A Circle of Wives

by Alice LaPlante

* An Indie Next Pick
* A LibraryReads Selection
* An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mysteries & Thrillers)
* A Daily Candy Best Book of March
* One of More Magazine’s "Five Thrillers Not to Read After Dark"

When Dr. John Taylor turns up dead in a hotel room, the local police uncover enough incriminating evidence to suspect foul play. Detective Samantha Adams, whose Palo Alto beat usually covers petty crimes, is innocently thrown into a high-profile case that is more complicated than any she has faced before. A renowned reconstructive surgeon and a respected family man, Dr. Taylor was beloved and admired. But beneath his perfect façade was a hidden life—in fact, multiple lives. Dr. Taylor was married to three very different women in three separate cities. As the circumstances surrounding his death emerge, Detective Adams finds herself tracking down a murderer through a tangled web of marital deception and revenge. New York Times bestselling author Alice LaPlante’s haunting and complex novel of family secrets dissects—with scalpel-like agility—the intricacies of desire and commitment, trust and jealousy.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Adult, Book Club

325 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2014

About the author

Alice LaPlante is an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction. She teaches creative writing at Stanford University, where she was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer. She also teaches in the MFA program at San Francisco State University. Her fiction has been widely published in Epoch, Southwestern Review, and other literary journals. Alice is the author of five books, including the LA Times bestseller Method and Madness: The Making of a Story (W.W. Norton 2009). Her latest book, the novel Turn of Mind, was published by Grove Atlantic in 2011 and won the Wellcome Trust Book Prize for 2011. She lives with her family in Northern California.

Reviews

[Patrice Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea that we never quite know who we've chosen to live the rest of our lives with is always an interesting mystery. Many of the best mystery novels are built on this premise and have maybe influenced those with eyes wide shut to get a grip. A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante explores this topic and turns it on its head.

A prominent reconstruction surgeon is found dead in an upscale hotel. At first glance, it appears the deceased has died of an apparent heart attack. After closer inspection, rookie detective, Samantha Adams believes that he may have in fact been murdered. Not only does one suspect surface, but 3 very likely suspects.

Behind all the accolades and successful veneer is a man who has three wives. Dr John Taylor lived three different lives, in three separate homes, and loved three very different women. The novel jumps from wives narrative to the other as well as Detective Adams view. The main question is which one in this circle of wives is the one who decided that they would be happier if death do them part?

Alice LaPlant sucks readers in with the first narrative from MJ. She begins describing the funeral of her husband and a family she doesn't belong to. Out of all the wives, she is the most endearing. She seems like a gullible, flighty southern belle who just happens upon a good life after so many let downs. The novel then shifts to Helen. Out of all the wives, she is the most accomplished and seemingly the best fit for Dr Taylor. Although she seems cold and distant, as her character is more developed, she obviously becomes someone I found to care what happens to her after the story ended.

Then we have the "real" wife Deborah. Wow! She is quite a piece of work. Although I didn't like her from the beginning, I think her story balances out the trio. What ultimately causes her to fall flat for me is that I can't see past her barrier. She never becomes someone I warmed up to. In a mystery novel I always hope there's some sort of redeeming quality in a main character that makes me not want to shout "guilty" to the top of my lungs each time their narrative is in play.

For much of the novel I kept thinking to myself that I don't really, I mean really really like any of the characters. There are so many red flags about all of them that I almost couldn't take it anymore. What kept me reading this book is that LaPlante is actually a pretty good writer and the pages just seemed to whiz past. I had to know who killed this polygamist who's personal life was a mess, but was actually a pretty good guy. How could someone not fall in love with a man who performs facial reconstruction on children pro bono? Well... obviously someone or else he wouldn't be dead.

My overall impression of this novel is that I did enjoy reading it. Alice LaPlante has definitely got my attention and I will look forward to what's next for her. I only hope that she provides me with one character who doesn't scream suspect.

Copy provided by Atlantic Monthly Press via Netgalley

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't wait to get my hands on Circle of Wives. It promised all the things I like in a book. An interesting premise, a psychological tale and exploration of holy matrimony.

