"A Good Marriage"

“A Good Marriage”

Written by Kimberly McCreight

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia 

“A Good Marriage” is the first book written by Kimberly McCreight that I have read, but it will be the first of many. McCreight’s piercingly clever writing style allowed her to creative a precise and intelligent novel. For some time, I have loved books within the psychological thriller genre, so I was delighted to pick this up, learning of this new author. Her stylish yet realistic prose and dialogue acted as sharp tools to help perfect this masterpiece.

 

The plot centers around a woman named Lizzie, who decides to be the lawyer of her old friend, Zach, who has been accused of killing his wife, Amanda. “Don’t they always blame the husband?” Lizzie, Zach, and Amanda’s flashbacks complete a narrative unparalleled to other authors within this genre. I found myself absolutely glued to the book, which truly has not happened with many thrillers. We also begin to wonder why Lizzie’s alcoholic and strange husband Sam has been behaving so bizarrely.

 

As I continued to read, I enjoyed the red herrings, the constant switch of suspicion, and the doubt we readers cast over every character. Reminiscent of “Sharp Objects”, it became entertaining to eliminate each character after their innocence was proven. Long have I been a fan of mysteries and thrillers. Unfortunately, I have never liked the type of mystery that provides no hints to the true villain. I find it incredibly unsatisfactory to have the true murderer revealed, but only because other characters figured out the information by talking to other people. Lizzie’s solving the murder was a disappointing deus ex machina. The true murderer’s motive and choices fell flat, because only the writer anticipated it.

 

To conclude, I did really enjoy the story, until the ending was revealed. I enjoyed the twists and turns, but I could not help myself feeling disenchanted by the true villain. The motive was not strong enough to be acceptable. On the bright side, I absolutely loved the author’s writing, in its style, dialogue, plot creation, and characters. I highly recommend this story, because the reveal did not ruin the story for me. I will be racing to read McCreight’s next novel and previous ones soon.

 

I rated this book at four out of five stars.

 

Thank you to Harper Books for sending along a finished copy for me to review. Thank you again for the opportunity.