Book Review: A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante
A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Release Date: March 4, 2014
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
When Dr. John Taylor turns up dead in a hotel room, the local police uncover enough incriminating evidence to suspect foul play. Detective Samantha Adams, whose Palo Alto beat usually covers petty crimes, is innocently thrown into a high-profile case that is more complicated than any she has faced before. A renowned reconstructive surgeon and a respected family man, Dr. Taylor was beloved and admired. But beneath his perfect façade was a hidden life—in fact, multiple lives. Dr. Taylor was married to three very different women in three separate cities. As the circumstances surrounding his death emerge, Detective Adams finds herself tracking down a murderer through a tangled web of marital deception and revenge.
I chose this book because it got an A- review in Entertainment Weekly and involves polygamy. Perfect combo for me! This book is different from the other polygamy books I’ve read in that most of the wives don’t know the others exist. Although I wouldn’t rate this as high as EW did, I found this to be a quick and entertaining read. It did require some suspension of disbelief to fully enjoy however. Unless John never slept, it was difficult to imagine how he kept up the ruse for as long as he did. And his third wife was a highly intelligent doctor – how did she not figure out something fishy was going on? John is repeatedly described as a paunchy middle-aged man – it was hard to understand why he was so irresistible. Other than the fact that he is a plastic surgeon who does pro bono facial reconstruction, we never find out too much about him. This is a pretty short book so I think it had room for developing John’s character more. Maybe through flashbacks since he’s dead from the get-go.
The three wives and Samantha were all well-drawn characters, even if not necessarily likeable. I don’t need to like the characters in a book to enjoy it though. These women were all definitely flawed in their own ways. There were plenty of surprises throughout this mystery, including the end. And there was also a good dose of creepiness. All in all, this was a good effort and I would have liked it even if it didn’t have polygamy in it. But I’m glad it did.
(I received this book courtesy of Amazon Vine.)
Other polygamy books I’ve reviewed:
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (the only novel, the rest are memoirs)
Becoming Sister Wives by Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Love Times Three by Joe Darger
Triumph by Carolyn Jessop
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser
