For this busy time of the year, when there is so much to organise, countdown to consider and plans for the New Year, it might be difficult to keep reading at my average - pretty fast - rate. However, although the virtual pile of unfinished books is asking my attention - particularly when my - way too many - wide opened tabs crash, I am keen to discover new authors and new titles. Particularly psychological thrillers set in family settings do have my full heart, as they may reveal intersting couple and individual interaction.
Based on this mindset, I haven´t hesitated any single minute when I decided this Friday to spend some time in the company of a new author and a new title: Liar´s Life by bestselling author Kiersten Modglin. Liar´s Wife was my choice for the day, and it seems the author has a special interest in exploring the anatomy of lies in different contexts and manifestations. Most probably would be curious to come back to this author to check out more of her titles.
The chore of the book is Palmer´s discovery that her husband of few months, David, is having an affair and the subsequent disappearance of him and their 2-week baby boy. Having already experienced betrayal in previous relationship, Palmer a middle-class successful woman aiming to open her own business, is the bread winner in the family, while her husband decided to spend time with her son. She is starting to notice unusual behaviors of David, such as lunches for two and a woman with whom she is spending time in the park with their toddler. Until one day he disappears completely, most probably in the company of a raising food blogger, Kat. Nothing good to expect from this, especially for her little baby.
The stories are one-person account, either when uttered by David or by Palmer. Thus, they are allowed to present their fragments of reality. It breaks the monotony and creates a certain diversity of points of view.
I may reckon that the pace of the story, dramatically changing through the second half of the story, is not always satisfying, and there are a lot of elements that may have been more refined: for instance, while David and the baby are disappearing, she sounded to me a bit numb - normal for the situation, however a bit too slow for a relatively short book. Before the book ends, after it is clear about where the events will lead, there is another slow passage until the very end, which is, in my opinion, maybe the best part of the book. I also felt frustrated that Palmer keeps mentioning her ex without giving any single hint about him and what exactly happened between them.
Liar´s Wife was a great break in between many other books I still hope to finish until the year´s ending however, I would have expected some more thrilling twists and bites. I will give a try another time to more books by Modiglin, as there is no end to the ways in which lies are taking control of our lives and minds sometimes.
Rating: 2.5 stars
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