She Treads Softly: Her Prodigal Husband

Friday, December 13, 2024

Her Prodigal Husband

Her Prodigal Husband by Becky Masterman
1/7/25; 288 pages
Severn House

Her Prodigal Husband by Becky Masterman is a recommended domestic suspense novel.

Alice Einstein, a novelist who currently writes greeting cards messages, is living with her younger sister Liesl, in Saddlebrooke, Arizonia. When Liesl's wealthy ex-husband Sam suddenly appears after being gone for ten years, Alice's first thought is he will be kicked out of the house, but she sees kindhearted Liesl welcoming him back. Sam claims he has a fatal illness, but Alice has her doubts. Sam is a known liar. Alice ends up asking hardboiled private investigator Brigid Quinn, a friend of Liesl, to look into where he has been to help get rid of him.

The characters are all fully realized and portrayed as individuals, but other than Brigid, I didn't really care about any of them which made the all ready slow moving plot crawl along. Part of the problem is that Alice is the narrator and her character grated on my nerves. She never became an interesting or compelling character to follow. Interspersed between the action are excerpts of or thoughts about Alice's writing a thriller based on the current situation. They didn't add anything to the narrative for me, other than slowing it down.

The quality of the writing is good and has an interesting plot. There are twists and some humorous moments, which the dogs often help create. The actual narrative just moved too slowly and never held my complete attention. Additionally, inserted in the narrative are opinions concerning current political views, which diminishes and dates the novel. The final denouement had some surprises.

This is a spin-off from a series featuring Brigid Quinn, when she was with the FBI, and based on her character, I'd be interested in reading those novels. Her Prodigal Husband is a decent domestic suspense novel and will perhaps work better for other readers. Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.