How to Be a Good Wife

February 1, 2014

After 25 years of marriage, Marta Bjornstad has gone off her meds. She can quote passages with ease from How To Be a Good Wife (a wedding present from her mother-in-law) but is increasingly unable to operate in the world. She's either the traumatized victim of a brutal act in the past, or she's descending into psychosis, but which is it? Since Marta is telling her own story, it's hard to decide. Susan Lyons as reader is a near-perfect choice. All characters are rendered skillfully, but with the inner voice of Marta, Lyons strikes just the right notes of hesitation, desperation, and despair. VERDICT Highly recommended. ["[T]his confident and compelling debut novel is a chilling and very creepy tale of deception and distrust," read the starred review of the St. Martin's hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 9/20/13.]--Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA

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