My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A very absorbing book that is set in a small English town called Dowerby which is known for its annual fair. The story is centered around Maura, mother to Rosie and wife to Nick. She is a very quiet person who does not really have many friends simply because she is more comfortable being alone. Her husband Nick heads the committee that organizes the annual town fair. The fair is probably the most important event for the town as it brings a lot of tourists in the area. The highlight of the fair is a ducking tank which Dowerby inhabitants feel makes their town famous. Nick is also not a very nice person to his wife. His temper can be very unpredictable and there are many occasions when he hit his wife.
Kim is a reporter who has been assigned to cover the Dowerby news. Being an outsider to Dowerby is not easy. The people of the town do not like newcomers. It is a very small town where everyone knows everybody else and it is next to impossible to keep anything hidden from others. Maura and Kim become friends and they find out that they get along very well. Kim even helps Maura get a job in the town's newspaper office. Kim gets herself caught up in a scandal. Things get out of control and she dies. Maura blames herself. She believes that it was her fault that Kim died and she actually killed her friend.
The story alternates between Maura hiding from her past in London and the Maura that lived in Dowerby. Maura's character is typical of most abused wives. She is weak-willed and is unable to do much against Nick. Nick is the typical abuser who will turn violent one moment and then either apologize the next day or turn things around to make his wife feel that it is her fault that he lost his temper. There is also the typical small town or village theme, where the attitudes are mostly patriarchal would not like to intervene in a "domestic situation" and will actually put the blame on the wife for not making things work and goading the husband.
I found myself unable to put the book down until the very last page. Bea Davenport is able to shed some light on how domestic violence may look like to the people who are living in that situation. She is also able to highlight different views regarding relationships.
In Too Deep is a good book and I will definitely be on the look out for more of Bea Davenport's works.
View all my reviews