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My love for the Victorian Era naturally draws me to book titles like "The Mortician's Wife." And once I read the synopsis, I thought it was right up my alley. But Jody Wenner's novel left me wanting a more in-depth storyline, characters and detailed setting.
The story in starts in 1912, and Wenner introduces Beatrice Westmoreland, whose husband owns a funeral parlor at the beginning of the industry. As expected, I was drawn to her lifestyle and story because of the time period and liked Wenner's shift in wording to make it seem more akin to that time period.
When the story shifts to Maddy Barton in modern times, it's a blatant change in writing style, but not in a good way, especially when it comes to the dialogue between her and her husband Tim. The relationship between the two was so stale, awkward at times and questionable to the point where I was expecting him to be a villain in the end. But he wasn't. Maddy and Tim move into the house that used to be Beatrice's funeral parlor after moving across the country for a job opportunity. While Tim travels for his architecture career, Maddy puts together the house and works on writing her first novel. After stumbling across letters written by Beatrice, Maddy founds the inspiration for her aspiring novel.
Wenner goes back and forth narrating the lives of the two women and their struggles; Maddy thinks the house is haunted and there are rumors about a murder that took place in her house. Beatrice and her husband are struggling to keep their business afloat while her brother-in-law raises her suspicions with his odd behavior. While the characters had potential, they came across as one-sided and underdeveloped.
A couple of twists made the story more engaging, but they weren't satisfying enough to keep an interesting narrative. Although there were some things I wish Wenner had done differently, "The Mortician's Wife" would be well suited to someone wanting to dabble in Victorian Era stories with a dual timeline.
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.