A doctor is found dead in a hotel room. At first look Dr. John Taylor, appears to be the victim of a heart attack. Very quickly there's enough evidence for police to investigate the death as murder. Dr. John Taylor is a famed plastic surgeon, married for many years to Deborah, who on the service seems quite nice but who becomes very unlikeable quickly. Who'd want to murder this Dr. Taylor, a man respected and loved by his patients? Possibly his partners who want to see their clinic go in a different direction? Dr. Taylor is resistant to changes they would make. Possibly Deborah? Oh, did I mention, Dr. Taylor was leading a secret life unbeknownst to many. First we learn there is wife number two, then wife number three comes on scene. The plot thickens and the idea of a bigamist lures me in.

Sounds so good but somehow Circle of Wives does not quite live up to its promise. Detective Samantha Adams, a young cop who usually covers small time crime , is given the task of solving the cause of Dr. Taylor's death. She just doesn't ring true for me and as much of the story is seen through her eyes, it quickly falls shot for me. I was interested in what the other two wives had to say and what they saw in the good doctor. These two, Helen and MJ and a desire to know if my thoughts on the outcome would hold true encouraged me to finish.


Thank you to Edelweiss and Atlantic Monthly Press for the opportunity to read this advance e-galley.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars: A Circle of Wives is a nicely paced page-turner about a prominent and talented reconstructive surgeon’s murder and the usual suspects. And by usual suspects, I mean the wife, or the wives in this case. LaPlante tells her story from the viewpoint of women: the detective on the case and the wives. Each chapter is from one of the women’s prospective. What I found great about this novel is that I didn’t guess the killer correctly. I thought I knew “who done it” after reading one third of the book.

The lead detective, Samantha Adams begins telling the story. She’s a single woman living with her boyfriend of many years who is a Doctorial candidate….if he could just complete that thesis of his. The reader quickly learns that there is more than one wife. He was married to three different women in three different cities.

Samantha is drawn in to the different marriages of this man, as each wife fulfilled a different need of his personality. Samantha ponders her own relationship with her boyfriend, who wants to get married.

LaPlante provides clues along the way, implicating many characters in the story. Samantha is the main thread as she tries to untangle the relationships each person had with the Doctor and with each other. She breaks the case in a “Columbo” sort of style at the end(just asking questions to the point of annoyance).

It’s a great beach read.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 A man is dead. A rookie detective is on the case. What appears at first to be a heart attack, may not be once it is known that the man had three wives. How was he able to fool these women into thinking they were the only one? Or did he?

I loved her first novel, thought it was original, well Written and well executed. This one reminded me of a story in the National Enquirer, yes, there are a few twists and turns but for the most part this book did not grab me at all. News articles and all, I felt like a voyeur observing and hearing the predictable in a relationship. Not my kind of book.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 50 pages had me going, I was very interested...then it didn't go anywhere, I couldn't connect with any of the characters and the ending was not a surprise to me.

[i. · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the beginning I liked detective Samantha Adams. Her honesty about her shortcomings and the way she approached the investigation , even her descriptions of her boyfriend's peculiarities.

At first the novel made me smile more often than not, in spite of the plot : three women married to a man who is murdered.
However, as I continued reading and discovering new facts about the three wives , their present and past lives and their relationship with a very charismatic but moody husband, I felt that the novel was getting darker, sadder and not fun at all.

It is in fact a vivid description of the personal dramas of the characters involved in a murder investigation; more than the plot, it is the story behind those characters what makes the book interesting and at the same time quite depressing. As a matter of fact the detective's life is deeply influenced by the investigation and makes her question her ideas about love and marriage.

Although this comment has little to do with a review, I would like to say that I used to think that bigamy only happened in the films or to very strange people. However , I once met a girl who had recently found out that her father, who was still married to her mother, had another family and that she had three half-siblings. She had been devastated by the news and found it very hard to cope with it. I think she shared her story with other people to try to come to terms with it herself, she didn't want it to be a secret anymore . I felt terribly sorry for her. In the novel, the feelings of the victim's children are seldom mentioned but I think they suffered even more than the wives.

