The Other Mistress by Shanora Williams

 

Shanora Williams is an auto-buy author for me. I love her female antiheroes and how all of her thrillers end up being self-referential. It's like an MCU of high-functioning borderline sociopathic women. THE OTHER WOMAN feels like more of a thriller-thriller than the two other books of hers I've read. It's about a woman named Adira, who is a girl boss and entrepreneur, with everything she could possibly want at the tips of her manicured fingertips, including a handsome husband.

Until she finds out that said husband is cheating on her with not one, but two mistresses. The first one, Jocelyn, ends up offering to help Adira spy on the third mistress, Julianna, to gather enough intel to break them apart and drive her away. Adira reluctantly goes along with this plan but inside, she's wondering: why would Jocelyn help her? They're strangers? And the reader is wondering: why is Adira so determined to hold on to a man who doesn't want her?

I guessed the twist in this book from the very beginning but I thought the author did a really good job carrying it out. That said, it definitely took some of the suspense out of the book for me. As with other books by Williams, the characterization is top-notch. She's really good at writing women who are dramatic hot messes, who are terrifying but relatable (which makes them more terrifying still). There's also usually some well-placed cynical humor that keep the books from being too dark. THE OTHER MISTRESS is probably her darkest book, yet, though. There are major triggers for child abuse and CSA. Read cautiously.

3 out of 5 stars