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Beverley, Elsie and Margot are three friends who have formed a strong bond thanks to an unusual connection: the (former) husbands of all three were convicted of being serial killers. Not surprisingly, they have no other friends; society has written them off as tainted by association at the minimum and too often guilty somehow for not knowing what was going on.
They have differing backgrounds and stations in life; Beverley was a model as a teen and young adult (earning her own money), so she still has the nice home where she lived with her husband. Margot’s husband was a politician; now she lives in a very different place than before and supports herself working at a department store. Elsie’s husband was a teacher; she lives in a small apartment now and works at a newspaper, trying to work her way up from assistant to an editor to a reporter herself. Only Beverley has children.
When they hear about an unidentified young woman who has been murdered and whose presentation is “unusual,” they start talking about it. They wonder if they can do better as investigators, having been married to perpetrators, than the police seem to be doing. They use avenues of finding out information that each has available. When more bodies are found and the stakes get higher, they double down on their amateur work.
“We can’t keep people from doing bad things.”
Bev blinks up at her, blue eyes wide, clear and determined. “Can’t we?”
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives is a murder mystery and thriller on one level and more deeply an examination of the complexities of women’s lives. It’s set in 1966, when women had fewer opportunities open to them in many aspects of life, when assault and harassment were considered more just something men did and women had to put up with. But it’s very much a story for today’s moment of post-#MeToo and the Epstein files and all the other instances in which women are still having to endure horrific treatment by men and not seeing justice when they speak up.
I enjoyed the book more as a mystery/thriller, which meant it was better for me about halfway through until the end. On the level of social commentary, it was fairly interesting but felt heavy-handed. I probably would have DNF’d if the mystery part hadn’t kicked in and gotten good.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 3 uses of strong language, around 20 instances of moderate profanity, 23 uses of mild language, and 16 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes references to people having sex; affairs; and a few instances where the act is happening but is very, very brief. Violence includes references to past killings, with little detail; a number of current murders with some brief detail about methods and presentation of bodies; some details about the conditions in which a woman is being held captive; and some attempted killing and injuries. Details in all of this are generally brief; feels like watching a network TV show (aside from the 3 f-words).
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