Patricia from the Napanee Branch recently enjoyed Recipe for a Perfect Wife, the latest book by one of her favourite authors Karma Brown. Here is her review:

Full disclosure – I am a Karma Brown fan. Every year I look forward to her upcoming book and devour it as soon as it arrives. Brown’s latest book Recipe for a Perfect Wife did not disappoint. In this dual narrative, the reader gets to know Alice and Nellie through an old house, an old cookbook, and letters.

Present day Alice is at a crossroads in her life as she has recently been fired and moves to a New York suburb with her husband. Here she becomes a modern day ‘house wife’ with aspirations of becoming a writer. As Alice settles into her new house she discovers letters and a cookbook from the previous owner. The cookbook inspires Alice to try out the old recipes and the notes inside inspire Alice and the reader to really think about the sometime stifling and powerless lives women in the 50’s sometimes led.

Nellie is the perfect 1950’s house wife. She is pretty, is an amazing cook, is thrifty and keeps her home and garden perfectly maintained. But behind closed doors life is far from perfect: her husband is abusive and constantly cheats. Nellie hides the bruises and dreams of a simpler life.

Fans of Susan Meissner, Jodi Picoult, Sarah Jio, and Diane Chamberlain may just want to add Karma Brown and Recipe for a Perfect Wife to their to be read lists.

You can reserve this novel in a variety of formats by clicking here