View source for A Lost Wife's Tale by Marion McGilvary

{{infoboxsort 
|title=A Lost Wife's Tale 
|author=Marion McGilvary 
|reviewer=Jo Heffer 
|genre=Women's Fiction 
|summary=Edith Lutz has left behind her home, her husband and her life in an attempt to escape from her past. A new life with new complications beckons but how long will it take for the past to catch up with her? 
|rating=3.5 
|buy=Yes 
|borrow=Yes 
|format=Paperback
|pages=304
|publisher= Penguin
|date=February 2009 
|isbn=978-0141036236
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141036230</amazonuk> 
|amazonus=<amazonus>0141036230</amazonus>
|sort=Lost Wife's Tale 
}}

From the first page, I was intrigued about what had happened to Edith Lutz. She's a woman who's running away but we're not told why she's running and from what. This is a great way to start the book because immediately you're drawn in and wanting to know what has happened.

Before long, Edith is starting a new life as a housekeeper to publisher Adam Davenport. However, she always seems to be looking over her shoulder in case her past catches up with her, and also struggling to keep up with the lies she has told Adam, especially as their relationship progresses further than that of employer and employee. Throughout the novel, the story alternates between the past and the present seamlessly so eventually you're able to piece together what has happened in her life to make her run away. I liked the fact that I was able to work things out just before they were revealed to me.

It's an interesting storyline and in some ways quite traumatic. We learn a lot about Edith's troubled childhood which has led to her need to keep on running away. This is particularly true when someone from her past tries to get in touch and she definitely doesn't want to be found. It's also interesting to observe how her lies lead to a very tangled mess that could result in her losing the few people who she actually holds dear - a salutary reminder that honesty probably is the best policy!

Edith is an interesting main character. She is the narrator and because of this we might have expected to get to know her a little better. However, the reader seems to be held at arm's length in just the same way as the people who try to get close to Edith. I didn't particularly warm to her which was disappointing because I felt she should have been a more sympathetic character. You don't really get to know the other characters either as these are all seen through Edith's eyes and you only know what she chooses to tell you.

''A Lost Wife's Tale'' is a good story but at times I felt it dragged slightly and I could feel my interest waning. However, at other times I was really gripped. It has an easy to read style although I didn't find it compulsive reading. I liked the title very much and this was one of the reasons I was drawn to the book. I was put off by the fact that there was some strong swearing at the beginning and was a bit concerned that this would feature throughout the book but actually it soon petered out making me wonder whether it was necessary to have included any of these words at all.

This is Marion McGilvary's first novel and although I enjoyed it you get the feeling that there might be better to come. However it has all the ingredients of mystery and intrigue, and it's definitely worth reading.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

If this sounds like your sort of book you may also want to take a look at [[All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown]] - another story based on a web of lies.

{{amazontext|amazon=0141036230}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6425283}}

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{{comment 
|name= Trish Cowley
|verb= said
|comment= This review is so succinct and I agree with every word, especially about the swearing - it was so needless.
I ended the book as I began it: not sure if I liked it or not! It was so slow and tedious initially, that I wondered whether to bother completing it, but I hate not finishing a book.
At the end, I felt cheated, but I don't know why.  Maybe that says it all?!
}}