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.

This was a fantastic book with twists and turns that I really enjoyed.

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 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. ( )

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 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. ( )

I received this book as part of Library things Early Reviewers Offer. In the 1930s and 1940s, there appears to be an Irish based group of women known as The Sinful Roses - consisting of wives who wish to kill their husbands. The organisation has rules which include not leaving children without a parent, from first contact to final action should be no more, and checking very firmly the background of the women who wish to join. We follow a blinded engineer who has returned from the battlefield of Italy and his assistant as they are given the assignment to identify the existence of the Sinful Roses and to look at past crimes possibly caused via their activity. The book could have been tighter. However I think it reflects the arrogance of the women who have got away with murder and recruit others into their murderous band. Some of the women have ended up in prison, but with advocacy they have received leaner sentences and some have left prison, making the membership of the club even more attractive knowing they may be caught, but will have the chance to get out quickly. The premise is good - who's to say such a club doesn't or didn't or indeed will not exist - for these women it was certainly needed. ( )