The Marriage (Slater)-Books on Tour-Psychological Thriller-Available Now

I’m kind of in a quandary here.

On the one hand, I’ve really enjoyed this author in the past (Little Whispers). So, I was looking forward to this one.

Plus, the blurb/tagline certainly drew my attention. I mean, who wouldn’t be hooked by a woman marrying the man who killed her son?

Where I’m a bit confused is how everything was followed to the end. I really don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll try and give a spoiler-free explanation.

The set-up was very clear. The author did a great job of showing the connections between each of the characters (and there were quite a few to keep straight). But it was all well-plotted and I wasn’t confused at all.

There was also a good build up through the first part of the book. While it may seem simplistic to some readers, I thought it was smart.

The first half does not read as a thriller as such. It’s more of a matter of fact “here’s what’s going on and you better pay attention because things are going to get crazy soon” intro that sets the stage for the second half.

And that’s where it kind of fell apart for me. Not entirely, because there were some good twists, but it felt predictable, and I wasn’t really surprised by anything.

I don’t know if there was too much set-up so it seemed anticlimactic, or if there was too much to try to wrap up so nothing got the full attention that maybe it should have? It’s hard to put my finger on it.

I also thought that things that were supposed to be shocking weren’t so very much. I can’t fault the author for that though. We now live in a world where sordid and salacious soundbites are considered “news.”

We’re also programmed to accept any type of family as “realistic” and/or acceptable. While that’s fine, I think it actually took some of the teeth out of the “jaw-dropping twists” of this book.

And that’s as close as I am going to get to a spoiler.

The end seemed to drag, as if the author was trying to reach a page count – this could also be why it seemed like the second half didn’t live up to the first half. It probably would have benefitted from 50 fewer pages or so.

In spite of all of that, I did like the book and pretty much read it in one seating. If you’re looking for a quick read that doesn’t take a lot of brain power and allows you to just go along for the ride, this is a good choice.

Author Bio:

For many years, Kim sent her work out to literary agents but never made it off the slush pile. At the age of 40 she went back to Nottingham Trent University and now has an MA in Creative Writing.

Before graduating, she received five offers of representation from London literary agents which was, as Kim says, ‘a fairytale … at the end of a very long road!’

Kim is a full-time writer and lives in Nottingham with her husband, Mac.