Mrs. March lives in New York City on the Upper East side in a beautiful apartment with a housekeeper. She is surrounded by beautiful things, including her husband, George, a popular author who has recently published his latest novel.
Unfortunately, Mrs. March is a drab, tightly wound woman with delusions and paranoia. She comes from money and has rigid ideas on every aspect of her life from formal dining for every meal (with classical music at dinner) to her bedtime routine. She is detached from her young son, Jonathan, who spends most of his time alone in his room, at school or playing with an upstairs neighbor. She adores her husband but doesn’t express it rather talks about him in her head. In fact, most of her dialogue is in her head – which isn’t a good sign. With her vivid imagination and outsized sense of herself, she constantly reads into every gesture, gift, comment, and action of the people around her. We learn quickly that the protagonist of her husband’s latest novel is based on her, which is not a compliment. The main character is a prostitute whom no one wants to sleep with. She is described as ugly and covered in sores. We soon see that her vivid imagination is getting out of control, more like paranoia: spying cockroaches in her bathroom, watching herself kill someone in an apartment window, and a dead pigeon in her bathtub. She convinces herself that her husband is behind a murder in Maine where he frequents a friend’s hunting lodge and travel to Maine to investigate. As the mystery unfolds and her paranoia takes over, we discover the awful truth. But does she believe it? This March family is nothing like the happy home of March’s in Little Women. Detached from each other, living on their own apartment island with no real friends (although George does have friends). The book moves a long quickly, building tension as a good mystery/thriller should. I did guess a few pieces which was disappointing and none of the characters were especially likable. Even George – the most ‘normal’ of the Marches – wasn’t a sympathetic character. Overall, I enjoyed the book. The first half I read in 30-45 minute chunks, whereas I was able to read the last half in two sittings. I encourage you to set aside over an hour to get the pacing of the book and the increase in tension as the book moves along. Another note: Elizabeth Moss purchased the movie rights. She would make a great Mrs. March!
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