Book Review: Mrs March

Mrs. March
by Virginia Feito
Pages: 304
Published by Liveright
Publication Date August 10, 2021
Goodreads

Who is Mrs. March?
A twenty-first-century Highsmith, Virginia Feito conjures the unforgettable Mrs. March, an Upper East Side housewife whose life is shattered by her husband’s latest novel.
In this astonishing debut, the venerable but gossipy New York literary scene is twisted into a claustrophobic fun house of paranoia, horror, and wickedly dark humor. George March’s latest novel is a smash. No one is prouder than Mrs. March, his doting wife. But one morning, the shopkeeper of her favorite patisserie suggests that his protagonist is based on Mrs. March herself: “But . . . ―isn't she . . .’ Mrs. March leaned in and in almost a whisper said, ‘a whore?” Clutching her ostrich-leather pocketbook, she flees, that one casual remark destroying her belief that she knew everything about her husband―as well as herself. Suddenly, Mrs. March is hurled into a harrowing journey that builds to near psychosis, one that begins merely within the pages of a book but may uncover both a killer and the long-buried secrets of her past.

What I Liked

• Mrs. March is told in a non-linear timeline. The reader is taken back to when Mrs. March first met her husband and back to the present day. However, the author never gives a specific decade in which the story occurs. Therefore, we are left to wonder, is it the 50s or 70s? When is this taking place!? The only tangible clue provided is that there aren’t smartphones.
• The novel is dark and twisted. While I had an idea of where the plot would take me the breadcrumbs dropped by Virginia Feito’s keen writing propelled the mystery further.
• Nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted — not even Mrs. March.

What I Didn’t Like:

• Mrs. March has a second personality, named Kiki. I questioned whether this other side of Agatha March had anything to do with the acts that occur in the novel and wish the author had included more than just passing moments of Kiki. Although, that may have been her intention.
• My main complaint is the ending. The novel had been so unique and fresh. However, the conclusion of Mrs. March led to a predictable and somewhat disappointing surprise twist. In my opinion, it was a little too Blue-Eyed Butcher meets Lifetime movie. It wasn’t necessarily bad I was just hoping for more.

Final Thoughts:

Despite my criticisms, upon finishing Mrs. March I wanted to start it again. It is a perfect Hitchcockian novel to curl up with on a stormy day. Virginia Feito’s psychological thriller is spellbinding and I look forward to seeing what this debut author offers us next.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• Fantastic Strangelings Book Club