Recipe for a Perfect Wife

A Novel

By: Karma Brown

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie, Mozhan Marnò

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

In this captivating dual narrative novel, a modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a quintessential 1950s housewife. As she discovers remarkable parallels between this woman’s life and her own, it causes her to question the foundation of her own relationship with her husband - and what it means to be a wife fighting for her place in a patriarchal society.

When Alice Hale leaves a career in publicity to become a writer and follows her husband to the New York suburbs, she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big, empty house. But when she finds a vintage cookbook buried in a box in the old home's basement, she becomes captivated by the cookbook’s previous owner - 1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past, she realizes that within the cookbook’s pages, Nellie left clues about her life - including a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to her mother.

Soon, Alice learns that while baked Alaska and meatloaf five ways may seem harmless, Nellie's secrets may have been anything but. When Alice uncovers a more sinister - even dangerous - side to Nellie’s marriage, and has become increasingly dissatisfied with the mounting pressures in her own relationship, she begins to take control of her life and protect herself with a few secrets of her own.

©2020 Karma Brown (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[Brown] excels at bringing the complexities of women’s lives to the page, and her latest novel questions how much has really changed for women over the last 60 years. The pacing is brisk, the characters are appealing, and both time lines are equally well realized. Thoughtful, clever, and surprisingly dark." (Booklist)

"Brown skillfully alternates between Alice's modern world and Nellie's in the 1950s. With plentiful historical details (including recipes and depressingly hilarious marriage advice), the pages devoted to Nellie come to life.... An engaging and suspenseful look at how the patriarchy shaped women's lives in the 1950s and continues to do so today." (Kirkus)

“A powerful, thought-provoking story about the choices that ultimately come to define and liberate two women who lived 60 years apart.” (Shelf Awareness)

Compelling and binge worthy

I binged this audiobook. It was an interesting story and I enjoyed the back and forth between time periods. I’d say at times it was predictable but had enough interest and suspense to keep you going.

Great story!

Love the two different stories in different time periods. They coincided well and each came to a nice end.

Unique and interesting

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about the lives and striking comparisons of two women. The performance was outstanding as they vividly represented each character. The only disappointment was the ending. It was a bit abrupt and left me in midair!

So So

There are two separate stories here, only one of them is good. The author does not make Alice a very likable character.

She does it again...

Karma Brown does it again...entertaining, full of ups and downs and twists. She really made me care about the two main characters, Nellie and Allie and become completely invested in this story. Karma Brown cannot write quickly enough for me, each of her books are a gem on my shelves!
The audible version is fantastic!

loved it

really liked the narrator, loved the story.
I would love to see it turned into a movie.

Bravo!

I loved the combinations of two stories and the retro recipes and fashion tips! Was totally into this audiobook and hated leaving the car to run errands. Fabulous!

Not worth sticking to the end.

Needs to be removed from Mystery/Thriller category - it is neither. The premise was interesting and kept my interest until about half-way through, still waiting for a 'mystery'. Too many unimportant details made it drag. The ending was uneventful as if it just slid off the last page.

Enjoyed book

I really enjoyed this book. It took a look at housewives in the 1950’s and present times. I loved the women characters and felt for them through the ups and downs of married life.

Easy Read

storyline was different but predictable.
characters were a tab boring.
the end of story... uneventful