Revenge, Unlike Curry, Is a Dish Best Served Cold

This is the story of the friendship between 2 very different women. Both have secrets in their past that they hide at all costs. Charlotte comes from a poor background and married a successful businessman. They have lived all over the world, mainly in Asia and the US. Their oldest sons are away at boarding school and the youngest 2 made friends with Luke and Jamie, the children of single mum Susannah. She’s from a middle-class background and is recently divorced from a man that went bankrupt. She moved from London to this village and she’s poor now. Eventually, she finds a job in the tennis club where she’s introduced by Charlotte’s very friendly husband Dan.



I could sense what was coming from the first meeting between Dan and Susannah. But man, is she stupid or what? He’s grooming her from the start with the oldest tricks in the book. She’s delusional in her attachments to the men in her life. Not only that he doesn’t make her promises whatsoever, but she builds a whole imaginary future on him. Yes, as if the wife will let that happen...

I couldn’t relate to anyone in this book, apart from the children. Both women are selfish and very materialistic. Dan is the typical adulterer who tries to blame his wife for his philandering.

There’s something iffy about this friendship from the start. What exactly, you’ll only find out at the very end. But there are subtle hints hidden all over. Charlotte’s chapters are written as if it’s a letter to Susannah. Most important in this kind of books: never assume that the narrator is reliable!

The introduction is very long and slow. The book is over half-way before something important happens. I almost gave up. Luckily, the second part is more fast-paced and offers twists and surprises galore. I find it very difficult to rate this book. The first half gets no more than a 3, but the second a 4,5. A 4minus be it.

I thank Harper Collins, One More Chapter who invited me to read this title and sent a free ARC through Netgalley; this is my honest and unbiased review.