Four Wives

In Wendy Walker's brilliant debut, the lives of four wives and mothers intertwine and collide in a tale of suburban angst among outrageous wealth. On the outside, it appears as though Love Welsh, Marie Passetti, Gayle Beck and Janie Kirk lead enviable lives, with marriages to handsome, successful men; bright, happy children; and homes right out of Architectural Digest. But in the wealthy suburb of Hunting Ridge, appearances mask a deeper truth: These four wives are anything but perfect. As they try to maintain a façade of bliss, behind closed doors they each face their own crises-infidelity, dissatisfaction, self-doubt. As springtime draws to an end, doors are both opened and closed and the women come face to face with the most difficult and heartbreaking challenge of their lives-to reconcile their innermost desires with the lives that each of them has chosen. Four Wives shares a peek beyond the perfectly manicured lawns of Hunting Ridge--exposing a world as troubled as it is blessed. From Publishers Weekly A klatch of wealthy suburban women become deeply entangled in one another's lives while planning a public health clinic benefit in Walker's uninspired first novel. Housewife Janie is having a heated affair she can't give up; lawyer Marie is trying to balance her law practice, family obligations and loafing husband when a hot summer intern arrives; heiress Gayle has turned to pills to numb her to the treatment of her abusive husband; and Love, a doctor's wife, receives a letter from her estranged father that dredges up a painful past. As the women's personal struggles invade their other, pedestrian pursuits, Love's struggle with the demands of motherhood and family forces Marie, Janie and Gayle to get more involved in the lives of their friends and neighbors. Unfortunately, Walker doesn't do much to bring life to her typecast characters, and the narrative wobbles wildly as the subplots barrel toward a big revelation. The ending is mostly happy, which will please some, but the novel's phoned-in feeling prevents readers from connecting with the characters. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review “ Four Wives is a brilliantly clever and accurate study in domestic discontentment. Acutely well-observed and suspenseful, it's a stunning reflection of life in an affluent American suburb, where the women seem to have everything...except happiness. A great read.” –Jane Green, author of Swapping Lives ** “A cleverly woven, sexy debut that is a fascinating peek inside the gilded cages of suburban matrimony....A true page-turner treat.” –Jill Kargman, author of Momzillas and co-author of The Right Address ** “A fascinating read. Wendy Walker delivers a blistering dissection of modern suburban marriage. I couldn't put it down.” –Danielle Ganek, author of Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him

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“Four Wives is a brilliantly clever and accurate study in domestic discontentment. Acutely well-observed and suspenseful, it's a stunning reflection of life in an affluent American suburb, where the women seem to have everything...except happiness. A great read.”

–Jane Green, author of Swapping Lives

“Wendy Walker writes a cleverly woven, sexy debut that is a fascinating peek inside the gilded cages of suburban matrimony, where wives' envy for the perfect life is as green as the manicured lawns and golf tees they are widowed for, revealing the fiery restlessness beneath the placid permasmiles. A true page-turner treat.”

–Jill Kargman, author of Momzillas and co-author of The Right Address

“A fascinating read. Wendy Walker delivers a blistering dissection of modern suburban marriage. I couldn't put it down.”

–Danielle Ganek, author of Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him

Publishers Weekly

A klatch of wealthy suburban women become deeply entangled in one another's lives while planning a public health clinic benefit in Walker's uninspired first novel. Housewife Janie is having a heated affair she can't give up; lawyer Marie is trying to balance her law practice, family obligations and loafing husband when a hot summer intern arrives; heiress Gayle has turned to pills to numb her to the treatment of her abusive husband; and Love, a doctor's wife, receives a letter from her estranged father that dredges up a painful past. As the women's personal struggles invade their other, pedestrian pursuits, Love's struggle with the demands of motherhood and family forces Marie, Janie and Gayle to get more involved in the lives of their friends and neighbors. Unfortunately, Walker doesn't do much to bring life to her typecast characters, and the narrative wobbles wildly as the subplots barrel toward a big revelation. The ending is mostly happy, which will please some, but the novel's phoned-in feeling prevents readers from connecting with the characters. (Feb.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Take a peek beyond the perfectly-manicured lawns of Hunting Ridge. For four wives who live there, all is not as it seems...Former child prodigy Love Welsh can't seem to banish the demons that ended her career. Now a devoted mother and wife, her quest for a resolution to her secret past will place at risk the life she has created. Her neighbor, part-time divorce attorney Marie Passeti, struggles with a difficult case and her unexpected feelings for the young intern working at her side. In a mansion across town, Gayle Beck enjoys the social status that her family's "old money" guarantees, but inside her fairy tale, life grows darker with each passing day. Gayle's friend, Janie Kirk, who is both envied and loathed for her exceptional beauty and expert homemaking, is losing the battle to remain satisfied in a passionless marriage, and falls into a surprising affair.As the women plan a charity gala, their not-so-perfect lives are slowly exposed. And as springtime comes to a close, each woman faces the most difficult challenge of all: reconciling her innermost desires with the path that she has chosen. On the outside, Love Welsh, Marie Passeti, Gayle Beck and Janie Kirk seem to have it all - marriages to handsome, successful men, beautiful children and the kind of affluence most people dream of. But in the gilded suburb of Hunting Ridge, appearances mask a deeper truth. The world of four women living in the affluent suburban paradise of Hunting Ridge begins to unravel as infidelity, abuse, and a troubled past threaten to expose the reality behind the facade of their "perfect" marriages to wealthy and successful men