What do readers think of How to Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman? Write your own review.

I had a hard time with this book. It started out very slowly and I never really got a feel for the characters. I suppose the intention was to keep the reader off guard and that worked well but for me Marta never seemed like a real person.

This book lacked "definition"; for example where and when did it take place - more detail about "the setting" would made it more engaging. Although it was well written and some of the descriptions brought things to life, it wasn't enough to compensate for the fact that the characters were not likable, the story often confusing, and the ending rather trite.

I was hoping for a bit more than what I got. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The first half was very slow. It started to pick up speed in the second half and then I knew what was going to happen about 50 pages before the end. There also wasn't one character that I liked. I guess maybe I am a little tired of this subject. I was hoping for more of a thriller.

I found this book a bit confusing right from the title. There was not even one character I felt especially interested in. It wasn't a bad book, but just a book. Not memorable for me.

This book never drew me in and turned out to be nothing like I expected, in a negative way. Marta's story never took hold or really made much sense to me and there were plot holes galore. A lot of details essential to the plot were left completely unexplained, which made the entire story implausible to me. At times it even seemed that parts of the narrative were missing. Not a particularly enjoyable read, sorry to say.

Marta and Hector have been married for over 20 years, have a grown son, and live a comfortable life in a suburban village. Something is not quite right with Marta. At first it seems as if Marta is suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome. Slowly little bits and pieces are revealed, but as a reader you are not sure if Marta is depressed, sick, hallucinating or the victim of a horrible crime.

I kept reading wanting more and more information. Several times throughout the book I found myself re-reading paragraphs because I wasn't sure what just happened. After re-reading, I still didn't know. Then by Chapter 20 the story really picked up, I really thought it was going to come together, but it never did. The book ended before any sort of conclusion for the story or the character.

I'm open to different styles of writing, and realize not all books have a neat happy ending, but I don't think this book reached its potential of being a real pageturner that leaves the reader satisfied.