Cozy corner books

Book title: Other women

Author: Emma Flint

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book in a sentence: A powerful true-crime inspired novel set in the 1920’s, exploring murder and attitudes towards women in the aftermath of war.

The back of the book says:

It is 1923 and a country is in mourning. Thousands of husbands, fathers, sons and sweethearts were lost in the war, millions more returned home wounded and forever changed.

Beatrice Cade is an orphan, unmarried and childless. After her brother’s death, she decides to make a new life for herself. She takes a room in a Bloomsbury ladies’ club and a job in the City. But just when her new world is starting to take shape, a fleeting encounter threatens to ruin everything.

Kate Ryan is an ordinary wife and mother. Since the end of the war, she has managed to build an enviable life with her husband and young daughter. From the outside, they seem like a normal, happy family. But when two policemen knock on Kate’s door and jeopardize the facade Kate has created, she knows what she has to do to protect the people she loves. And suddenly, two women who never should have met are connected for ever . . .

My thoughts: This was a bookclub pick and not something I’d have necessarily chosen for myself, but it surprised me how much I loved this book! I found it compelling and very hard to put down.

The story centres around two women, Bea and Kate. Bea is having an affair with Kate’s husband, Tom. It becomes clear early on in the story that something terrible has happened to Bea and Tom is on trial for it.

The book is a realistic portrayal of attitudes towards women in the 1920’s and I found myself feeling for both Bea and Kate. Although at first Kate blindly believes her husband, we slowly see her develop a quiet and powerful strength against the hold he’s held over her throughout their marriage.

I can’t say too much more without giving spoilers, but while this was a slow-burn, it completely hooked me and I found myself staying up late into the night to get this finished!

What I liked…

The fact the whole book was told from the perspective of the two women – we never hear from Tom. for me, this made the story far more impactful and truly helped the reader to understand the challenges women faced in the 1920’s, particularly in the aftermath of the First World War.

What I didn’t like…

I found the pacing quite slow and if I hadn’t been so invested in the characters I might have given up early on. The tension builds well, but I wouldn’t say this book has twists in the traditional sense, which you might be expecting from the sound of this story.

I think you’d like this book if…

You enjoy historical fiction with a dark edge, slow burn murder mysteries and are interested in reading about strong female characters taking back power in a time where the world was against them.

Other Women