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Mystery set in BATH

4th July 2022

Good Husbands by Cate Ray, mystery set in BATH.

Mystery set in BATH

I was in the first instance very much drawn to the book cover, because I like the off centre design and colour choice. In this novel, the author tackles the very complex subject of rape and its trauma on the individual involved and the ripple effects across the wider family going forward.

Three women – Jess, Priyanka and Stephanie –  find themselves thrown together, as each receives a letter accusing each of their husbands of historical rape of a woman. The writer of the letters was conceived as a result of that crime. The three women are very different and Jess is soon the driver behind getting them together to form a plan of action. The primary issue is whether the contents of the letter are credible and without proof – and the fact that both the victim and offspring are both dead – means there is no evidence to speak of.

The women are in three very different relationships and one of them is clearly in a second marriage where coercive control features. All the indicators for a demeaning and controlling partner are ticked. The other two have easier, if not necessarily good relationships but once the seed of doubt is thrown about, all they can do is question the stories that their husbands share. Are the wives to inform their husbands about the letters? It is a conundrum that starts to undermine the most secure relationship. Where does the truth lie? One wife manages to extract a denial, another fears setting off an explosion in her marriage. As a threesome they confide their doubts, concerns, reservations and can they find the determination to get justice for someone they never knew – assuming the contents are based on fact?

The author moves very smoothly between many of the attitudes and preconceptions that often accompany such a charge. The old adages get lined up as people speak their mind, offer their take on what has happened, and of course there is the ingrained victim-blaming that blights the whole picture. Cleaving through the whole messy picture takes courage and clarity, and the author lays out her stall very well.

I was gripped by the story to see where it would eventually land. I think the elements that didn’t quite line up were the clear devices of a serendipitous nature that enabled the storyline to move to a different level: there are diary entries to assist; one of the wives meets her husband’s ex wife who offers information that hadn’t hitherto been shared; entry is permitted to one wife, by the cleaner, into the Montague Club, where the crime is alleged to have taken place,  (unlikely that a cleaner would let a random stranger gain entry, I would have thought), and there the wife stumbles upon clear evidence that again informs; a child happens to know where her mother keeps secret things and discovers a piece of information that drives things forward…

This is a well written novel that allows the reader to enter the lives and thoughts of the three women protagonists, in alternate chapters and through a first person narrative. None of the women are particularly likeable, to be honest, so as a reader your never really root for them – but then, there is something bizarrely satisfying about being able to roll one’s reader-eyes at unfortunate attitudes and sentiments. The author has made a decent job of tackling a multifaceted and extremely complex issue.

Bath is recognisable in the novel.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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