bus. The readers are left with a mystery as to whether Maya committed suicide, was pushed, or accidentally fell in front of the bus. The following chapters follow Adrian - late forties and handsome; his first wife Susie - an aging hippie; his second wife Caroline, beautiful and a little preppy; and his five children ranging in age from toddler to adult. Told from both the present and past, we watch as Adrian's "perfect" world and family unravel. Though his whole family always spends the holidays together, things aren't as great as Adrian once thought they were. He starts to see himself through his children's and wives' eyes, finally admitting that he has been a pretty crummy dad, and an even worse husband, always trading in his wife for a "new model". Some interesting revelations come to light regarding Maya's state of mind in the weeks leading up to her death, and we are given a new mystery mid-book that makes us question everything we have learnt about the family. This was an interesting read, but I feel the genre is a little confused. It's a mystery that doesn't leave you hanging on the edge of your seat as it was easy to figure out early on - and a romance that doesn't actually include any passion or feel-good moments. More disappointing than compelling.(AV)

The Third Wife, by Lisa Jewell, is about three women, three perfect lives and one secret. The summary says: "London 2011: In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman is killed by a bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide? A year later, her devastated husband, Adrian Wolfe, is determined to find out. Adrian and Maya had only recently married, and he'd always believed they were happy together. His children from his two previous marriages loved her. And Maya loved them. She had a job she enjoyed, she had plenty of friends, and she and Adrian were trying for a baby. They seemed to have the perfect life. Why then might she have wanted to kill herself? When Adrian finds a hidden stash of poisonous emails on Maya's laptop he begins to identify the dark cracks in her life. Because everyone has secrets. And secrets have consequences. Some of which can be devastating." The Third Wife is out in July 2014.

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