Random Things Tours: The Matchmaker by Hélene Fermont

I cannot resist a matchmaker story, but The Matchmaker by Hélene Fermont is much much more than that. Set mostly in the rich London neighbourhood of Knitsbridge and Brighton´s expansive world of nightclubs, it revolves mostly around Marcia Bailey´s secret/second life.

´Marcia Bailey was a huge success yet very few people knew the real woman behind the successful facade´. Apparently though, there were many people who knew about her, roaming in her vicinity - geographical and physical, including as business partners and associates of her husband. However, her husband is the last to find out about her real self. After a mysterious call threatening to expose her adventures before she took the current name and the appearance, the situation escalates rapidly and soon she would be found murdered in her own luxurious home.

Instead of getting shorter, the list of potential suspects is permanently expanding. Her life as a very young woman in Brighton involved many men, particularly from one family or having to do with this family. However, the author is diplomatic enough to stop blaming the woman for the men shortcomings. Tracey/Marcia´s problematic background and family history are more relevant than stigmatising her for luring men, particularly one rich man, into her bed. Making accusations is not the real point, in fact. Finding the culprit and understanding his/her reasons it is.

Exploring the web of lies everyone is part thereof kept me interested in the book until the very end. The portrayal of mental health issues, faced by the unfortunate character Charles is one of the most appealing part of the book though. None of the characters are likeable and it seems that everyone is hiding behind a smokescreen of treacherous life episodes. Some weaker than the others, many do lack the basic self respect and are true believers of the idea that money can buy anything, particularly the moral sense. But would you really keep reading a book about perfectly honest and moral people? Are such individuals real, anyway?

I´ve appreciated the diverse cast of characters and the many surprising twists - actually, I´ve been so enthralled by the love story of Marcia and her husband that I didn´t expected the verdict, but that´s stupid me and love stories, I can´t believe they can ever end - but there is something that I´ve resented in this book. I love dialogues, good old dialogues as they gave a lot of spine and flesh to a book, espcially a fast-paced thriller. However, in The Matchmaker, there are mostly background voices who are filling the void regarding the past and the stories between characters. Too much background and monologues for my taste, which renders the writing a bit artificious. I´ve also had the feeling that some of the events are taking place too fast - like the selling of the matchmaking agency so fast after Marcia´s death or the change from rags to to riches of Marcia´s sister, Connie. 

As for the matchmaking, there are far more important things to deal with in this story...

Otherwise, if you are looking for an exciting summer read, with plenty of good twists, The Matchmaker is a great choice. Reading good thriller stories is one of my favorite ways to fill my Corona-marked life and anyone fighting to cope with pandemic-related restrictions should follow my example. It gives you the feeling that there are much more terrible things happening than being forced to spend an impressive amount of time within my small four walls.

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review and as part of Random Things Tours, but the opinions are, as usual, my own.