Imperfect Women is about three women who meet at University -their lived are told in their three separate stories

Eleanor - single career woman
Nancy - pretty - bored housewife
Mary - overwhelmed - down trodden wife & mother

Each section reveals more about their lives - relationships & inner feelings

The thread of the book runs through an affair one of the women is having. The effects of which are slowly & subtly revealed.

Even though in places is does seem to meander a bit - it was a very good read & I would recommend this book

Imperfect Women was a brilliant, thought provoking read.
It starts with Eleanor's narrative, then we read Nancy's and finally Mary's, three different versions of the same story. There are snippets of the past so we understand why their relationship is so strong and realistic. The three women know and love each other, flaws and all. But when Nancy dies things come to light that test their deep and enduring friendship.
The three stories all connect well and create a thoroughly gripping read.

This was written extremely well and parts really resonated with me. The characters were all vivid and authentic, I found Eleanor irritating at times but not enough to ruin the story!

I guessed the reveals but it was a very enjoyable journey getting there!

4.5⭐

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

Eleanor, Nancy and Mary have been friends since University. This book is about love, friendship, betrayal, death, loyalty, grief, understanding, justice, feminism, patriarchy and so much more.

My least favourite section was Eleanor's, which is the reason I didn't give 5⭐, but I think that's because it was the first one and we didn't know what had happened to Nancy; it was setting the scene. The book had a wonderful depth that I had not anticipated.

I had many favourite quotes from this book, but the one that really resonated was:
"Maybe death is simply an act of equality."

Kindle and hardback both available now.

This book had been causing quite a buzz before I got a chance to read it and I was concerned it might be overhyped. But it really does live up to the publishing PR. It’s a refreshing take on female friendship with central characters older than we normally hear about, and who still feel passion, guilt and all the other emotions often reserved for thirty-something protagonists. I hope to see this adapted for TV or film very soon.

Nancy, Eleanor and Mary have been best friends since college and have weathered a few storms along the way until Nancy is murdered. Now the two remaining friends are about to learn that things are not what they seemed and secrets are set to be revealed.

This was an interesting read and an insight into the lives of three women leading different lives but finding ways to be friends. The plot is quite slow but steady at the same time, building to an ending that sums the story up well. This isn't the happiest of stories but the ending has lots of hope. The characters are all different and have many flaws but there's something relatable about each one. The writing is good and I enjoyed tge story. I like the change of pov so you experience each friend's life. A good read.

Imperfect Women is a slow moving tale of three university.friends, struggling with middle age and domestic angst until one of them ends up dead. I was a bit disappointed with this novel, did not like the characters and found the pace too slow. Three stars.

Imperfect Woman is a dark, intense and gripping read which I really enjoyed.

The book follows three women who met at University through their lives and the challenges that they face. All three seem very realistic characters which makes them really relatable and I quickly found myself warming to each of them. The reader gets a fly on the wall glimpse into their lives, marriage and the everyday problems they face.

The most interesting part of the book for me was seeing the interesting dynamics between the three women and how they change throughout the years. I liked how the different layers of the women were gradually peeked back so we could see them at their rawest, most intimate self. Even though the three woman have known each other for years, it was interesting to see how they still didn’t know completely what was going on in each others lives. A timely reminder that in this busy world we need to take more of an interest in what is happening in our friends lives.

The story is told from each woman’s perspective in turn which I found very interesting and meant that we got to know each of the woman really well. The murder mystery side of the story, although quite gripping, isn’t the main focus of the story and I was surprised that no police were mentioned in the story though I think adding them would have created a completely different story.

Overall I really enjoyed this intriguing story and felt sad to leave the woman behind. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Huge thanks to Francesca from Orion for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

While the linking theme of this book is a murder, it is really a book exploring the friendship between three women. Told in three parts, from the voices and perspective of the three friends who have been friends since university nearly thirty years ago. It is well written with many insights into relationships between friends and couples. While I guessed at the the protagonist fairly early on, it nevertheless did not deter me from staying with the story. A really good read.

