Note: Originally published as “Exhibit Alexandra” this review is copied from that release.
She was his perfect wife, until she went missing . . .
Alexandra Southwood has vanished. Her husband, Marc, is beside himself. It isn’t long before the police are searching for a body.
But Alexandra is alive – trapped, far away from her husband and young daughters.
Desperate, Marc will stop at nothing to find the woman he loves. Even if it means discovering that he never really knew her at all.
Because Alexandra is no ordinary missing person – but then neither is she quite a perfect wife . . .
“Exhibit Alexandra” is a different take on a psychological thriller – very clever and somewhat insightful and highly likely to divide opinion. The central theme, if you like, is a little niche and will appeal wildly to some readers and leave others scratching their heads. Life imitating art imitating life – although I saw very early on where the author was going with this, the journey was all the more fascinating for that.
I’m not an art critic and literally know nothing about it. I see paintings I like sometimes that appeal to me but it can just as easily be kid’s random splash of colour as it can be a Rembrandt or whatever, however in this novel I learned a good deal about art as an idea both in the concept and in the storytelling.
The main thing though is if you like a good character study with a twist, a mystery within a mystery you’ll probably love this novel, it has a strange way of drawing you in to the seemingly cliched tale of a wife gone missing and a husband’s search. That search though is only as imagined by the one who is lost. It is a multi-layered twisted tale which in it’s final resolution asks of the reader a question. One that I shall ponder my answer to.
Very difficult to review without spoilers so I’ll leave it there. I loved this for it’s differences, for the intuitive writing that takes you on a journey through the mind of one wife, mother, artist and explores the depths of the human condition.
Recommended.
You can purchase His Perfect Wife (Penguin) Here.
Happy Reading!
