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Till Death Do Us Part: A Suspenseful, Contemporary Romance
316 pages, Paperback
Published October 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 10, 2025
Maria Clarizio’s Till Death Do Us Part begins by threading mystery and romance through a prologue that sets the tone for the novel. The central focus is Rosie Kowalski, whose past is skillfully revealed in a Fiction Writing Class. This class serves as a clever narrative device, allowing Rosie’s memories to surface naturally. Her past experiences are distinguished in italics, creating a clear contrast with the present-day narrative. Subtle hints in the prologue suggest an intimate connection between Rosie and her instructor, while a promise Rosie makes—that her writing will finally contain conflict resolution—is woven into the story’s fabric, providing readers with a sense of direction even as new complications emerge.
As the novel moves into Part One (the first of three and thirty-nine chapters), Rosie prepares to spend the summer alone at her family’s condo in Anglesea on the Jersey Shore. Her personal narrative is always intertwined with the Fiction Writing Class stories, and readers gradually see how the college romance of “She and He” transforms into Rosie’s marriage to Rob, blurring the line between fiction and lived experience. The intertextuality throughout helps anchor the reader.
Details from Rosie’s life, such as her ability to fix brakes learned at her father’s garage, highlight her competence and independence even as the toxic relationship in her writing grows increasingly disturbing. The reader wants to shout, “Get away from Him, Her!” as the fictional and real threads tighten. Initially, Rosie identifies the people she meets by physical observation, “Blue Eyes” or “Tattoo,” but her deeper assessments go beyond appearances. Shaped by her career as a high school English teacher, Rosie’s judgments reflect her literary lens; she evaluates others much like she teaches her students to analyze characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, distinguishing round, multi-faceted individuals from flat, one-dimensional ones.
Even as COVID lingers, the novel emphasizes a gradual, intimate unveiling of self and others. A seemingly small request, “Can you pull your mask down for a moment?” from “Blue Eyes” becomes more than a comparison to Marisa Tomei; it marks the true beginning of the story. Throughout, the narrative drops clues, such as Rosie’s wistful wish, “I wish I could call Sadie,” threading mystery and anticipation that pull the reader forward.
Rosie’s physical details, like in any first-person narrative, are woven in naturally: the movie-star comparison, the long curly hair revealed when she removes her beloved New York Yankees cap, and the subtle mention that she needs to gain weight. When “Blue Eyes” is finally revealed as Tanner—a college English professor, widower, and part-time summer security guard at the condo complex—their connection deepens through wordplay. Lovers of language will appreciate their banter: “‘Starving or hungry?’ Tanner asks. Connotation is everything. ‘Hungry, smartie,’ I tease. ‘Smartie or genius?’ he pushes again.”
Like any good romance, theirs unfolds in food. Enjoying local restaurants, shared cooking, familiar places newly rediscovered together, and even the anticipation of a barbecue festival. Yet the narrative never follows a straight seam. Emotional pain pulses. Through both the Fiction Writing Class and the narrative, the reader senses something unresolved about her divorce from Rob. A former therapist’s advice to “find happiness,” a band-aid for a deep heart wound, contrasts with the local therapist’s firmer directive to “find balance.”
Rosie’s final breakdown, “I close my eyes and let the water untether me from the weight of my pain,” culminates in a harrowing moment when she is saved from the Atlantic’s pull. Her final Fiction Writing pieces reveal the truth about her marriage to Rob. Without giving away spoilers, the suspense is crafted with just the right blend of innuendo and ambiguity to satisfy.
Threads do remain loose. Till Death Do Us Part leaves many of them intentionally so. But turn the tapestry over and what emerges is the richly layered portrait of a woman struggling to reconcile her life, one strand at a time.
As the novel moves into Part One (the first of three and thirty-nine chapters), Rosie prepares to spend the summer alone at her family’s condo in Anglesea on the Jersey Shore. Her personal narrative is always intertwined with the Fiction Writing Class stories, and readers gradually see how the college romance of “She and He” transforms into Rosie’s marriage to Rob, blurring the line between fiction and lived experience. The intertextuality throughout helps anchor the reader.
Details from Rosie’s life, such as her ability to fix brakes learned at her father’s garage, highlight her competence and independence even as the toxic relationship in her writing grows increasingly disturbing. The reader wants to shout, “Get away from Him, Her!” as the fictional and real threads tighten. Initially, Rosie identifies the people she meets by physical observation, “Blue Eyes” or “Tattoo,” but her deeper assessments go beyond appearances. Shaped by her career as a high school English teacher, Rosie’s judgments reflect her literary lens; she evaluates others much like she teaches her students to analyze characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, distinguishing round, multi-faceted individuals from flat, one-dimensional ones.
Even as COVID lingers, the novel emphasizes a gradual, intimate unveiling of self and others. A seemingly small request, “Can you pull your mask down for a moment?” from “Blue Eyes” becomes more than a comparison to Marisa Tomei; it marks the true beginning of the story. Throughout, the narrative drops clues, such as Rosie’s wistful wish, “I wish I could call Sadie,” threading mystery and anticipation that pull the reader forward.
Rosie’s physical details, like in any first-person narrative, are woven in naturally: the movie-star comparison, the long curly hair revealed when she removes her beloved New York Yankees cap, and the subtle mention that she needs to gain weight. When “Blue Eyes” is finally revealed as Tanner—a college English professor, widower, and part-time summer security guard at the condo complex—their connection deepens through wordplay. Lovers of language will appreciate their banter: “‘Starving or hungry?’ Tanner asks. Connotation is everything. ‘Hungry, smartie,’ I tease. ‘Smartie or genius?’ he pushes again.”
Like any good romance, theirs unfolds in food. Enjoying local restaurants, shared cooking, familiar places newly rediscovered together, and even the anticipation of a barbecue festival. Yet the narrative never follows a straight seam. Emotional pain pulses. Through both the Fiction Writing Class and the narrative, the reader senses something unresolved about her divorce from Rob. A former therapist’s advice to “find happiness,” a band-aid for a deep heart wound, contrasts with the local therapist’s firmer directive to “find balance.”
Rosie’s final breakdown, “I close my eyes and let the water untether me from the weight of my pain,” culminates in a harrowing moment when she is saved from the Atlantic’s pull. Her final Fiction Writing pieces reveal the truth about her marriage to Rob. Without giving away spoilers, the suspense is crafted with just the right blend of innuendo and ambiguity to satisfy.
Threads do remain loose. Till Death Do Us Part leaves many of them intentionally so. But turn the tapestry over and what emerges is the richly layered portrait of a woman struggling to reconcile her life, one strand at a time.
December 6, 2025
The author of this book is a wonderful teacher and when I heard that she wrote a book I had to go and buy it. This book was a rollercoaster of emotion. It had a somewhat slow start to it so I did have a hard time reading it and this is her first ever book but overall I thought it was a pretty good read. In a lot of parts it had a little bit of over and under descriptive writing but other than that I thought it was good for her first ever time writing . It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to even start a book let alone finish and publish one. I'm so proud of you for accomplishing this major milestone in your life and I wish you the best when you officially retire after this year. I hope in the duration of that time you can write another book and experiment with different writing styles and stories as well. And if it does turn out to be anything historical, I'll make sure to put aside my dislike for that genre and give it a chance because if it turns out to be as great as the writer i'd greatly enjoy reading it even if it does take awhile to get to the good parts.
Love, Kaely Soto
Love, Kaely Soto
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews