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Intelligent, vibrant and subtle, Something to Hide is another masterpiece from the author of These Foolish Things (better known as The Best, Exotic Marigold Hotel).

 

About the Book

London: Facing late middle age alone, Petra unexpectedly falls in love the man married to her oldest friend. Texas: Army wife and mother Lorrie is scammed out of their life savings and takes desperate action to earn it back. China: Inscrutable business man Wang Lei and his wife discover they are barren. Wang Lei’s decision will have implications for Lorrie, but it’s Petra’s love for her friend’s husband that will change the fate of all these people and draw them to West Africa, where everyone has something to hide.

My Thoughts

Something to Hide is predominately Petra’s story. Indeed it is her actions that draw Lorrie, Wang Lei and his wife to West Africa. Petra is bitterly lonely but very self-aware and not above a few jibes at herself, a characteristic that helps you warm to her and her acerbic wit. Moggarch has the ability to paint complex people with a few strokes of ink and a breezy in-confidence voice that makes you care about all of them—even the potentially unlikeable ones. The prologue is alive with the culture of West Africa and gives a vivid picture of her town, Oreya. Yet this opening does more than set up the novel: it was only after I finished reading that I realised the themes introduced here are the roots of the stories related by Lorrie, Petra and Wang Lei.

I’ve been a huge fan of Deborah Moggarch since I saw her at Adelaide Writers Week more than a decade ago, and I was thrilled to rediscover her talent in this wonderful novel. Moggarch’s writing is seemingly effortless. Something to Hide is witty, clever and evocative in a way that draws you in a keeps you there. Packed with insights and relatable observations, there is plenty to keep you turning pages, including a couple of surprising revelations. This isn’t a novel to rush, but you won’t want to put it down. If you enjoy tales of life and relationships with a bit of mystery woven through the narrative, you’ll love Something to Hide.

*Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for the DRC.

About the Author

Deborah Moggach is a British writer, born Deborah Hough on 28 June 1948. She has written fifteen novels to date, including The Ex-Wives, Tulip Fever, and, most recently, These Foolish Things. She has adapted many of her novels as TV dramas and has also written several film scripts, including the BAFTA-nominated screenplay for Pride & Prejudice. She has also written two collections of short stories and a stage play. In February 2005, Moggach was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by her Alma Mater, the University of Bristol . She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a former Chair of the Society of Authors, and is on the executive committee of PEN.

 

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