Other Women: Emma Flint

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No weapon, no motive, no alibis, no witnesses and enough time for the murderer to go off anywhere in the world. Usually, I tend to dislike this style of writing (I groaned when I first saw the POV shifts), as it tends to take me out of the flow of the story, but here it worked perfectly and only added to my enjoyment of the story.

Kim had been at the town’s annual festival with her baby when she disappeared, leaving the child alone in the pram. A brilliant narrative that humanises the women involved, adding complex emotional layers and repositioning them as more than just victims of a horrific crime. Overall, I felt that this is too agenda-driven with a clear ideological urge to show Kate's agency in punishing the husband who seduced and abandoned Bea - a muted form of female solidarity against masculine violence and disdain. Bea is one of those women, and I felt both the opening-up of her world, alongside the real limitations of the time for all women.

As this ill-fated romance burgeons, its progress is interwoven with the story of Kate, mother to Judith and wife of the man now standing in the dock accused of the murder of a woman in Sussex. Despite these seismic historical events, the image that is often most commonly-associated with the 1920s is that of the Bright Young Things. Remarkably well written I am not sure I’ve yet to recover but I’m shouting at everyone to read this. Flint brings the forgotten victim of this heinous crime back to life and even though we know from the beginning how this story will end, the last few pages are heartbreaking.

The writing flowed perfectly between the two characters giving a sense of intrigue with each chapter. I wasn't disappointed in either the quality of the writing, the characterizations or with the reveals along the way, which were really well done.

Based upon a true life crime which took place in London during the 1920’s Other Women is told from the perspective of two women, the wife and the lover brought together by devastating circumstances. And what it was like to be unmarried and pregnant with all the stigma and shame that involved, but without the protection of a welfare state or a National Health Service. As Alex’s fear that something incriminating will be unearthed escalates, Rick begins to discover more about Marina’s life, including the fact that she lives in Silver Vale.