The Ex Wives

Prospective 3rd person 

Tense: simple past

Pages: 376

Book Link

This was an interesting story. One that was compelling at times. I did have trouble putting it down during those compelling times.

Some aspects of the book though are a little hard to believe.  I think this is not too much of a spoiler, but the abusive husband is a mayor of a small town and has the town wrapped around his finger. It is a little cliche and I am not sure that it really plays out that way, at least as overtly as it does in the book. I have lived in a few small towns, and well, I never knew who the Mayor was. Let alone felt beholden to him in any way. Then again, I was mostly just passing through. Even in San Diego, not a small town by any means, I once spotted the mayor in public and had  to think about who he was. The idea that a public official could have so much sway is not an idea I am familiar with.

A few lines in the book did strike me as poorly written. A character executes a dog with a gun with "Deadly accuracy."

Which if you are like executing an animal, it is not really a matter of accuracy. Executing something is just lining it up and pulling a trigger. It is not shooting at a target from a great distance. There is no accuracy involved, just placement.

Additionally, Stephen King would throw a fit at that use of an adverb. I do not always agree with King on writing style, but I think in this case, it is fair.

I am being overly harsh though, the book was good and quite compelling at times. I read the majority of it in a single day. 

Some spoilers: 

Ultimately, the dog I mentioned above did not really die. I thought the dog not actually dying was a bit of a cop out. Like an attempt to make the book less dark. I thought it was a little unrealistic. Then again while a few things in the book were not really realistic.