The Good Wife by Jane A. Adams
Genre: Police Procedural, Mystery
Publisher: Severn House
Publication Date: May 5, 2020
About The Good Wife:
A chilling murder ruins a fun day at the races in the fifth historical mystery featuring Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone.
1929. Police surgeon Dr Clive Mason is devastated when his wife Martha is found dead in an empty horsebox at Southwell Races, her handbag stolen. The Masons were enjoying a day out at the races with their friends, Dr Ephraim Phillips and his wife Nora, when Martha went to speak to a face she recognized in a crowd – and disappeared.
As Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone and Sergeant Mickey Hitchens investigate, it’s clear this wasn’t a robbery gone tragically wrong – Martha was deliberately murdered. Why did the life of this well-respected, popular member of the community meet such a tragic end? Henry and Mickey soon learn that the Masons’ marriage was not what it seemed, and make a number of shocking discoveries. Who was Martha Mason, and what secrets was she hiding? (from Goodreads blurb of The Good Wife)
My thoughts:
I know two things:
One: I know whenever a book has the word “good” used as an adjective to describe someone, that person isn’t actually good. They’re automatically suspect, though not necessarily the suspect.
Two: I also know that between the time I request a Netgalley book and the time I begin reading it, I forget the entire premise of the novel. (Sometimes even by the time the publisher approves me!)
That was the case here. I forgot who the victim is! So while I spent a few pages reading about Dr. Clive Mason and following him as he treats various minor ailments, I developed sympathy for the man. His no-nonsense, pragmatic view of things like a jockey’s imbibing alcohol made me like him. Plus he has an air of respectability that probably makes others feel he’s “worthy” of their respect. Then someone calls him to look at a dead woman–and it’s his wife. And because I’d forgotten the blurb and become absorbed in Dr. M’s world, he wasn’t the only shocked person. I was, too!
Adams managed to surprise me quite a bit in this book. I’ve read a lot of historical police procedurals, though none in the Henry Johnstone series. The Good Wife captured the historical time period with pertinent details. For example, Adams included references to the temperance movement. There are also tantalizing details about marriage and divorce during this time period.
Characterization
What I really enjoyed, though, was the characters.
Henry Johnstone and his sergeant, Mickey Hitchens, are opposites. Where Mickey is empathetic and diplomatic, Henry steamrolls people and ruffles more than a few feathers. Mickey gets information through seemingly idle conversation; he also knows how to appear to be listening to one thing while thinking another, too. Henry observes in silence–which might unnerve those around him!–and direct, intelligent questions.
They’re different, but they work well as a team. Henry in particular benefits from Mickey’s timely diplomatic skills, as the chief inspector’s sharp manner can make tempers flare. (That isn’t always bad: rage opens mouths.) He also benefits from Mickey’s reminders to eat, as he tends to become so focused on a case that he forgets his physical needs.
The various other characters in the book are well-written. The dead Martha was a woman of secrets. As was her husband, the respectable Dr. Clive Mason. Their close friends, Dr. Ephraim Phillips and his wife Nora, are respectable people, too. But as the story unfolds, it’s clear that respectability and true goodness are two different things.
One character stood out to me: Miss Georgia Styles. The elderly Miss Styles is entertaining, blunt, and observant. As she says, “I may be rich but I’m certainly not polite.” She may be old, but she’s not stupid, either.
I was also intrigued by a mysterious man named Otis who appeared partway through the book. Adams did a great job of keeping me guessing about what he wanted, whether he was a friend or foe, and why he did the things he did. It added another level of intrigue to the main story.
A few distractions
There were a few things that distracted me, though.
The dialogue includes lengthy monologues/paragraphs. That wasn’t a bad thing. But sometimes the conversations included more than two people. I didn’t know who was speaking until the end of that paragraph, when Adams included a dialogue tags or nonverbal cues from the speaker. So sometimes I had to flip back a page to figure out who might be speaking. A few more dialogue tags before the lengthier passages would’ve helped.
Sometimes characters referenced a new piece of information that they claimed was from a previous conversation. Yet I didn’t remember this information from the previous conversation/scene. When I went back and searched, I still couldn’t find it. I have a feeling that the information was accidentally edited out of the original scene. (It happens.) Either that, or the detectives inferred it. This only happened twice, but it did distract me.
Book 5 of the Henry Johnstone series
This is book five in the Henry Johnstone series, but it works as a standalone. I picked up on the relationships between characters without confusion. While Adams occasionally referenced earlier cases, she didn’t give spoilers (yay!) nor did she make it necessary to have read the earlier books to understand the current one. Adams artfully wove in bits of backstory but only when necessary.
Otherwise, this was a good solid piece of work. I read the book in one day because I couldn’t stop reading.
Recommended for those who like police procedurals and historical mysteries. Also, fans of Jacqueline Winspear (the Maisie Dobbs series) might enjoy this book.
Thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for a copy of The Good Wife in exchange for an honest review.
Don’t forget the giveaway for Kjell Ola Dahl’s thriller Sister. You can enter until April 30, 2020. See the post for details and to read an extract.