There is a lot going on in The Midwife, a new psych thriller by Victoria Jenkins.
One question that came up at the very beginning is exactly who is trustworthy. That stuck with me throughout the majority of the book. That’s a long time to be asking that question in a story. I think it should be a bit clearer earlier than almost ¾ through.
But maybe that’s just me.
Since the plot unfolds from two perspectives, “The Mother” and “The Midwife,” the reader gets somewhat of a holistic view of the action. I found it interesting that the author didn’t use character names for the chapter headings.
There’s a reason for that. But I’m not going to divulge why that is.
While I liked getting two points of view on central events, it meant that there were a lot of inner monologues as each of the characters experienced and reacted to said events.
Yeah, that’s convoluted, but then again, so are parts of the book. And when there is that much internal musing, the action drags.
Fortunately, it does pick up just over halfway through, especially as secrets are revealed (and boy are there a lot of those) and resolutions are reached.
I would definitely say that this is a “slow-build” type of psych thriller. The reader has to let themselves be drawn in and understand that the author is building to…something. And have the patience that the revelations will all make sense in the end.
I have liked other psych thriller novels by Victoria Jenkins. While The Midwife isn’t exactly my favorite, if you go into it knowing that it is very cerebral and take the information as it comes, I think you’ll enjoy it very much. And I will continue to look for her books.
