The Loving Husband

Swirling snow across the Fens, only adds to the chill factor already present in this well-crafted psychological thriller from Christobel Kent. In just a few pages, I found myself truly hooked.

Fran and Nathan Hall live with their two children in a fairly rundown farmhouse on the edge of the British Fenlands. Surrounding them is a damp, flat landscape with big wide skies.  In the summer, the Fens may appear an idyllic location, except it is bleak, isolated, and an unforgiving place in the dead of winter.

One February night, Fran wakes up to the sound of her baby crying, only to find Nathan's side of the bed empty. Finding no sign of him in the house, and with mounting panic, her search takes her out into the cold dark night, where she makes a devastating discovery. The discovery puts Fran under police scrutiny. During the investigation there will be secrets and lies revealed that have the power to make Fran question how much she really knew about Nathan; the eponymous loving husband. Kent’s novel makes one think and ask the question “doesn't everyone have secrets - including Fran?”

The characters are well developed, with the narrative suffused with an air of menace and an all-pervading sense of doom that stalked every page. As for the storyline, the word that comes to mind is “magnetic”, for it drew me back, every time I put it down.

This was my first encounter with Christobel Kent; and after this work, it won't be my last!