WHAT MY HUSBAND DID

5 stars out of 5

It's rare for me (as I suspect it is for most other readers) to have the luxury of reading a book at a single sitting. It's even more rare for me to actually want to do that. Such was the case here; I was hooked from the git-go and, had it not been for a husband who depends on me to feed him at least once a day, I'd have plowed straight through.

Early on, we see 12-year-old Alice getting into a car driven by Richard - the husband of Maddy, in turn the mother of a college-age daughter. Nothing to get excited about, really, except that soon thereafter, the girl is found near death in a remote area of Leavensfield, England, the small but rather snobbish community in which Richard and Maddy live. To make matters worse, Richard - a university lecturer - didn't come the night Alice was found. Nor did he show up the next night, and Maddy's text messages and calls go unanswered.

Almost everyone in the community turns against Maddy, presumably figuring she was somehow aware of what Richard did (and may have even helped him do it). Meanwhile, she wrestles with a childhood event that left emotional scars (a few interspersed chapters let readers in on what happened back then). And then, Maddy gets a sign that fills her with both hope and dread; which one wins out is the stuff of which edge-of-seat experiences are made.

I can't say I was totally thrilled with the ending - nor was I very fond of the catty, shallow residents of Leavensfield - but whole thing certainly made for an exciting adventure with plenty of twists. Highly recommended, and many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

What My Husband Did by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture, November 2020); 360 pp.