The Spy's Wife

Reginald Hill is an excellent writer. A different kind of spy novel. Would recommend.

I picked up an old book at our library book sale because of the title, The Spy's Wife - I had not yet discovered Reginald Hill's books. I opened the book thinking it was probably going to be old-fashioned and boring, but was sucked in from the first page, and couldn't put it down. Hill's clarity of writing, his ability to get me into the world and mind of the characters took my breath away. After I finished the book, I immediately starting reading all of Hill's book. I must say that The Spy's Wife was one of his best written books, even though you can see his skill mature over the years as you read his other books. If you are a Reginald Hill fan, read this one too.

Hill got me immediately into the head of Molly, and I stayed there for the three days it took me to read this book. From complacent housewife to liberated woman, but always the spy's wife, Molly is a pleasure. When confronted with her journalist husband's treachery, she falls apart, goes into denial but not completely. There's a down-to-earth, unflappable even unemotional North English core that copes in the face of adversity. She goes home to her parents, but that isn't what it seems, either. She confronts, accepts, rejects, abandons her ex-fiance and stands in for her mother while her mother and father confront the mother's life-threatening illness. All at the same time, she's watched and even hounded by a British Secret Service agent whom she comes to respect, if not love. Molly is her mother's daughter, and her forcefulness and her resolution come through as she is confronted again and again with her husband's betrayals, both personal and political. While Molly's story is wonderful, there is a glitch. The obnoxious reporter and the American woman don't quite ring true. They seem to have no other purpose than to goad Molly--and they do that--but, as characters, they appear flat. They lack believable motivation, and they created annoyance, not tension. Beyond this weakness, however, the book is an excellent, enjoyable read, and Molly has resonance even after the finish.

"The Spy's Wife" is ostensibly a mystery story, but it turns out to be more of a character study--with the subject of the title front and center throughout. This turns the piece into something more than a typical Cold War espionage potboiler. The novel's focus is on Molly Keatley, the badly betrayed wife of an alleged British turncoat, who evolves from a relatively passive soul at the moment of her betrayal into an angry, anything-but-passive woman by the end of the book. The story moves to a surprising and highly creative ending. There is much humor and wisdom in this very enjoyable book. Highly recommended.

I just rebought and reread this book and enjoyed it even more the second time in some years. Reginald Hill is a fine writer and this is great English suspense as opposed to the other mystery's blood and gore.

I can't believe it has taken me this long to discover Reginald Hill! Fans of British mystery will love this suspenseful tale. Meticulously plotted, beautifully written, wonderful characters...a really terrific book.