The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre
Genre: Psychological suspense
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Publication Date: August 8, 2019
Summary
“Some people just need killing.
Marlena Altizer Durst lives in her husband’s shadow. He controls her every move—what she wears, the food she eats, and the friends she’s allowed to make. If she disobeys, there are…consequences. And he has all the power.
To outsiders, it seems that she leads a fairy-tale life. But nobody ever wonders if Cinderella was happy after she married the prince. Marlena has traded freedom and safety for luxurious imprisonment, and most days, that seems like a bad bargain. Death may be the only exit she’s allowed. Just like his first wife. And his second. Unless she flips the script.
Some people just need killing.” (from the Goodreads blurb)
My thoughts
I really wanted to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. It’s psychological suspense, but I didn’t feel much suspense or anticipation. Instead, I felt annoyed.
A powerful, wealthy man controls his wife. His first two wives have died (presumably by murder) and the third wife thinks she’s headed for the same fate unless she takes control. Interesting premise, but not terribly original. I knew that from the blurb.
But I wanted to see what Aguirre would add to the story. Gender/power dynamics are being explored in different, interesting ways in current fiction. Even an over-used premise can feel fresh if given the right spin.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get that here. Instead, I felt like I was reading a book I’d read before. Different names, different circumstances, different author, but still, somehow, the same story.
My biggest issue?
Cliched characters
About a quarter of the way through the book, Durst babbles to Marlena about how she’s his greatest possession and he has to protect her. Ugh. His wife is his “possession”? She must be “perfect,” he claims, to be “worthy” to be his wife. Double ugh. He decides everything, right down to when they will have a baby together. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Can you imagine being this man’s child? Yikes.
Obviously, Durst is the antagonist. No one should like him. But he repeatedly states the need for perfection. References her as his possession. Fakes remorse after he abusing her. And each time, his words sound over the top. There’s little subtlety or nuance in his character’s portrayal. He is a cliche of the abusive alpha-male husband with ill-gotten wealth. I’ve encountered his type in fiction before.
Marlena, for her part, is terrific at playing the beautiful wife whose seemingly fairy-tale life hides the living hell of her reality. A cliche. But the real Marlena is a scheming, manipulative person bent on revenge–another cliche. I’ve encountered this type in fiction far too many times in recent years. Again, there’s nothing subtle in the characterization.
Marlena is as horrible as her husband. I couldn’t root for her, especially after her actions become as immoral as her husband’s. Neither grows as a character. Together, their actions felt predictable, and the twists fell flat. Even the addition of bisexuality didn’t add much to the book’s depth.
Cliched circumstances
Durst is wealthy. His riches come from multiple sources, some possibly illegal. He has the insecure arrogance of the nouveau riche who’ve fought and clawed their way to the upper echelons of society. Of course.
Marlena comes from a dirt-poor, barely-educated family. Think Third World-level poverty, complete with the junkie mom who’s got several children by different men and can’t care for her kids. Of course.
Both backgrounds feel cliched.
I’ve noticed that when genre fiction deals with abusive relationships, many times the abuser is extremely wealthy. He uses that money to pay off other authority figures or pull other shenanigans, like getting people thrown into jail or mental hospitals or faking documentation. The drop-dead gorgeous victim is often poor or limited in her financial resources.
In real life, abusers and their victims come from all socio-economic levels. They aren’t all fairy-tale beautiful, either. Having an ugly, poor victim does not make the horror of domestic violence any less horrible. So why do many novels seem to rely on the beauty/wealth tropes in genre fiction about abuse?
What DID I like?
The musings about fairy tales/classic stories
There were times, especially in the beginning, when Marlena muses on classic stories like Cinderella or Pygmalion. I enjoyed these. I liked these explorations of gender power dynamics: both genders can work to gain power over their partners. One might manipulate the other, but in such a way that the other believes he/she is still in control, that some desired action was his/her idea in the first place.
The repeated references to fairy tales and myths emphasize the way others might view Marlena’s marital life, but they also frame Marlena’s view of the world. I like that she views these tales in a subversive way rather than in a straight-forward manner. Still, this has been explored in other novels.
My final thoughts on the book
Does this novel add anything to the current discussion of gender and power dynamics? Does it even want to add more?
The book left me frustrated. It had the potential to be much more than a standard thriller-with-a-twist, but it didn’t fulfill its potential. For me, it was an average-level suspense novel. I wish I could give it a better review. I simply can’t.
(Thanks again to Netgalley and Midnight Ink for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)