An Inconvenient Woman

By: Stéphanie Buelens

Narrated by: Erica Sullivan

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this debut psychological thriller, two women on opposite sides of the law delve into the heart of a years-old crime in order to stop a future one.

Claire Fontaine is convinced that her ex-husband killed their teenage daughter all those years back and believes he’s capable of killing again. When she sees him move in with another woman, to play stepfather for a girl the same age as the one she lost, Claire tries desperately to warn the new bride of the danger her family is in. But when the woman dismisses her admonishments, she feels she must take matters into her own hands and stop the crime she failed to stop before.

Sloane Wilson left the LAPD to work as a “sin eater”, a contractor for hire who specializes in cleaning up inconvenient situations - situations which, for whatever reason, are better handled outside the law. Like, for example, an ex-wife who stalks her former husband, throws paint on his door, and makes vague, violent threats to his new wife. A domestic dispute like that can get messy when the cops are called; plus, there is a risk that their presence will aggravate the woman in question.

As Sloane investigates her newest mission, however, she finds that there is more to it than meets the eye, uncovering a history of trauma that casts aspersions on the stories of both Claire and Sloane’s client. In a case where objective truth is increasingly muddled by passions, suspicions, and fears, she soon loses the ability to distinguish fact from fiction. But Sloane knows one thing for certain: Sometimes the only way to prevent a crime is by committing one.

©2019 Stéphanie Buelens (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Lots of subplots, twists and turns

You might think you are starting to figure out the end, but you are likely wrong. The ending is like the feeling you have after watching a boil get bigger and hotter and more painful. There may or may not be a lance somewhere on the table. Enjoy the tension.

Conveniently Pass on This One!

I recommend taking a "convenient pass" on AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN. Although I almost always enjoy books with unreliable narrators and husbands with questionable motives, this book lacked what it takes to earn a 5-star review from me. To the author's credit, the book was fast-paced and short and I was able to finish the book in one day. I listened to the book in its entirety because I kept on hoping that the book would get better but it did not. The book's characters were superficial and the book's plot was mediocre, unremarkable, and borderline predictable. The book featured many characters and would have benefitted from fewer characters with more robust character development. Although the book's narrator did a fine job, this book would have been a much more enjoyable listening experience if two narrators were used since the book was told from the alternating POVs of the ex-wife Claire and the "sin eater" hired by ex-husband Simon. Perhaps my expectations were set too high by the book's description, but this book just did not do it for me. Soooo disappointed!

Redundant waste of time

This book was out of ideas after the first two paragraphs. I didn’t like or care about the main character or any of the supporting charterers. Character development isn’t necessary because the outcome of the ‘good’ guys is so transparent it’s ridiculous. Spoiler alert if you are brain dead - I finally fast forward to the end just in case it wasn’t the person the author has been leading us to believe the entire book. There was never any chance that was going to happen. This would make a great lifetime movie.