The Pretenders Agatha Zaza

Synopsis
I’m perfectly happy lying to myself…If it means getting to stay with you.’

Jasper is ready to surprise his brother; Holly is ready to celebrate their engagement.

Anne tags along for fear of missing out, and John might just be going for another drink.

But Edmund and Ovidia had other plans for their Saturday.

Over the course of one day, these couples must own up to the secrets they’ve been hiding from one another and the lies they’ve been telling themselves. And face the devastating consequences.

Three couples. Two exes. One day. One reckoning.

Review
The Pretenders is the debut novel from Agatha Zaza, a simmering dark and shocking domestic drama. Three couples, two brothers two exes come together on a Saturday and by the end of the day all their lives will be changed forever. Jasper and Holly got engaged the previous evening and are going to celebrate by visiting Jasper’s brother Edmund. John is Jasper’s best friend, so together with his partner Anne they go along for the celebration. Edmund and his partner Ovidia are not expecting Jasper and his friends, they have an appointment to keep and something is obviouly wrong. Over the course of the day secrets are revealed that have devestating consequences.

I think it takes a skillfull writer to set their book over one day, in one location with a small number of characters, and Agatha Zaza does this brilliantly. All the action takes place in Edmund and Ovidia’s house where the reader is a voyeaur to the interaction between the six characters. The dynamics that play out are fascinating, uncomfortable and at times shocking. In the tense atmosphere, mainly between the brothers Edmund and Jasper, secrets are revealed and relationships put under the microscope. Agatha Zaza keeps the chapters fairly short so you get that ‘just one more chapter’ feeling, wanting to know what happens next. There are chapters that look back at how Jasper and John became friends, Jasper and John’s relationship as brothers and their family life and how Edmund and Ovidia met.

Very character driven, it is not surprising how well Agatha Zaza draws her characters, they are realistic, could be someone you know and facing problems we all face in life. It is not just fascinating seeing them in their couples, but also how they are with each other. I found Jasper and Edmund the most intriguing. Jasper had a bad time after a previous relationship resulting in mental health problems which is how he met John and Anne. Edmund as the older brother has always looked after Jasper, was there for him through his illness, helps him financially and regularly meet up, but surprisingly always at pubs or restaurants and never at Edmund’s house. It is shocking then to see that Jasper knew nothing of Edmund’s relationship Ovidia. It is Jasper’s sullenness that causes the tension between the couples; Holly can’t understand what is going on, why aren’t they celebrating their engagement. Anne and John know Edmund through Jasper and are also shocked about his relationship and spend the day trying to keep the peace and fill in the awkward silences. From the beginning of the book the reader is aware that something is seriously wrong between Ovidia and Edmund, there is a sadness and tension about them, but still affection, shown in small gestures, an arm around the waist, a holding of the hand and a look of acknowledgement and comfort. Within the dynamics of these different relationships, family, romantic, friendship the issues of infidelity, domestic abuse, and mental health are addressed in a real and honest way.

I loved reading The Pretenders, the feeling of being a voyeur, getting an insight into these characters lives, the different interactions between the couples, as a couple, as brothers, friends and as strangers. Brilliantly written, I was hooked on the developing plot line, what was the huge secret Edmund and Ovidia are keeping and why it is so important that it will take them away from their friends, and the effect of the events on the other couples. Dark, heartbraking, compelling and simmering with unease this is a shocking but intriguing read.

I would like to thank Peyton Stableford at Agora Books for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for The Pretenders in return for my honest review.