“What His Wife Knew” by Jo Jakeman
Jo Jakeman proves she is an author who just gets better and better. And with her third novel, she shows us she's a master of Domestic Noir.
When the body of Oscar Lomas, an experienced hiker, is found at the bottom of a remote cliff in the Peak District of England called Cloud Drop, all the signs--including the Sorry note he left behind for his wife, Beth--point to suicide.
Plans for the funeral begin, but Beth cannot accept that her husband took his own life. As she sets out to discover what really happened, Beth soon realizes that the safe, protected life she thought she had was nothing of the sort, and that Oscar had kept many secrets from her--secrets that involve even close family and old friends. It turns out that he had enemies--and perhaps she did too, even if she didn't know it.
Full disclosure, I know Jo Jakeman and count her as a friend.
I've always loved Jakeman's books. And What His Wife Knew cements her place as a writer with a distinct talent for exploring what it is to be a woman in the modern world.
Like Sticks and Stones and Safehouse, What His Wife Knew presents us with a woman forced to face the truth about the box society has put them in for the benefit of the men in their lives. These aren't "Strong Female Protagonists", but real women learning to see past the false "security" being a wife and/or mother provided and facing the uncomfortable truths about their lives.
Ultimately, her books are about the way society is built around the needs and wants of men, with women expected to fall into a support role and take what's given them. And I think this comes across most powerfully here. In Jackman's first two books, the antagonists were openly unpleasant, manipulative people. But in What His Wife Knew, Oscar doesn't see himself in that way. He's simply one more white man so used to being the Golden Boy who's always got his way that he can't conceive of a world where he doesn't get what he wants without consequence.
When Beth, our protagonist, refuses to believe that Oscar could have possibly killed himself, she begins desperately hunting for the truth. But what she gets is the real truth.
This is my favourite of Jackman's books. The story is tight and controlled, and every character brings something to the table. There isn't a single chapter that feels loose or unnecessary. And as we get close to the end, we hit what I consider one of the best things you can have in a book. I was able to figure out the final revelation just early enough to feel smart without it making the story feel predictable.
It's always exciting discovering a new author. But it's even better when that author only gets better with each book. And that's what Jakeman has shown herself to be. What His Wife Knew is a rollercoaster of a Domestic Noir that I can highly recommend.
