The Pocket Wife - Book Review

From the cover :

A stylish psychological thriller with the compelling intrigue of The Silent Wife and Turn of Mind and the white-knuckle pacing of Before I Go to Sleep—in which a woman suffering from bipolar disorder cannot remember if she murdered her friend.

Dana Catrell is shocked when her neighbor Celia is brutally murdered. To Dana’s horror, she was the last person to see Celia alive. Suffering from mania, the result of her bipolar disorder, she has troubling holes in her memory, including what happened on the afternoon of Celia’s death.

Her husband’s odd behavior and the probing of Detective Jack Moss create further complications as she searches for answers. The closer she comes to piecing together the shards of her broken memory, the more Dana falls apart. Is there a murderer lurking inside her . . . or is there one out there in the shadows of reality, waiting to strike again?

A story of marriage, murder, and madness, The Pocket Wife explores the world through the foggy lens of a woman on the edge.

My thoughts :

Reading The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford, I was immediately intrigued by Dana's struggle to remember the events of the murder and her own fear that she had actually killed her neighbor. Dana was a unique and fascinating main character. Reading the novel with the understanding that seeing the events through the eyes of Dana may not be painting the most accurate picture of reality gave the novel the added appeal; the reader is always aware of being manipulated. While suspect, Dana is also terribly fragile and it's quite easy to sympathize with her.

The plot moves along at a nice pace with interesting side characters and the shadow of guilt thrown on a number of players. There are coincidences and a few unlikely details but they do not overly distract from the mystery. I was constantly compelled to continue reading and quite taken with Dana's plight. I wasn't positive but had some suspicion that the novel would end as it did. The ending is satisfactory and plausible but doesn't come with a whole lot of bang or fanfare. I think I'm actually okay with it.

I enjoy a good psychological thriller and The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford delivered. Most novels in this genre are also quite sordid and vulgar. The Pocket Wife is really quite a refreshingly clean read. There are no sexual scenes, no torture and a rather small smattering of bad language. It's a very impressive debut and I'll be looking forward to more from Crawford.

The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford is published by William Morrow and releases on March 17, 2015.

**I received a complimentary copy of The Pocket Wife. No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.**