My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Author : Samantha Downing
Title : My Lovely Wife
Published : 374
Publisher : Penguin
Pages : 384
Genre : Mystery / Thriller

   Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

   Who doesn't like a good serial killer novel? It allows us to peek out from under the blanket at the real monsters of the world. It's like looking at the wild animals at the zoo, they can scream and claw all they want but we know we are safe on the other side of the bars. With My Lovely Wife that's just what we get, but this time we get a twofer. In part, this is why I picked up this book to look a little deeper. The second is a lot more laughable to me. The reason I first looked at it involves a stupid inside joke with a friend who always says my lovely friend when she wants someone to do something for her. I suppose sometimes we pick books up for the funniest of reasons. 

   Throughout the course of the book, we get to know this married couple through the gaze of the husband. His name is never given to us but he guides none the less on this very dark journey. His wife Millicent and their two children play out their actions for us to witness. As a couple these are not people I particularly liked, nor are they supposed to be. They are selfish and completely ego-driven. Whilst to an outside observer they would look like they have the perfect lives all is not well at home. Now when things get a little stale for most of us murder is not the first thing that comes to mind. But if you put two twisted people together it can only end badly for someone else. But there is something about these two that hooked me in. They have a witty banter as they play off each other. I could help be want to keep going to see how this would all play out. 

   The author has crafted her story well as we get to see two monsters bounce off each other all the while trying to put on a good show for the neighbors. And for the most part, it works well. There is a truly dark sense of humor at play here. For me, this is part of why I enjoyed the book. As we never get to see the story from outside of the husband's view it would be a completely different story if played straight. I realize for some this might just be a turnoff, but I think it gave me just what I was looking for. As the story wound on I was already starting to get an idea of how things were going to end up, so by the time I reached it's the conclusion I was already there. Just sometimes it's nice to beat the author. As books about serial killers go this on is not all that bloody as more time is taken up with both planning the kills and staying one step ahead of the detectives. But this adds it's own spice and I never felt myself slipping away from the page.

   This is a book that was a joy to read. It is pure entertainment and you can take away from it what you like. I suspect you will laugh and be horrified in equal measures.