Imperfect Women is about three women who have been friends since university: Eleanor, Nancy and Mary. They have been through a lot together but in the last year they have grown apart slightly.
The three women live very different lives but Nancy’s life is seemingly perfect. At least it is on the surface.
When Nancy turns up dead her friends find themselves examining not just her life but their own in the search for her killer.
Imperfect Women is not just a book about a murder. It is about the dynamics that exist in friendships and also about the ways in which life is unfairly balanced to favour men. This final aspect is a suggestion I struggled with as I don’t think the situation is as bad for women as this book portrays, that is not to say though that I think it isn’t this bad for some women. I don’t agree that women’s lot in life is so bleak.
Imperfect Women is written in split narrative form divided between the three friends and this is one of the things that works well in the novel.
Let’s take a moment to talk about the characters. If you struggle to get into books where the characters are not likeable people, then this isn’t the book for you. The women were selfish, self-centred or simply weak. The men were intolerable and definitely not endearing. Having said this I still wanted to know what happened.
On balance I enjoyed reading the book but can’t claim to have loved it as it felt like a bit of a struggle at times.

I loved this mix of women's fiction and mystery. It's gripping and enjoyable, an intriguing story that kept me hooked.
The storytelling and the character development are excellent, the mystery part is well developed and kept me guessing.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I really struggled to get into this book. About halfway through I was still unconvinced about the storyline and how it was going with Nancy having an affair with one of her best friends husband. I wouldn't call it a thriller, maybe more of a domestic fiction? It didn't grip me like a thriller, I struggled to keep reading in all honesty.

A big book full of good and striking characters and friendships that go wrong. Very twisty and you just know a novel about three women is going to involve dark secrets, betrayal and jealousy,.

Lots of mystery and the bond between the women unravels nicely like a noose around your neck that loosens but then tightens and then loosens again. That;s what it felt like readingit. Dark and depressing in parts but then the lighter twists and insights came.

Intense and compelling

Ever since reading Araminta Hall’s previous novel Our Kind of Cruelty, which I thought was a perfect psychological thriller, I’ve been eagerly awaiting her next offering. Here it is, Imperfect Women, a novel told from the viewpoints of its three protaganists: Eleanor, Mary and Nancy, our imperfect women.

The three women, best friends since University, are now fully grown adults with, between them, a variety of husbands, children and careers. While they’ve found plenty of happiness: in their offspring, in love, in friendly neighbours, they’re also all experiencing a degree of dissatisfaction in their lives, in themselves and sometimes simply as a result of being women in a world that isn’t always kind to them.

As the novel opens, this dissatisfaction has lead to something deadly, with Nancy’s husband Robert and Eleanor both being informed by police in the early hours of the morning that Nancy has been murdered. What begins as an attempt to discover what happened to Nancy quickly spins out of control, leaving Eleanor and Mary questioning everything.

Of course, in true Hall style, the book is a pretty solid thriller. While I saw a couple of the early twists coming, I was still kept guessing as to the identity of the killer right up till the very end. For me though the core of the novel is less about the murder itself and much more about individual choice and what it means to be a good person. All the characters make mistakes over and over again and its the women naturally that Hall focuses on. How women now have more options than ever before but how the expectations and outcomes are still wildly different.

I like this attempt at a departure from a straightforward thriller but, for me, Imperfect Women didn’t quite achieve what I think Hall set out to do. I was certainly gripped from early on and I read through the book fast so it was, as anticipated, a twisty, readable thriller although nowhere near as affecting as Our Kind of Cruelty. My main complaint however lies in the characters. In a novel where the individual experience is so important it was difficult to find a character that was explored in enough depth to truly come alive for the reader. All the women seemed deeply concerned with their position as women in society to the point that it felt laboured. Often I felt that the explanations Hall used to drive home why the women would feel that their being a woman affected their lives at each point in the novel were unnecessary and that either the story and characterisation had already clarified that for me or it was an opinion I didn’t to form for myself. The three women didn’t seem to have the understanding or memories of each other that you’d anticipate in a long-standing friendship and, although, some of that divide is later explained away it still felt that much of their relationship wasn’t properly developed.

This is not a joyful book. It’s dark and quite depressing. Even the moments where you see couples in love or mothers and children together are undercut by this sense of foreboding, the knowledge that something terrible has or will happen. The imperfection of the title is brought up again and again, with problems left unresolved, terrible conversations never finished and apologies rarely delivered. It’s a hard thing to have to confront although it’s horribly, painfully realistic.

All that said, there’s an important little beacon of hope in there too. From the character of the neighbour Irena (her gift to Ellie is the high point of the novel and the only moment I think will stick with me), to Eleanor’s charitable work to Mary’s fierce love for her children, there are constant reminders of all the good that exists in the world alongside its harsher aspects. Despite my reservations I'd still recommend this novel. I’m a fan of Hall’s writing and if you’re looking for a nicely crafted, female led psychological thriller that keeps you guessing I’d recommend it.

