The narrator is Isabel, an attractive, intelligent woman reflecting on her life and family, whom we follow from her first marriage to her awareness of limitations brought by middle-age. We all know an ‘Isabel’ in our circle of family or friends. This is a deceptive tale-Isabel constantly suggests she is a victim of life. However, it is clear that this is hardly so, and her commission of the perfect murder is ‘living’ proof. We are drawn into Isabel’s life through her family, and at first this novel appears to be a well-written, analytical set of sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant generational vignettes, but they are simply setting the stage for the a perfect murder. The reader will need to judge whether the murder is indeed perfect and how Isabel defines ‘perfect’ and ‘murder’. Isabel constructs her fellow characters well, the strong sister, the introvert son, and new, malleable grandchildren. However, construction is always from the comfort of her own perspective, purposely never allowing a contrary view to seriously alter her passage through life. Her unclear motives and constant need to re-define love are never consciously sinister but this makes the physical and emotional results of her life even more shocking.

Barbara Cullen was ABA CEO and now manages small business policy for the Victorian Government

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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