A Perfect Marriage by Alison Booth

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: RedDoor Publishing Ltd (22 Mar. 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1910453498
• ISBN-13: 978-1910453490
• Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 2.2 x 19.8 cm

Synopsis

Sally Lachlan has a secret that has haunted her for a decade, is it now time to let it go? A chance meeting with the charismatic geneticist, Anthony Blake, reawakens her desire for love and at the same time, her daughter, Charlie, shows signs of wishing to know more about her father. Both the past and the future are places Sally prefers not to think about but if she wants to move towards a new love, she will first have to come to terms with her long-ago marriage. Only then will she be able to be honest with Charlie. And herself.

Review

A Perfect Marriage is a dark domestic tale, of a mother who wants to protect her daughter but has come to a cross roads in her life where she has met a man whom she can see herself having future with, but to move forward she must confront and come to terms with her past.  The chapters in the book are split  between ‘Now’ and ‘Then”.  In the present the plot follows Sally as she meets fellow scientist Anthony at a conference and they begin to take tentative steps towards a relationship; both have a past in relationships so want to take it slowly.  In the ‘Then’ chapters we are drip fed details of Sally’s marriage to Jeff who died ten years previously when their daughter was seven.  Alison Booth is clever in her writing of the past as Sally’s history is told backwards, starting with events at the end of the relationship and going backwards to the beginning.  I found this a brilliant idea, it really kept my attention and gave a different perspective to the story.

There is a fairly small cast of characters in A Perfect Marriage, but all have a verisimilitude about their personalities and interactions.  Sally is a single mother who has done what every parent wants to do and protect their child.  I loved her relationship with Charlie, and really understood why she kept the secret she did and let Charlie believe her father was wonderful.  I enjoyed seeing her character flourish in her relationship with Anthony, she began to really see herself as an attractive woman for the first time in years.  Anthony was an endearing character, humble about his work, a real gentleman who made no judgement, probably near perfect.  The strange character in this for me was Zoe, who was bound to Sally by the past and Jeff.  She is everything Sally is not; confident, charismatic , gregarious but also a good friend to both Sally and Charlie.

A Perfect Marriage is a compelling read that will draw you into Sally’s life, past and present.  It is well written with well drawn characters, showing an understanding of human nature and emotion.  With a few surprises along the way this is brilliant domestic drama that I highly recommend.