I would recommend this book to adult readers who like character driven novels about women, marriage and love.

www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com

[Connie Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read... or listened to this back in Jan or February and thought I had done a review, but apparently not. Does that mean it was not rememberable? Maybe.

There is a murder, and we learn that there are three wives and wonder which of them did the dirty deed. Entertaining? Yes. Great writing? Ah...maybe? Suspense? Some.

This is the type of book you take on vacation. A quick and entertaining read, nothing too intense. I enjoyed the character development, though I did not really like the characters.I appreciated the twists that took place. A few "aha" moments but nothing grand.

Three stars for the entertainment value.

[Minty McBunny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to congratulate Ms LaPlante on her ability to take a very interesting premise and transform it into a flaccid, lifeless and utterly dull murder mystery. I give it 1.5 stars only because I did manage to drag myself through it in order to find out who the killer was. And even that was a disappointment, as it was the most obvious suspect. Really a remarkably boring "thriller".

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of twists and turns. You don't find out what really happened to John until the end. John has three wives who don't know about each other until he is murdered. Very well written and interesting.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm. I read “Turn of Mind,” LaPlante’s earlier novel, and I came away so satisfied—I’m now wondering if my opinion was tainted by my interest in books about Alzheimer’s victims. Because “Circle of Wives” is a book that didn’t leave me satisfied, and it’s a book I’ll forget in no time. In fact, I’m worried that its boring essence will lead to a boring review. How can I write a passionate review when I have such a boring taste in my mouth?

This book is about the murder of a polygamist who had lived a secret life. With such an intriguing plotline, how could it go wrong? Well, first, the plot is implausible and has some holes. I didn’t buy that the women, who each got to see their husband in very small doses, weren’t the least bit suspicious about his constant absences. Nope, although smart, they were clueless. Just too hard to believe.

But could the characters or language save this book? I'm afraid not. The characters are one-dimensional and clichéd. The language is dull. I must lower my expectations.

I was expecting something more literary and more psychological, something along the lines of “Gone Girl” or “The Dinner.” Not a chance. “Circle of Wives” is a straight crime drama, and not a great one. I should have known it would disappoint me when it started like a typical detective novel, with a detective assessing the crime scene. I expected something more creative, less mundane.

Don’t get me wrong—I didn’t hate this book, I just thought it was boring. And if a mystery is boring, well, that’s pretty bad. I’ve mentioned “boring” so many times, I’m bored saying it.

And the book wasn’t well edited—or was it that the writer was sloppy? Several conversations made me shake my head and say, “No, that’s not the way people talk!” And then there’s the time the detective is talking to the character Deborah and says “you thought this or that” throughout a paragraph, and then three sentences later, in the same paragraph, says to her “Deborah thought this or that.” The switch to third person is so wrong, and it makes me wince. Had the author reread the paragraph, she would have caught it. Where is the editor when you need her? It hurts my editor ear!

Still, I was mildly interested in finding out who did it. And of course I gave myself a pat on the back because from early on, I was pretty sure I knew the culprit. (But then again, it seemed obvious who the killer was, so I think I should stop with the cocky routine.)

There are some twists but they aren’t really believable. This is a fast read with not much substance. Overall, a disappointment, but readable.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although nicely written this book is not terribly suspenseful. The wives are one dimensional and Samantha is bumbling and unprofessional. I suppose I was most bothered by the depiction of women as being dumb and so desperate to catch and keep a successful man they fail to question the obvious. It is a quick read that provides mild entertainment. Unfortunately, the premise of this book was totally unbelievable from the start. Even if John Taylor had ADD with extreme hyperactivity and never rested for a minute, to work a full time demanding job and still be able to juggle relationships with three woman in three separate cities strained credibility. While John Taylor is front and center in the lives of all three woman, he remains an enigma, as the readers never gain insight into what made this man so utterly irresistible.

