Review: The Wife and the Widow - Christian White

Review: The Wife and the Widow - Christian White - September 2019

Set against the backdrop of an eerie island town in the dead of winter, The Wife and The Widow is an unsettling thriller told from two perspectives: Kate, a widow whose grief is compounded by the secrets she uncovers about her dead husband's hidden life; and Abby, an island local whose world is turned upside down when she's forced to confront uncomfortable truths about her own husband. Only when these two women come together does the full, unsettling picture emerge.

For me, this was a borderline read  and possibly the most confusing of Christian White's books that I've picked up. I went in feeling confident I had it figured out. The dual narrative pulled me along, the island atmosphere was genuinely eerie, and White's writing kept me turning pages. But then the final act arrived and completely threw me. I found myself thinking, how can this even be? and not in the satisfying, jaw-dropping way a good twist delivers. More in a lost-at-sea kind of way.

And that's the thing  I was lost. Not intriguingly lost, but genuinely confused in a way that pulled me out of the story rather than deeper into it. If I hadn't already been so close to the end, this would have been a DNF for me. The only reason I pushed through was sheer proximity to the finish line.

It's a shame, because there's a lot working in this book's favour. The wintry island setting is atmospheric and isolating, the central question of how well do we really know the people we love?  is a compelling one, and White clearly knows how to build tension. The premise itself is brilliant and beguiling, and I can see how it would land beautifully for readers who click with the reveal.

But for this reader? It took me to the cliff edge and then, instead of a breathtaking view, I got fog.

If you've loved Christian White's other work, it's absolutely worth trying  just go in knowing this one might demand a little more patience than usual. And if the ending clicks for you in a way it didn't for me, I'd genuinely love to hear your take.


Amazon: https://amzn.to/4tG6QvS