THE WIFE'S TALE (Lori Lansens) - March 18/10

Though extremely chick-flick-esque, The Wife's Tale is a vivid and consistently readable story about an obese 40-something woman who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after her husband vanishes. Lansens overwhelms the reader with flashbacks within the first 100 pages, admittedly, but once Mary Gooch heads out to California, the story adopts an episodic feel and becomes quite engaging. *** out of ****