There would appear to be no end to the talents of Michael J. Malone. In a short space of time he has shown himself capable of a range of fabulous different novels – from a first rate series featuring a haunted, but highly skilled DI, to a gangster novel, then an extremely sensitive and moving biography and now this. A SUITABLE LIE is a domestic noir thriller that will have your emotions churning and your thoughts all over the place. Such was my emotional involvement in the story that I stayed up late and read the whole book in a single day.
The story is a shocking role reversal and Malone writes it so effectively it makes you wonder how much of himself is in the main character. In brief, Andy Boyd is a young widower and single parent. Persuaded to go out with his brother for a change, he meets a wonderful young woman and can’t quite believe his luck. After a whirlwind romance, they marry but straight away things start to go wrong. Andy ends up in A&E on his wedding night but dismisses his black eye as an accident. This proves to be a big mistake, however, as his lovely Anna is far more than a beautiful face. The violence escalates and Andy struggles to maintain the impression that he has an idyllic home-life. Unwilling to reveal himself as a victim, Andy tries to battle on behind a façade that is starting to let the cracks show, but Anna has other plans for her new husband and he may not be strong enough to ride out the storm.
This is a very emotional and disturbing novel, particularly because of the role reversal it contains. Domestic violence is usually the husband beating the wife and the men that are victims of it are often laughed at and deemed to be weak. For this very reason, Andy fears he will be unable to tell anyone as he cannot face the ridicule, even if Anna ends up landing one punch too many. The characters in the story are all very real and Andy is a very likeable chap – handsome, rugby playing and doting on his young son. You hope against hope for him to have his happy ending but at the same time cannot see a resolution to his problems.
A sensitively, well-written look at the life of a young man who is telling lie after lie to keep his darkest secret hidden. If you like books about taboos, that speak to you and make you think, then you are going to love this one!
Extremely Highly Recommended.
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