by 
Title and Author: The Vanishing Wife by Barry Finlay
No. of Pages: 298
Publication Date: Keep On Climbing (November 8, 2014)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Language: English
Book Review:
I had the pleasure of getting to know Barry when he did a guest post on my blog about his award winning travel book, I Guess We Missed the Boat. Impressed by his writing and personality, I jumped at the chance to review his latest book, The Vanishing Wife. Although I am a bit late in posting this review, I loved reading the book and here are my thoughts on it.
The Vanishing Wife had me intrigued because of its blurb. The cover is nothing very special but the blurb will interest readers to pick up the book.
I was jolted right from the moment I opened the book which starts with the intriguing statement “Mason Seaforth was waiting”. The first thought that came to my mind was, who is he waiting for? Me? and then I remember feeling spooked and laughing a jittery laugh. Maybe this was because I knew it was a mystery and that it was almost midnight when I started the book, anyway, I felt spooked.
The story goes that a respectable and happily married couple celebrate their twentieth anniversary but the next day the wife disappears leaving the husband bewildered and scared. Unable to understand why and where his wife went, he decides to investigate and the layers of secrets that come out had me gasping, feeling shocked and then admiring the wife sometimes.
The plot was promising and while Barry executes it beautifully, I did feel that it had more potential and could have been made more crisp and racy. The first part of the story is a bit slow but the latter part is racy and full of action. There is more ‘telling’ and less ‘experiencing’ in the story which although interesting could have been downright splendid had there been more ‘experiencing’ in the story which would make the reader feel like he is experiencing everything himself.
The settings and scenes are expertly sketched and I could visualize the sunroom where a distraught husband sat waiting for his wife to return or the scary darkness in the climax when each and every second had me waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.
The author writes simply and is successful in engaging the readers with his witty dialogues, heartfelt emotional play and the general knowledge tit bits that he shares of the places shown in the book which had my overall knowledge of these places enhanced greatly. It clearly shows that the author has done his research when he talks of the police procedures, describes the places of action and takes us into the minds of the victim and the criminal.
The characterization is admirably done and I could relate with Mason, his wife Sami, Sami’s best friend Marcie and the villains along with the police officers. All the characters feel real and the situations such that I could feel myself feeling empathetic towards the protagonists who find themselves in such extreme situations. The one character that impressed me the most was the main hitman. I wont disclose his name but the insight into his mind, his cold motivation behind killing people mercilessly and the ideals that dictated his life had me shivering in fear and grateful that he was not real! Reading about him, I now feel more scared knowing that there are such people in this world who feel nothing and are willing to harm random people just for money and a false sense of loyalty.
I also admired Marcie who is a good friend and willing to lay down her life to save her friend. Her dynamics with Mason had me smiling, impressed and then chuckling watching her tease the bad men.
All in all, I enjoyed reading The Vanishing Wife and give it 4 stars out of 5 and strongly recommend it to all lovers of mystery and suspense. Barry is a talented writer and with this book shows that he can write fiction as easily as he writes non-fiction. I wish him the best and hope to read more from him in the future.
No. of Pages: 298
Publication Date: Keep On Climbing (November 8, 2014)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Language: English
Book Review:
I had the pleasure of getting to know Barry when he did a guest post on my blog about his award winning travel book, I Guess We Missed the Boat. Impressed by his writing and personality, I jumped at the chance to review his latest book, The Vanishing Wife. Although I am a bit late in posting this review, I loved reading the book and here are my thoughts on it.
The Vanishing Wife had me intrigued because of its blurb. The cover is nothing very special but the blurb will interest readers to pick up the book.
I was jolted right from the moment I opened the book which starts with the intriguing statement “Mason Seaforth was waiting”. The first thought that came to my mind was, who is he waiting for? Me? and then I remember feeling spooked and laughing a jittery laugh. Maybe this was because I knew it was a mystery and that it was almost midnight when I started the book, anyway, I felt spooked.
The story goes that a respectable and happily married couple celebrate their twentieth anniversary but the next day the wife disappears leaving the husband bewildered and scared. Unable to understand why and where his wife went, he decides to investigate and the layers of secrets that come out had me gasping, feeling shocked and then admiring the wife sometimes.
The plot was promising and while Barry executes it beautifully, I did feel that it had more potential and could have been made more crisp and racy. The first part of the story is a bit slow but the latter part is racy and full of action. There is more ‘telling’ and less ‘experiencing’ in the story which although interesting could have been downright splendid had there been more ‘experiencing’ in the story which would make the reader feel like he is experiencing everything himself.
The settings and scenes are expertly sketched and I could visualize the sunroom where a distraught husband sat waiting for his wife to return or the scary darkness in the climax when each and every second had me waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.
The author writes simply and is successful in engaging the readers with his witty dialogues, heartfelt emotional play and the general knowledge tit bits that he shares of the places shown in the book which had my overall knowledge of these places enhanced greatly. It clearly shows that the author has done his research when he talks of the police procedures, describes the places of action and takes us into the minds of the victim and the criminal.
The characterization is admirably done and I could relate with Mason, his wife Sami, Sami’s best friend Marcie and the villains along with the police officers. All the characters feel real and the situations such that I could feel myself feeling empathetic towards the protagonists who find themselves in such extreme situations. The one character that impressed me the most was the main hitman. I wont disclose his name but the insight into his mind, his cold motivation behind killing people mercilessly and the ideals that dictated his life had me shivering in fear and grateful that he was not real! Reading about him, I now feel more scared knowing that there are such people in this world who feel nothing and are willing to harm random people just for money and a false sense of loyalty.
I also admired Marcie who is a good friend and willing to lay down her life to save her friend. Her dynamics with Mason had me smiling, impressed and then chuckling watching her tease the bad men.
All in all, I enjoyed reading The Vanishing Wife and give it 4 stars out of 5 and strongly recommend it to all lovers of mystery and suspense. Barry is a talented writer and with this book shows that he can write fiction as easily as he writes non-fiction. I wish him the best and hope to read more from him in the future.
I received the book from the author and I am very thankful to him. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.
Buy From:
Amazon IN | Amazon US
~Barry’s other books~
Buy I Guess We Missed The Boat From:
Amazon.com: Paperback
| Kindle Ebook
| Kindle Ebook
Amazon IN: Kindle Ebook
Buy Kilimanjaro and Beyond (A Life-Changing Journey) From:
Amazon.com: Paperback
| Kindle Ebook
| Kindle Ebook
Amazon IN: Kindle Ebook
Buy The Vanishing Wife from:
Amazon.com: Paperback | Kindle Ebook
Amazon IN: Kindle Ebook
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-Njkinny
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