The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

3.5 Stars

This was a bit of an odd book for me, mainly because you just know from the first page onwards that you are being sold a pup.  You are constantly aware in the back of your mind that Emily is misdirecting the reader and that she knows she is doing it - this is flagged up by constant asides of along the lines of "this is what I thought then".  For me it would have perhaps worked better as a straightforward timeline so the reader felt they were watching things unfold as they happened rather than Emily's recollection of events.  It also didn't help that Pammie is so unremittingly awful and Adam so loathe to see it that it is obvious where the twist lies and before you are halfway through you have a pretty good idea what the twist will be.

The characterisation throughout the book is surprisingly solid and I did find myself wanting things to work out well for Emily.  I was also quite concerned about Pammie as some of the extremes she goes to were scary and did seem to bring Karma down on her head (if you believe in that kind of thing).  As a book about relationships it does work surprisingly well and not all in Emily and Adam's garden is rosy - even without the inimitable Pammie in the equation - this is not really explored to any great degree but the notes are there in Emily's exasperation with certain behaviours (mainly relating to the Rugby Club and "boys will be boys").

The plot is quite good but I felt that it was all handled with rather too much of a heavy hand.  Pammie's actions are not subtle and I find it hard to believe that nobody else could see what was happening, only Emily.  If the people around her are so disconnected from reality then she needs some major help.  The writing was actually pretty good and kept the tale moving on nicely from one shocking set piece to another and the final twist reveal at the end was handled in wonderfully dramatic way.  To be honest, the end of the book was my favourite bit as it was delicious in it's over-the-topness.

I did enjoy the book but don't feel it really fulfils the hyperbole around it; there were no shocking twists and it is not really a thriller.  It is a good read though and you don;t come out of it feeling like you wasted your time reading it.