Just Finished Reading: Robbie’s Wife by Russell Hill (FP: 2007)

LA script writer Jack Stone is on the edge of burning out. With his career in the doldrums, a failed marriage and no new ideas he’s quickly running out of options. Deciding on a whim to travel to England (where they speak a form of English) to find inspiration he ends up in a farmhouse bed and breakfast on the South coast. Intending to spend only a few days he can’t help but be captivated by the still attractive farmer’s wife Maggie Barlow. As fantasy amazingly turns into reality Jack can’t believe his luck. Trapped in an apparently loveless and abusive marriage Maggie is looking for an ‘out’ and seems open to moving back to LA with Jack and her young son. But standing in the way of Jack’s last chance of happiness is Maggie’s husband Robbie. Running away isn’t an option and neither is a messy long drawn out divorce. But farms are dangerous places and accidents do happen – especially with a bit of careful planning and a push at the right time.

I’ve been trying the Hard Case Crime series of books over the past few years and, honestly, haven’t been overly impressed. I’m not sure if they, on average, simply aren’t up to much or whether I’m just expecting too much of them – being such a huge fan of the Noir murder mystery. Like most of the others this was OK – often just OK – but readable enough for me not to put it back on the shelf unfinished (which I really don’t like doing). Jack as a character wasn’t up to much and the story wasn’t really believable enough. None of the characters – all reasonably drawn – really engaged me that much, even Maggie who was honestly interesting and intriguing. The story was also rather slow and plodding which didn’t help matters. No dramatic fights, chases or much else to be honest. The sex scenes (few that there are) are largely and instantly forgettable. Then, about 20-30 pages from the end the whole tone of the book changed to reveal one hell of a sting in the tale which threw the previous several hundred pages into a whole new light. Everything had to be re-examined with the new perspective and I did finally turn the last page with a smile and a ‘well done’ nod to the author. He did, I think, leave things too long to pull the rug from under my assumptions and could have made things a bit more interesting (with maybe a few hints along the way) to make the ending more dramatic (rather than simply clever) and I think this would have got me over the feeling that this was still essentially a fairly boring read. Saying that it was still (just) passable and might wile away a few days at the poolside without exercising the mind too much.

[2015 Reading Challenge: A book with a love triangle – COMPLETE (17/50)]