The Runaway Wife

by Susy McPhee

[Leah]

Marion Bishop's life is falling apart; her daughter was killed in a hit and run accident six months ago and husband Sam has finally had enough of being an emotional punching bag and has left their home. Left alone, with no one to turn to, Marion has decided to end it all, but a chance encounter on the night Marion decides to kill herself changes her perspective on life and she suddenly seems to have a reason to live. But will husband Sam want to know, or is their marriage over for good?

Marion is very forth-right about everything, and she's one of the strongest and most honest female characters I have ever come across. She's very matter-of-fact about killing herself but is also very matter-of-fact about wanting to live when the chance encounter with a girl named Con changes everything. We don't hear much of Sam, but I couldn't help feeling for him because Marion was down-right cruel to him at some points during the audiobook despite the fact he's struggling as well with Hope's death. You would think the death of Hope would bring them together, but it just moves them further apart from each other. One of my favourite characters was Con, who's integral to the plot and who becomes something of a friend to Marion after they meet after a strange encounter. Con was very mysterious but I loved her nonetheless, despite everything we learn about her.

The Runaway Wife was narrated by Jane Collingwood who did a fantastic job of portraying the entire story. I particularly liked the fact that she narrated Con with her very own accent which was completely different to how the rest of the novel was narrated.