THE SENATOR'S WIFE

4 stars out of 5

This is one of those perfectly enjoyable, entertaining books you can take to the beach, or in front of a fireplace, or, because the chapters are fairly short, stash in your purse to occupy your time while you wait your turn in the doctor's office (in your format of choice - mine is an e-reader). It only gets difficult, then, when you need to stop for a bit when life intervenes.

I had no such issues, happily, so I was able to plow through it in just a couple of days of my usual evening reading, despite keeping one eye on the March Madness games. Somehow, the characters and setting seemed appropriate: after losing their respective husband and wife, philanthropist Sloane Chase and U.S. Sen. Whit Montgomery - who'd been friends previously - found everlasting love and married. For years, she's had to deal with lupus, a serious condition that, with help from her doctors, she's been able to manage. But somewhat suddenly, she takes a turn for the worse; while that's not unusual for lupus patients (to which I can attest because I have two friends who are dealing with it), this time it's not showing signs of easing up. In fact, Sloane is scheduled for a hip replacement, these days almost a walk in the park for most patients, but for someone with lupus, it's fraught with serious consequences.

To help, Whit decides, and Sloane reluctantly agrees, to bring in home health aide Athena Karras, who can take care of her while Whit's away and even ease the strain of Sloane's responsibilities at her foundation that focuses on women's issues. On the surface, that's a great idea - until it may not be: instead of improving, Sloane's condition quickly starts to deteriorate even further. But as the possibility of dire health consequences increases, so does Sloane's suspicions that something is amiss. Could it be that her symptoms are getting worse with a little help? And if that's true, who's doing the helping? Is it Athena? Their long-time housekeeper Doris? Or even the husband she loves with all her heart - the one her former mother-in-law never trusted?

Of course, readers are left wondering as well - that's the point - and until a major twist at the end, we're left to turn the pages as fast as we can and guess (mine, I hasten to add, was right on the money, but the devil is in the details). Admittedly, I never fully "connected" with any of the characters - they all seemed a bit on the shallow side, including Sloane, and the whole thing has all the hallmarks of an overwrought soap opera, but overall it's fast-paced and I had no trouble getting caught up in the action - and I think other readers will as well. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Senator's Wife by Liv Constantine (Bantam, May 2023); 320 pp.