Review of IMPERFECT WOMEN by Araminta Hall

 3.5 Stars

This is an unconventional crime novel in that it focuses not on a police investigation but on the traits and motivations of the people in the victim’s life, especially her two best friends.

The book opens with the death of Nancy Hennessy who is found beaten to death. A call from Nancy’s husband Robert has Eleanor Meakins, one of Nancy’s best friends, having to tell him that Nancy was having an affair with a man named David, though she had been trying to end it.  Who was this lover?  Did he murder her because she tried to put a stop to their relationship?  Did Robert know about the affair and kill his wife for her unfaithfulness?  Or was it someone else who murdered Nancy?

There are three parts to the novel.  The first section, describing events immediately after the murder, is from Eleanor’s point of view.  The next section belongs to Nancy; it covers the time leading up to her death.  The third part is from the perspective of Mary Smithson, the other friend; it focuses on events about a year after the murder.   

As the title indicates, the three women are all flawed.  Eleanor is single; she runs an overseas relief organization.  She has never sustained a long-term relationship but shortly after Nancy’s death, she begins a new relationship which totally consumes her so she neglects everyone else.  She has promised to regularly check on an elderly neighbour but doesn’t do so and does nothing to help Mary who is looking after her husband whose health is more and more precarious.  Nancy is beautiful and rich and seems to have it all, but she struggles with depression.  Though her marriage seems solid, she doesn’t feel totally satisfied and happy so she looks for drama to add excitement to her life and boost her self-esteem.  Mary, a mother of three, has abandoned a promising career in academia and lets her psychologically abusive husband Howard dictate her life, though she and her children have suffered because of her passiveness.  Now Howard is ill and she spends her time catering to his needs.

One of the book’s themes is the examination of the disappointments that come with the passage of time.  Eleanor, Nancy, and Mary met in college when they were eager to succeed in their respective careers.  They spent their time sharing dreams of their bright futures.  Of course, their lives have not turned out as hoped and expected.  Eleanor is single and lonely, Mary is tied to an abusive husband, and Nancy who has never found her life satisfying is dead. 

The book also explores how difficult it is to understand another person.  Eleanor, for instance, wonders about Nancy’s behaviour:  cheating on her husband and recklessly threatening her family life.  Why did Mary ignore Howard’s many affairs and now indulge him?  In the course of the novel, many secrets are revealed.  It seems that virtually no one is totally honest with even those they love.  And then there are the many betrayals.

I found myself becoming frustrated with the women at times because they seem too self-absorbed.  Each spends so much of her time ruminating and complaining about the state of her life.  On the other hand, I did feel some sympathy for them because they all face society’s high expectations and harsh judgments at work and in their personal relationships.  The men in the novel seem not to have the same pressures and when they make mistakes seem not to suffer serious consequences. 

This book is for those who don’t mind the mystery taking a back seat to character dissection.  I listened to this as an audiobook, but it might have been better if I had actually read it.  I’m sure I missed some nuances.