Newspaper articles and police transcripts are also used to fill in some of the narrative. There are some twists in the story but most experienced readers of suspense novels will spot them long before the author gets there. A CIRCLE OF WIVES is easy to read and decently written but I never really believed that the characters and their predicaments were remotely plausible.

Now, after saying all of this, I actually enjoyed reading this book. The ending was wrapped up much too quickly, but it was a fast and fun read, exactly the type of book I needed while recovering from knee surgery as it did not require much concentration but still kept me mildly entertained.

[Karin Slaughter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read, though the murder plotting side of the story wasn't very tight, and I didn't find the young woman believable as a seasoned cop (her voice was too tentative). Overall, I just love the way LaPlante writes about cold, scientific women.

Though she shouldn't write about southerners. Some of the colloquialisms were laughably off.

[Vonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely not as good as Turn of Mind. It was, however, a subtly suspensful read that explored the psychology of the multiple wives as well as the detective, Samantha. I use "subtly" because it was not exactly a page-turner. I kinda had the murderer figured out pretty early on, but it was fun reading how LaPlante choose to get the reader there.

The multiple points of view approach was a good choice. Four voices, each of the wives plus Detective Samantha Adams (no beer references, she says). It provided enough and psychological insights that could not have been achieved otherwise.

Doctor John Taylor (62). Prominent facial reconstruction surgeon for children, by all accounts an outstanding character man. He refused to ever do plastic surgery or any reconstructive work that was not for the better health of children, causing rigs between his partners, which he only partnered with so he could stay afloat with all his pro bono. Three wives and a mistress, all of them strong in their own ways. Deborah Taylor (55), his "main" wife. They have three children, all late twenties to early thirties. She is the epitome of the housewife that cares purely about her image. Thirty years into their marriage, he meets MJ Taylor (49). She is the least strong in the Circle of Wives, suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts. John lit up her life, giving her happiness she never thought she would receive. Doctor Helen Richter (36), oncology specialist, is the most recent wife, only six months ago. Someone he met in Los Angeles, actually. (He lives near Stanford in Palo Alto, his second wife in nearby Los Gatos). Only sees her for a few days every month, but it apparently works for them, as they are both physicians with little enough time as it is. Doctor Claire Fanning, one of his students, is his most recent love interest.

One of my favorite insights, interestingly, actually had nothing to do with the murder, but rather with detective Samantha Adams passionless but loving long time relationship with her boyfriend Peter. Samantha has done commitment problems. Investigating Doctor John Taylor lets her see what it is that is holding her back with Peter- she wants passion, something Taylor managed to have with not one but three wives, plus a mistress!

Peter tells her, "What you don't understand is that we've got what people hope to have after the passion and the initial excitement have burned out. We're best friends. It's what you want when you're fifty, sixty, and beyond. The marriages that last get here. After all the other stuff is finished. Where we were lucky enough to start."

"What you are saying is that we are already done with all that stuff? Do you think I want to go through life missing one of the most profound experiences there is?" Sam is saying that she might have love with him, but, agreeing with him, it is a love without the passion, a love without the falling. True love includes passion- at least the type of love she wants and needs.

"What is that?" Peter wants to know.

"Falling in love," Samantha says.

And, of course, that is that.

**** Spoilers *****

It was, of course, the bitch Deborah who needed to run his entire life. I am quite the emotional reader and I wanted to kill her myself the entire time I was reading. Pretty much ran John's life, orchestrated his date book, appointments, flights to his other wives. Yes, she knew about them; she was forced to allow them to keep him. She threatened to take the children from him if he filled for divorce. Told him he needed to specialize, forbade him from pursuing his interest in painting and jazz music. The selfish woman. What is even worse is that she is not even selfish for herself. She is selfish for image. Claire had apparently convinced John to finally get a divorce. From not one, but all three wives. They were to tell them that day, but Deborah found out first. She met him in his hotel room where he was staying because Claire and him we in disagreement because of the imminent revealing of their plans. Administered a lethal dose of potassium chloride, sent an urgent message to the more susceptible MJ, who arrived to find him dead, probably from a heart attack.

