Synopsis
People are talking about Four Wives...
“Four Wives is a brilliantly clever and accurate study in domestic discontentment. Acutely well-observed and suspenseful, it's a stunning reflection of life in an affluent American suburb, where the women seem to have everything...except happiness. A great read.”
–Jane Green, author of Swapping Lives
“Wendy Walker writes a cleverly woven, sexy debut that is a fascinating peek inside the gilded cages of suburban matrimony, where wives' envy for the perfect life is as green as the manicured lawns and golf tees they are widowed for, revealing the fiery restlessness beneath the placid permasmiles. A true page-turner treat.”
–Jill Kargman, author of Momzillas and co-author of The Right Address
“A fascinating read. Wendy Walker delivers a blistering dissection of modern suburban marriage. I couldn't put it down.”
–Danielle Ganek, author of Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him
Publishers Weekly
A klatch of wealthy suburban women become deeply entangled in one another's lives while planning a public health clinic benefit in Walker's uninspired first novel. Housewife Janie is having a heated affair she can't give up; lawyer Marie is trying to balance her law practice, family obligations and loafing husband when a hot summer intern arrives; heiress Gayle has turned to pills to numb her to the treatment of her abusive husband; and Love, a doctor's wife, receives a letter from her estranged father that dredges up a painful past. As the women's personal struggles invade their other, pedestrian pursuits, Love's struggle with the demands of motherhood and family forces Marie, Janie and Gayle to get more involved in the lives of their friends and neighbors. Unfortunately, Walker doesn't do much to bring life to her typecast characters, and the narrative wobbles wildly as the subplots barrel toward a big revelation. The ending is mostly happy, which will please some, but the novel's phoned-in feeling prevents readers from connecting with the characters. (Feb.)
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