This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Pocket Wife

Dana is married. Dana has a child that is in college- thriving and loving life.

When Dana hears about her neighbor and friend being killed, the memories of the day are fuzzy. She remembers drinking. She remembers telling Celia something. She remembers Celia being upset about a picture of Dana’s husband. And that’s about it.

Dana knows there is a memory, a key to what happened that afternoon, in her mind. She just has to find it. The problem is that Dana has bipolar disorder- and she can’t decide what’s real and what she imagined in a manic phase that afternoon.

When Jack, the detective assigned to the case, comes to the scene and begins to start searching for what happened to Celia- he’s got an odd feeling about the neighborhood. Celia’s husband gives him pause- and then Dana and her husband also make him ponder.

As Dana struggles with her sanity, trying to piece together what happened that afternoon- someone is playing a game with her. Leaving notes, making her feel unsafe. Her husband dismisses this all- Dana, when she’s in a manic phase and off her meds, has been known to do some strange things- and he points out to her that fact. But is her husband concerned? Or does he want Dana to wonder?

The deeper Jack gets into the murder of Celia, the more he realizes that this could be a painful experience for him- but he’s a detective and he can’t bend the rules. Or can he?

Will Jack be able to put together what happened to Celia? Will Dana remember what happened? Or will Celia’s death go unsolved?

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I had HIGH expectations for this book. I loved the cover. I adored the plot. And then I began to read- and I felt….. distracted. Was having a hard time connecting with Dana.

I felt dismayed because this happens when I build up a book too much in my mind (My internal hype is real and can ruin books) and I was worried this would become a victim.

But it was me. I was reading this book in too small pieces- a chapter here and there. When I finally was able to sit down and READ (and I’m talking 4-5 chapters in a sitting) I was able to engage with Dana- to feel connected to her. Giving that Dana is quite a complex character- who may have killed her neighbor during a manic phase- she was not always easy to enjoy.

Longer chunks of reading helped me get into this book and I found myself guessing and second guessing everyone and their mama- trying to figure out who killed Celia, how far Dana would go and could she survive finding out what happened, and Jack- would he give up all he stood for in this quest to find Celia’s killer.

Bottom line: Read it.

 

*Thanks to William Morrow for sending a copy of THE POCKET WIFE for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T