She had manipulated and tricked MJ, as unstable as she was, probably wanting to frame her as well. What she did not count on was for her to actually have some intelligence. She covered her tracks pretty well, building an alibi by having her brother Tomas dress up as her.

Quite unfortunate, MJ bland herself for John's death, for not arriving in time because she did not get his message immediately. Feeling suicidal, she calls first Helen, then makes the mistake of reaching out to talk to Deborah. "I am not a suicide hotline," she tells her,"go ahead and do it if [you feel] that way." You have got to be kidding me.

MJ confess in a suicide letter to her brother Thomas, case closed. Samantha figures out the truth, covertly records Deborah's pretty much confession, which of course is not admissible in court.

Samantha's parting words: "You are not exactly walking away from this with a sweet deal. You will lost her husband. From what you say, you have lost your family as well. And your social standing in the community will never be the same. In fact, you have lost all around. One the things that really gets to me is that you took the life of a good man. A flawed man, yes, but a good one nevertheless. You let MJ think she killed another human being, and for that, if nothing else, you deserve to be punished."

"She took my husband from me," says Deborah. "It all started with her. I have no pity for her."

The bitch. I hate her so much. Had I not hated her so much, I would not mind the injustice at the end, which many writers will do, as a sort of compromise for a clever murderer. But I do hate her this much and feel like if there was going to be no justice to the courts, something worse should have happened to her- to be be most hurtful, to get image, to embarrass her. But no, not really. How disappointing. I am glad to not have to read about her anymore. It is not good for my health.



"

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a second book following Alice LaPlante's best selling debut novel, Turn of Mind. Circle of Wives is a psychological thriller of martial deception, revenge, and murder. The narrator is Samantha, a detective with the Palo Alto Police department living with her boyfriend of ten years. When a body is discovered in the Westin hotel, she is sent as the investigator. At first, the man seems to have died from a heart attack, but a postmortem shows bruising and a needle mark. The verdict is murder caused by potassium being injected into the body. The obituary is published in the San Francisco Chronicle and the reader and two wives learn the man was Dr. John Taylor, a prominent plastic surgeon who specialized in helping children with facial deformities.

Next, the reader is introduced to John's three wives. As Samantha phrased it, he was a trigomist. The first wife is MJ from Gatlinburg, Tennessee and she learned about her husband's death by reading it in the paper. She decides to attend the funeral and meets the first, original wife who has been married to John for thirty-three years, and Helen, the latest wife. The three meet at Deborah's home and have a conversation about their situation. Deborah asks what they would qualify as: A coven? A harem? What is the term for a group of wives? "Circle," Helen answers. "We are a circle of wives."

Now, the focus shifts between the three wives and Samantha's interviews with them. Information is given by inserting the police transcripts and the first is with MJ Taylor, May 18, 2013. It is through the transcripts that we learn how John met his wives and the circumstances of their lives together. All the women were well educated with good jobs. MJ was a free-spirited accountant and Helen an oncologist for children. Samantha finds herself drawn into the entanglements of their relationships, tracking down a murderer through a web of domestic discord.

Circle of Wives is a unique look at life in the wealthy town of Palo Alto, California and the man at the center of the intrigue. This is an excellent read.

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice LaPlante’s second book, A Circle of Wives, is excellent. I love her writing style because her characters have authentic and original voices. This is one of the few fictional books I’ve truly enjoyed this year.

Dr. John Taylor is found dead in an upscale hotel room. The police aren’t sure if it’s murder, but they don’t think it was a heart attack either. Young and recently promoted Detective Samantha Adams is in charge of the case, her first suspicious death. In her quiet and wealthy Palo Alto community, she’s usually solving burglaries and other non-violent cases. The unexpected twist in this case is Dr. Taylor’s collection of wives: Deborah, MJ, and Helen. They all become suspects in what turns into a difficult and demanding case that affects Sam’s personal life.

