The Headmasters Wife by Thomas Christopher Green

The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Arthur Winthrop is a middle-aged headmaster at an elite prep school in Vermont. When he is arrested for an act that is incredibly out of character, the strait-laced, married headmaster confesses to a much more serious crime.

Arthur reveals that he has had a passionate affair with a scholarship student called Betsy Pappas. But Betsy is a fickle and precocious teenager. When she switches her attentions to a classmate, Arthur's passion for Betsy turns, by degrees, into something far darker. Now Arthur must tell the truth about what happened to Betsy. But can Arthur's version of events be trusted - or is the reality much more complex and unnerving?

The Headmasters Wife, for me was a relatively quick read and bein under 300 pages. Saying that I couldn't believe the journey I had been on with the book, the author managed to really pack everything into those pages, if felt a lot longer and at the same time it whizzed by.

This story is told through th perspective of Arthur for at least half of the story, personally this was the part of the story I enjoyed a lot more. I felt it was action packed and had very good pace. The reader learns about how he got himself into the situation where he is caught walking through the snow naked.

The story was beautiful and cleverly written. The reader can clearly slip in and out of thoughts with Arthur and vividly see yourself in the same room, along with the police who are questioning him. You start to feel like you are judging Arthur at times and question the truth.

As I was reading this I kept wondering why the story was called The Headmaster s Wife when we hadn't even been introduced to her! This makes your mind go wandering, wondering how she is going to make an appearance and why. During the second half of the story all becomes clear, I found this a story of constant twists and turns. At times I was a little unsure of the genre of this book as it seems to cross into a few. I think this would appeal to a large audience.

Personally I didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much as the first. It felt like I was reading two separate stories. I also was a little disappointed with the ending of the story, I felt it could have ended a lot better, it seemed like such an anticlimax.

Due to the pure enjoyment and pace of the first half I have given the story 4 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.