Thank you to Orion and NetGalley for an advance copy of the novel in return for an honest review. Orion Publishing has kindly provided a little sampler with a chapter extract: https://bit.ly/IWSampler

A story about love, loss, life, family and betrayal. This a story about three friends and the events that unfold before and after one of them is murdered. There is a lot of suspense and a few twists all of which are well written.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I absolutely devoured this brilliant and clever psychological thriller from Hall.
This story is split between three imperfect women - Eleanor, Nancy and Mary - best friends since university whose lives have moved in different directions. Nancy is beautiful, wealthy, married to the handsome and successful Robert, living in a big house with another in the country, with everything a woman could want. Eleanor is single, doing charity work and spending time with her elderly neighbour. Mary is married to a spiteful man who shows her and their three children very little affection, but the most important thing to her are her beloved children. When Nancy is murdered, questions are raised about an affair she was having - was this a jilted lover or a jealous husband? As all three stories unfold, the puzzle pieces slowly come together and prove that there is far more to the story than we imagined.
I was completely engrossed from the very first page and was absolutely fascinated by the characters and their imperfections - Howard was one of the vilest and most manipulative male characters I’ve read in a long time and I loved to hate him.
The most wonderful part of this story for me though, were Hall’s insightful observations on what it’s like to be a woman, and specifically for me, a mother. I’ve never read anything more spot on that made me feel so understood, and I have highlighted so many sentences and paragraphs that I will return to again and again to remind myself that none of us are perfect. Absolutely loved this and I hope everyone does!

Imperfect Women is a fascinating story about the ties that bind, and the reality of life as a woman searching to find her place in the world. Nancy, Eleanor and Mary have been friends since college, and have shared the highs and lows of life. But when Nancy is murdered, life will never be the same for any of them.

Told from the perspective of each woman, we get to learn the intricacies of their lives, and the secrets they are all hiding. Nancy was trying to end an affair and save her own marriage. But her lover is refusing to accept it's over and without spoiling this plot for anyone, the identity of her lover will have consequences that would be devastating if it were to be revealed.

Eleanor has been in love with Robert for years, but he is Nancy's widower and when he turns to her in his grief, they embark on a relationship, that she knows is wrong, but that she craves so badly.

Mary is in an unhappy marriage and has been bullied and denigrated for many years by Howard. When he has a complete mental breakdown, she is forced to become his carer, and begins to see just how far she has come from who she used to be.

As the truth is revealed, each women, in her own way, realises that their efforts to be the perfect women were fruitless. There is no such thing as perfection. Only accepting that we are all flawed, and this makes us human. The conclusion is dark, but yet, so satisfying and this was a thoroughly enjoyable read that captivated me from the first chapter.

I'm in two minds to exactly how I feel about this one. I liked it. I just didn't love it. Bit there is definitely a lot to appreciate: the writing obviously, and the way the mystery was handled, but I didn't care that much for the characters. Though, at the end, I sort of felt maybe I'd missed something along the way. I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain.
It's not that they weren't well written or were unbelievable or anything, it's just the personal connection for me was a bit lacking throughout. You could feel their individuality though.
That aside, I still have to say that I kept wanting to see where it was all headed. The story was intriguing. It is a page turner. That's for sure.
I also think if you took your time with this book, you might even get more from it. It has that feel about it.
Maybe check out a few other reviews and see how you feel.
But for me, I'd say it's definitely worth giving a go.
The ending is good. And I think some will get more out of this than others.
3.5 stars, but I'll round it up to 4.

I loved this book, lots of twists and turns. I took me on an emotional roller-coaster. Some decisions I totally disagreed with, and wanted to tell her no. Great book.

I was expecting a thriller when I started reading Imperfect Women, but what it is is so much more. It's a tale into the lives of ordinary women who have gotten themselves into issues that any one of us could.
When Nancy is killed, her friends Eleanor and Mary wonder what happened to her, and Eleanor tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. As their lives unfold we are given glimpses into what could have happened, and how these three imperfect women's lives turned upside down.
It was slightly too introspective for me, but that didn't detract at all from the sad tale of what might have beens.
Thank you so much to Orion and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I previously read our kind of cruelty and hadn't actually realised this was by the same author. (Side note that book is brilliant!)

I'm sorry to say I was not taken by this book. I liked the idea of the 3 women and the messages the author brought regarding friendships and how women can be worn down but I found the referencing to greek mythology irritating. I also thought the "killer" and affair was obvious and found the ending so disappointing and ridiculous.

I just don't think it was for me but I can imagine many others will enjoy this type of story and the messages within.