Sharon Thompson

I took too much notice of the title and the cover of this book before reading. I think if both elements had been removed I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more, but I kept wondering when the abandoned babies were going to come into the story. Even at 80% through the book, I was still wondering what the cover and the title had to do with the story. Taking that out of the equation, it was actually a really good story with a strong female character that Martina Cole would have been proud to show more have created.

Peggy Bowden has been in jail for selling babies and why not, it's only what the church has been doing in Ireland for many years. Peggy now runs a whore house and she has a lucrative sideline of offering illegal abortions. In typical Irish fashion, the prose is both lyrical and amusing, and I just have to share my favourite passage:

"I wouldn't be sitting in a hellhole with a dead woman in my house, prostitutes upstairs, a sergeant in my kitchen and a halfwit in my bath."

It sounds a bit like a Benny Hill sketch but trust me, it was deadly serious. Looking back over the book now, I feel like Peggy Bowden would have given Tony Soprano a run for his money. The Abandoned is like the Irish Sopranos and Sharon Bowden is to Dublin what Martina Cole is to London: both have tough female protagonists that are not only unafraid to wear the trousers, they're willing to kill for it.

Although not the book I was expecting from the title, blurb and cover, I really enjoyed it in the end. I guarantee that all Martina Cole fans will love The Abandoned; Peggy is tough, gutsy and a real rough diamond. I certainly wouldn't like to cross her!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

The first half of this book was utterly gripping. The story is told from three points of view, which at the beginning weave seamlessly together to push the story forward. Laurie is a veteran returned from the war, disfigured and blinded from his time in the trenches. His wife inexplicably turns up missing- shocking, but a secret relief to him as he is convinced she is trying to murder him.

Laurie's close friend sends him Norah as an assistant, and requests that they help him on a case of the show more Murdering Wives Club. Norah's presence in the house is welcome to all, but her narrative chapters hint at a greater purpose for being at the house than simply to serve as an assistant to Laurie.

The third narrative is furnished by Eve, an imprisoned woman thought to be a member of this club. She agrees to speak with the police in return for favours, so Laurie and Norah travel to see her. Here is where the story began to unravel a bit for me...Eve will not talk to Laurie with a woman in the room, but she agrees to write Laurie long detailed letters. For a woman who purports to be afraid to death of this Club, why agree to put pen to paper? And she can clearly tell he is blind, so she writes knowing Norah is reading the missives to Laurie anyway.

There isn't a lot of depth to the plot so I won't go into details. The read is enjoyable, the characters are likable, but the end overreaches and tries so hard to be twisty, unexpected, and shocking that it just came across as confusing and somewhat of a let down.

For the clear writing, good characters, and general enjoyablility, I give this 3 stars. show less

An enjoyable story, well-written, weaving plot twists and an interesting set of characters. Funny at times, tense at other times. The dark humor and mysterious cult atmosphere kept me going. Looking forward to the next adventure.

I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a review.

Laurie Davenport, a veteran who returns home from World War II, is both blind and traumatized from what he saw and experienced during the war. He is having a hard time getting the past out of his head. The one thing he is sure about is that his wife Charlotte is trying to kill him. In an attempt to distract him, an old friend asks Laurie to assist him in an investigation. He asks Norah Walsh to assist him by being his show more eyes and ears. He wants her to search for clues to the group of women who are called ‘The Murdering Wives Club’. Legend has it that these women belong to a club called The Sinful Roses. Eventually, Norah finds one of their members, Eve Good, who claims to have inside knowledge and is wiling to share what she knows. But can Eve Good be trusted? Can Norah be trusted?
I can visualize this as a black and white movie made in the 1940s, very atmospheric, not knowing who to trust, not knowing what will jump out around the next turn. The author sweeps the reader along on a tale filled with twists and turns, interesting cast members, and a time frame filled with drama and deceit. show less