The Doctor's Wife

This week I rapidly read "The Doctor's Wife" by Elizabeth Brundage. I started reading it on Monday during my lunch break. I finished it in 2 hours yesterday. I thought it would be a good idea to review it for all the other book lovers out there.

It's a sordid little story that succeeds only because you can never manage to put it down.

The book begins in a familiar suspense style. Dr. Michael Knowles, an OB/GYN, answers his pager in the wee hours of the morning. He is an over-worked man that is married to his career. His passion for his work is what recently lead him to volunteer at an abortion clinic, which is also run by a former lover.

"The Doctor's Wife" is notable for its larger plot. This novel is focused between two people that have made life changing choices. One by Dr. Knowles to perform abortions, while the other choice is by a religious fanatic to perpetrate violence against him. We go from an attempted assassination, to hiding the truth. Dr. Knowles' problems are not limited to those attempts on his life. His wife, Annie Knowles, is becoming disenchanted with her career as a professor at the local college and is becoming increasingly bored with being known for/as "the doctor's wife." She begins spending a lot of time at seedy motels with formerly renowned, eccentric painter Simon Haas. Haas's own wife, Lydia, is preoccupied with her own maniac fits. When the Knowles begin receiving anonymous threats it is clear that the two couples are more involved than it seemed.

Views from of the story are coming in from all angles, from of Michael, Annie, Simon, and Lydia, struggling with choices they made about how to live their lives. Suspenseful, it's a page-turner with a attention grabbing plot. The problem I saw, is that the story focuses on the least interesting character. As the title very clearly states, the story is less about Dr. Knowles' career choice than his wife's bedroom activites. That's also where the story goes in the wrong direction. Focusing too much on the adulterous and boring relationship between Annie and Simon, the story closely resembles romantic fiction than a moral thriller.