With a central character in the middle of a bipolar breakdown, The Pocket Wife follows in the footsteps of bestsellers like Elizabeth Is Missing and Before I Go To Sleep, both of which feature mentally disturbed protagonists. Sadly though, it lacks their page-turning power. Dana Catrell, the book’s rather attractively unstable heroine, is starting to unravel when her neighbour Celia is murdered. Unfortunately, Dana can’t remember much about their last meeting apart from a drunken row, and starts to believe she might be the killer. A shifty husband, a rugged cop and a sexy assistant prosecutor are added to the mix, but they can’t disguise the fact that, for long stretches of this book, nothing much happens. It’s a lack of pace that’s fatal in a thriller – a shame, because Dana’s teetering on the brink of brilliance and insanity is a convincing portrayal of madness.
