Imperfect Women

To describe ‘Imperfect Women’ as a murder mystery or a psychological thriller is to miss the heart of this novel.  It is a thought-provoking and absorbing study of female friendship, forged at university and still strong decades later.
Nancy, Eleanor and Mary lead very different lives.  Araminta Hall suggests that they should not have much in common, so different are their careers (or lack of), their domestic lives and their concerns.  However, their emotional connection is complicated and intense, developed over many years, and they appear utterly devoted to each other.  When one of them is murdered, the other two feel adrift.  The death forces them both to look closely at their own behaviour, and that of the dead woman they mourn.
Hall is particularly successful at building the women’s interior lives, helped by structuring her story so that the opening third is narrated by Nancy, followed by Eleanor and, finally, Mary.  All of these characters are ‘imperfect’ and all the better for being so.  Whilst the reader may not recognise anyone in their life who is similar, it’s likely that we all have friends whom we love dearly, warts and all!  Her use of dialogue is realistic; witty, occasionally cruel, sometimes wise and honest.  The business of everyday life is mixed seamlessly into the mystery of the murder and it’s easy to picture the various different settings – from the graveyard to the bonfire party, the overheated flat to the elegant dining room.
At the end of the novel Mary muses that ‘…for maybe the first time ever, that they knew each other so completely they didn’t have to pretend they’d got it right.  They didn’t have to lament the people they never became or wonder at what might have been.  They understood the words each other said, and knew each other’s stories.  Their strengths lay in their weaknesses…’  Wise words.  Through her central characters, Hall makes the case for acknowledging the fallibilities and shortcomings of our friends and loving them nevertheless.
My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

“Big little lies meets Expectation”  they said. They were not wrong! That perfectly sums this book up. The trio of strong, likeable but flawed women, one of whom is found dead, are Nancy, Mary and Ellie. True story is told from each of their point of views, as we gradually uncover the mystery killer and the secrets in all of their lives. 
A page turner from the very get go and the pace doesn’t drop off throughout.  Female friendship and murder. What more do you need!

i so enjoyed this book . Nancy and Eleanor meet up for a meal . Robert rings Eleanor to ask if his wife is with her she never came home ,Nancy is found dead murdered .there other friend Mary is devastated but how this story comes together is just so good .Eleanor and Mary do there own investigation in to there friends murder is so recommend

Imperfect Women was extremely engaging, a character driven friendhip drama with an intriguingly unpredictable mystery element. 

Three women, an intertwined story of friendship and betrayal - Araminta Hall writes realistically flawed female characters with deep insight and an ability to create a bond between them and the reader that is really excellent. 

Nancy, Mary and Ellie have been friends since college, the bond between them firmly held even as life pulls them apart. Then Nancy dies...But what lead up to this tragic event and how will it affect those she left behind.

That's the main premise and whilst the mystery of what exactly happened to Nancy gives it an added edginess that digs deep the appeal here is strongly within the personal discoveries of Ellie and Mary as they reassess everything they knew not just about each other but about themselves. 

It is utterly riveting, a page turner of a read that offers up much to contemplate as you hear from all three of these friends and discover all the good and the bad that makes them who they are. 

Excellent. Very much recommended.