Although the plot is centered on a murder investigation, this is a character-driven book. It’s fairly clear from the beginning that someone close to Dr. Taylor murdered him and it’s Sam’s job to follow the evidence to the right person. The narrative switches from Sam to each of the wives so the reader gets to know the characters and see each character’s perspective of the events. This doesn’t mean that the murderer reveals her/himself, just that the reader develops a certain amount of sympathy and liking for each woman. I like Sam a lot. She’s very young to be a detective (28) and is petite and looks young and has trouble commanding an interview with the suspects and being taken seriously, particularly with Deborah. I found it interesting to read a novel in which the detective isn’t an expert and is still learning how to tease information out of suspects and play suspects against each other. Sam comes across as very honest and friendly and likeable and funny and she has a difficult time learning to be sneaky and deceptive. I like that about her—she wants to be successful in her first serious case and earn the respect of her colleagues, but she doesn’t put her ambition to solve the case above her ethics. She doesn’t just want to know who killed Dr. Taylor, she wants to know why. So armed only with her intelligence and her youth (which disarms people and causes them to underestimate her), she pursues this case to the end. What I also like is this case affects her personally—that she wants to know what it’s like to feel that much passion for someone—either love or hate—to kill a person. Her interviews with the wives sometimes find her asking the women: “Were you really happy? Did you love him?” Sam herself has been a drifter by nature and drifted into police work and into her relationship with her boyfriend. She’s never had passion in her life and is intrigued by the notion of it. She introduces herself as a “waverer” immediately on page one:

I am nothing if not irresolute. Excuse the double negative. What I mean to say is that there is little I won’t waver over. You know how squirrels flirt with death by the roadside, and how some actually lose their heads and rush into traffic to their doom? I had to give up riding my bike around campus as an undergraduate because of those damn squirrels. They’d make a dash for my tires, and if I would just hold firm and keep going, chances were good they’d scamper back to safety. But if they’d freak, I’d freak, and the result was too many crashes, too many injuries. I walked everywhere my junior and senior years. So. A waverer I am.

This is great introduction to Sam. It’s funny yet at the same time she’s revealing what she considers to be her major character flaw: her inability to take a stand or hold strong convictions. This flaw—and her determination to overcome it—affects how she solves this case.

I found LaPlante’s A Circle of Wives to be an engrossing read. I enjoyed getting into the heads of the main characters and playing detective myself. This book is very well-written. I also highly recommend the author’s first book, Turn of Mind.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars

Having just read an advance copy of Jennifer Murphy's "I Love You More" I was curious to see how Alice LaPlante would tackle her novel about three women who all discover they've been "married" to the same, recently deceased man. (Side note, men with multiple wives... maybe these two novels should be treated as cautionary tales; in both the husband is no longer in the land of the living.) Both books focus on unraveling the mystery of the husband's death, though LaPlante takes a different path than Murphy- choosing to narrate her novel from the perspective of each individual wife, and the young, junior detective assigned to the murder case.

What struck me as funny about both "A Circle of Wives" and "I Love You More," is that each novel was less about the relationship between husband and wife, and more about the inter-dynamics of "the other women." LaPlante paints believeable scenarios and encounters that pull the reader in. I did not think I was going to like her naive detective, but found that she was a character that grew on me by the end of the novel. I also appreciate that she gets her own story arc and satisfying resolution.

All of the female characters in LaPlante's novel get equal treatment and attention. Though initially I feared that the cast was a little stereotypical (the "hippie wife", the "first" wife, etc), I was pleasantly surprised at how they developed.

Overall, I really enjoyed "A Circles of Wives"- though would love to one day read a novel with this premise told from the man's POV. (Seriously, I would love to know what makes someone think it's a good idea to take on three wives...)

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review - received as part of Goodreads First Reads program.

