By Robyn Rossit
Content Warning: child abuse, death of a parent, assisted suicide
Linden MacIntyre’s drama, The Winter Wives, tells the story of college friends Byron and Allan. While they became lifelong friends, they could not be more different. Allan is a star football player who is well travelled and chasing his dreams of being financially successful, whereas Byron is a quiet man who, after graduating, opted to practice law in his small town so that he could take care of his mother who has Alzheimer's. The two marry the Winter sisters—Peggy and Annie. Years later, a night of drinking reveals that Byron loved Peggy first, and he ended up settling with Annie when they were young. The next morning, Allan suffers a stroke on the golf course, and the empire he has built starts to come crashing down little by little. Built on the drug trade and other lies, Byron must make sense of not only Allan's shady business and his relationship with the Winter sisters but also his own life.
While the premise of the book sounded very exciting, The Winter Wives, unfortunately, fell a bit flat for me. While Byron was a likeable enough character, I didn't find myself that invested in his story. I did, however, enjoy his interactions with the Winter sisters, particularly his memories of his younger years with Peggy. While the book did lose me a bit in the middle, I found the conclusion of Byron's story satisfying.
I really loved the setting of the book—set in both small-town Nova Scotia, and at times, in Toronto. There is just something about stories set in Canada that feels so special to me. I always have an easier time imagining the setting, even if it is set in a place I haven't travelled to yet. My desire to travel to the east coast has increased after reading The Winter Wives.
While The Winter Wives wasn't a book that was for me, I do think there is an audience for it. It is a slow burn with characters, all very much flawed in their own way, untangling the shady business they have become part of. I just don't think I would classify it as a psychological thriller as it was marketed. In doing research for this review, I learned that Linden MacIntyre is a retired journalist, and based on his way with words, that is very clear. While I didn't connect with the story, it was very well written.