The Bad Boy's Wife

Rating:
Summary: an absolute must read
Review: Exceptionally well written. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end. The characters are strong - and though they have their faults and sometimes those faults are disturbing - I cared about Mattie, Hannah, and even the bad boy Cole. I was so engrossed in this book that I couldn't put it down, and when I had to, I couldn't wait to get back to it. This book is a must read!

Rating:
Summary: This Summer's Sizzler
Review: The first two pages grab you by the throat: the dread of the highway accident, the hasty domestic arrangements of caring for two children, the immediate arousal from the ex-husband's touch, Hannah's willingness to be used. . . .
This is a lovely, awful read and perfectly reflects the human condition. There is much among the characters that falls short of decency and of being good enough, but there are moments of each flawed being's showing gentleness and courage.
Shepard's craft at times amazes with its just-right detail, its refusal simply to entertain, and its exquisite realism.
And, showing the same unerring understanding that marked her debut, AN EMPIRE OF WOMEN, Shepard's creation of ten-year old Mattie is the lynch pin of this infuriating, fascinating, and rewarding novel.

Rating:
Summary: bittersweet family drama
Review: Though coming from wealthy respected parents Hannah married the local bad boy Cole. They stayed together for twenty years living in the same house for fifteen of them. They had one child Mattie. However, Cole ended their marriage without warning and immediately wed her friend Georgia. Cole and Georgia seem happy together and recently had their first child while Hannah feels discombobulated and out of soughts. The relationships between the trio have taken its toll on confused ten years old Mattie.

Everything changes when Georgia is severely injured in a car accident. Cole turns to Hannah to watch the infant Sam. Mattie is even more confused as the relationships between the adults subtly switch again. As the dynamics between Cole and Hannah turn even stranger and Georgia remains in terrible shape, Mattie begins looking backwards because her parents pressure her to choose between them when all she wants is to finish fifth grade.

THE BAD BOY'S WIFE is a bittersweet family drama that takes the twist of starting in the present (year 2000) and looking backwards over the through the years to the late 1970s. The reverse plot flow works quite well as the audience receives an even deeper understanding of how far Cole and Hannah fell. Little memory tidbits such as Hannah's recall of standing back to back with Georgia and not clearing the younger woman's nape add the depth to a strong character study of how a relationship collapsed and its impact on the innocent.

Harriet Klausner