A solid 3.5 stars for this, my second LaPlante this month....and there's a clear pattern here. LaPlante writes mysteries a la Jodi Picoult but here the character studies are far more important than the whodunit reveal (which both here and in Turn of Mind were rather underwhelming). We learn quickly that Dr. John Taylor has turned up dead, possibly murdered, in a Palo Alto hotel room and then we learn that he had three wives and was living very different lives with each of them. The story is told from the perspectives of each of the three, plus Samantha Adams, a local police detective assigned to the case. LaPlante is very successful in giving each of the four leads a strong voice and if the murder is rather banal the women are each interesting in their own ways. As with Picoult this is a thinking person's beach read and a solid book that will likely be quite popular - I just hope that in her next book LaPlante is able to create a plot twist worthy of her strong writing.

[L Y N N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review at Smoke & Mirrors: http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/201.... Great book. I was reminded of The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress and In the Woods. I like the fact it isn't all tied up nicely and neatly. I like the interwoven realizations as Sam works her way through this case, especially with regard to her own relationship. It really is that old question in some ways...what is it like to be "in love"? And is it necessary for a "successful"/"happy" relationship? What a tangled web...

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up 3.5 stars. This is another very readable story by Alice LaPlante, but perhaps not her best.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book I thought was more like 2.5 stars.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. A mix of a whodunnit cloaked in a soap opera. Deborah is married to plastic surgeon and humanitarian Dr. Taylor. When their marriage begins to falter, Deborah decides that to save their union (and her face), the two enter into an “arrangement”. Deborah believes she will be able to orchestrate her souse’s escapades. As time marches on, Dr. Taylor is married to three women. Then, in a twist of fate, Dr. Taylor is found dead in a room at the Westin Hotel and young police detective Samantha Jones is tasked with finding a killer and untangling the marital puzzle of a polygamist. Was Dr. Taylor murdered by one of the wives in a jealous rage, by a greedy partner, or by a stranger??

[Ingabo A.K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wife can be patient. Very patient. But, woe to the man who takes this as an excuse to act however he wishes! When the patience runs out, he is in for it!
The plot is superbly developed, and the different perspectives of story development as given by individuals in the story, brings an understanding of how the past has forged the present.

[Zeljka Nešić · Rating 1 out of 5]

Šteta što ne može da se da nula.

[Tadija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Svako koga sam pitao o ovoj knjizi nije se secao radnje, kao da posle nje nastupa neka amnezija.
Ja sam odlucio da rizikujem i da zapisem kako ne bih zaboravio :D Knjiga je lagana za citanje, bez mnogo opisa, radnja se vrti oko doktora Dzona Tejlora na cijoj sahrani se upoznaju njegove zene (da ima ih 3 vencane). Mlada detektivka Samanta istrazuje slucaj i nakon otkrivenih modrica na telu doktora, dolazi do zakljucka da je ubijen. Sad ko ga je ubio, to je pitanje? Da li ima jos zena isto zanimljivo... procitajte sami. Triler nije los ali ocena 3, u poredjenju sa prethodna dva koja sam procitao (Hodnici vremena, U drugom zivotu)mnogo je manje zanimljiv, da ne kazem providan.
Za neko ubijanje vremena ili pravljenje pauze od nekog napornog romana sve preporuke.
:)

[Mom2nine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story line is interesting, but I have a real issue with authors who do not do their research, esp. in a crime novel. LaPlante is a college writing instructor, writing 101 is to know your subject. So, just in the set-up of the story. MJ is from Gatlinburg, this would not be a TN community known for white trash or meth use. If you write about a real location, do your research and still expect to offend people from that area, with your consistent and un-needed jabs. Secondly, she states that many boys were ruined by the Catholic priest. Catholicism is very rare in E. TN. Quick google search shows ONE Catholic church, it happens to be Hispanic, once again, odd location choice. Carson Newman College in Jefferson City is not a two yr. college, but rather a 4 yr. church related school. Not only would it be a bit pricey for a poor little brother, but a rather difficult over an hour drive due to road choices. Sam stumbled into becoming a police detective. Really? Our local police have hundreds of people at time take the aptitude test, most considered are either former military and/or have a criminology degree. Difficult to take even an easy to read book seriously with so many needless errors.

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Palo Alto plastic surgeon is found dead in an upscale hotel room, apparently of a heart attack. But further investigation reveals that foul play has been involved.

Detective Samantha Adams has been assigned to the case, and the more she digs into the matter, the more complicated it all becomes. For Dr. John Taylor has not only one wife, Deborah, a society matron, but two others: M.J. Taylor and Alice Richter. And supposedly it was all okay with Wife Number One, who had apparently helped orchestrate everything, including the schedule he had to keep in order to pull it off.

"A Circle of Wives" is narrated in alternating chapters by the three "wives" and the detective. The more we find out about each of the women, about the doctor himself, and then about a surprisingly unexpected complexity that surfaces later, the more we cannot wait for the mystery to be solved.

Short chapters filled with suspense kept me reading, and the characters' back stories helped create motives for each of them. So who really did kill the plastic surgeon, and how would Samantha figure it out?

This is my first novel by this author, but I'll be picking up more of her books. 5 stars.

[Jacqie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book, by the author of Turn of Mind, is another murder mystery. A doctor is found dead in a hotel room and it turns out that he had three wives. The first wife knew about the other two, and in fact made arrangements for her husband to spend time with them, but the second two didn't know anything about their husband's secrets.

So, who killed this guy? Set to find the answer is a young, rather childish detective who still wears her hair in ponytails and who can't commit to much of anything.

We get alternating points of view between this detective and the wives. The women are all quite different, but the character studies aren't quite as interesting as in LaPlante's previous book.

In fact, probably the most interesting person is the dead guy, who I never felt like I really got a handle on. The end of the book is quite abrupt and quite unsatisfying. I was reading this as an ebook, and couldn't believe that I'd actually finished the book when I got to the end.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only upon his death in a hotel room, under possibly suspicious circumstances, did two women realize that their husband actually already had one wife ... who knew about both of them. As Detective Sam(antha) Adams tries to unravel the truth, and relationships, between Deborah (wife #1), MJ (wife #2), Helen (wife #3), and Claire (surprise fiancee and possible cause of divorce), the reader gets the perspective of (almost) all of these women. The jump from character to character makes for some short chapters, and not all of the women are created equally: some never become sympathetic, and others don't appear to want our sympathy. As Sam tries to determine if it was murder, and, if so, who did it, she ponders relationships, love, "the sizzle," and what makes for a good marriage, all of which has a profound impact on her own relationship with Peter, her long-time beau. The guilty party is exactly who I picked early on, and some of the set-up isn't quite believable, but the writing keeps things moving even if people, do, well, get away with murder.

[Erika Nerdypants · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm reaching at 2 stars, according to the Goodreads rating system. This was only barely okay, which after "Turn of Mind", was a huge disappointment. As a mystery, this falls short in many departments. Even with considerable suspension of disbelief, the plot of one man married to four wives without anyone being the wiser simply doesn't hang together. This could make the premise of a good story, but there are too many main characters, with none of them being developed. In fact they all seemed stereotypical caricatures, rather than real. Perhaps the most "real" character for me was MJ, the aging hippie, but even the play on her name feels contrived, as do all of the characters in this story. In terms of plot, I figured out the killer within the first few chapters, so it didn't even deliver in the surprise factor. I was wowed by "Turn of the Mind", so I'm loathe to write the author off completely, but I have to say, very disappointing read for me.

[Laurielib · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading The Goldfinch I was looking for something witty and fun for an escape. I saw good reviews for Circle of Wives and initially was not disappointed. The premise of an altruistic surgeon, who turns up murdered and trapped in an unhappy marriage fit the bill. In concert with his wife of 35 years he embarks upon marriages with two other women to complete his life. As wife number one says, the relationship created a perfect marriage and a balanced life. The novel is told from the perspective of each wife and the rookie Palo Alto police detective charged with investigating the crime. About midway through the book you begin to wonder where it is headed and it starts stretching credibility. By the end, the plot is flat with too many loose ends. Endings are difficult to write and I saw this one coming.