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Timothy Trant #6
The Man with Two Wives
A chance meeting with an ex throws a man's current marriage into turmoil, from the author "in the very first line of detective-story writers" (Sphere).
On the surface, Bill Harding has landed on his feet. After failing as a writer and having his first wife desert him and their son, he remarried into a family of wealth and power. His "perfect" new wife is renowned for her charity work, and her father's publishing empire provides Bill with a job, a ritzy Manhattan apartment, and a glamorous lifestyle.
All is well until Bill runs into his beautiful ex. Though she's in a sorry state, Bill pushes the thought of her out of his mind. The last thing he expects is to see her again, but her sordid life soon creeps into his rarefied world, bringing with it murder.
Now, the more steps Bill takes to protect himself and his marriage, the more the truth is obscured. Bill's own shortcomings come to light, as well as the secrets of a dysfunctional family. With Det. Timothy Trant on the case, Bill must make a decision that could ruin everything--and strip away the lies that have engulfed them all . . .
"This is a fine mid-century detective novel, the essence of a page turning thriller, but one which neglects neither clueing nor characterization." --The Passing Tramp
"Svelte." --Kirkus Reviews
The basis for the 1967 Japanese film Tsuma Futari ("Two Wives"), directed by Yasuzo Masamura
On the surface, Bill Harding has landed on his feet. After failing as a writer and having his first wife desert him and their son, he remarried into a family of wealth and power. His "perfect" new wife is renowned for her charity work, and her father's publishing empire provides Bill with a job, a ritzy Manhattan apartment, and a glamorous lifestyle.
All is well until Bill runs into his beautiful ex. Though she's in a sorry state, Bill pushes the thought of her out of his mind. The last thing he expects is to see her again, but her sordid life soon creeps into his rarefied world, bringing with it murder.
Now, the more steps Bill takes to protect himself and his marriage, the more the truth is obscured. Bill's own shortcomings come to light, as well as the secrets of a dysfunctional family. With Det. Timothy Trant on the case, Bill must make a decision that could ruin everything--and strip away the lies that have engulfed them all . . .
"This is a fine mid-century detective novel, the essence of a page turning thriller, but one which neglects neither clueing nor characterization." --The Passing Tramp
"Svelte." --Kirkus Reviews
The basis for the 1967 Japanese film Tsuma Futari ("Two Wives"), directed by Yasuzo Masamura
191 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1955
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Quentin
128 books15 followersPatrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987), Richard Wilson Webb (August 1901 – December 1966), Martha Mott Kelley (30 April 1906–2005) and Mary Louise White Aswell (3 June 1902 – 24 December 1984) wrote detective fiction. In some foreign countries their books have been published under the variant Quentin Patrick. Most of the stories were written by Webb and Wheeler in collaboration, or by Wheeler alone. Their most famous creation is the amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.
AKA:
Πάτρικ Κουέντιν (Greek)
AKA:
Πάτρικ Κουέντιν (Greek)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 14, 2018
Bill Harding is happily married to tireless philanthropist Betsy Callingham, elder daughter of the magazine plutocrat C.J. Callingham. To be sure, Bill can't really stand his bullying father-in-law, who's also his boss, and Betsy's younger and much prettier sister Daphne, the apple of C.J.'s eye, makes Bill's teeth grate, but he loves Betsy as deeply as he does his son -- her stepson -- Rickie.
In fact, Bill hardly ever thinks back to the time when he was married to the beautiful but tempestuous Angelica, the time when he was well known as the author of one of the great novels to come out of World War II, the time before his creative juices dried up and Angelica suddenly ran out on him and Rickie and into the arms of a destitute bohemian . . .
But one day he sees Angelica on a Manhattan street corner and foolishly lets her back into his life. The next he knows, Angelica's latest lover, Jaimie, is romancing Daphne with an eye to a share of C.J.'s fortune, and Angelica has become sufficiently a part of Bill's existence to be caught grappling with him one night on the living-room couch by the hired help. Thanks to the interruption, the episode is truncated, and Bill resolves to confess all to Betsy.
Then Jaimie's found murdered and C.J. constructs a cockamamie alibi to keep Daphne's name out of the police investigation -- an alibi that involves bribing the household help to swear that Daphne was chastely playing board games with her brother-in-law at the time the murder was committed. Trouble is, that destroys Angelica's alibi -- that she was on the verge of being seriously indiscreet with Bill at the fatal hour -- and the NYPD's perspicacious Inspector Trant soon focuses on Angelica as the prime suspect . . .
Patrick Quentin (Hugh Wheeler in collaboration with various others) has always been one of my very favorite mystery writers, and it's far too long since last I read anything by him. Deciding to renew my acquaintance, I deliberately avoided choosing one of his terrific Peter Duluth series, all of which I believe I've read, and opted for a standalone. (Now Goodreads tells me this too is part of a series -- it's supposedly "Timothy Trant #6" -- but Trant is merely a member of the support cast, so it may more likely be that PQ used a recurring cop.)
The Man with Two Wives is in many ways archetypal PQ. An essentially honest man, believing his life to be far more on an even keel than it actually is, buys into a single piece of falsehood only to find circumstances running away from him as that initial falsehood compounds itself to become a labyrinth of dishonesty from which it seems there's no escape. Although we sympathise with and identify wholeheartedly with Bill, at the same time we occasionally want to slap him upside the head for being a sap . . . precisely because we can see ourselves all too easily falling into the same traps.
And, again as is typical of PQ, we become very emotionally invested in the characters, and come to care very much about their fates. Bill, because he's in effect us; Angelica because, while she may be battered and disordered by life, she has not yet been entirely broken and clearly is at heart a misguided idealist bent on saving others; Betsy, the insecure elder sister who's always been the dowdy, worthy, boring one; and even the ditsy, spoilt Daphne.
As for the mystery aspect, the plot is quite beautifully woven. Even though the correct solution to the murder had crossed my mind once or twice -- or, at least, the identity of the murderer -- until the final pages I was as bamboozled as poor old Bill himself as to what had really happened.
In short, my reintroduction to PQ's oeuvre could hardly have gone better. More, please.
In fact, Bill hardly ever thinks back to the time when he was married to the beautiful but tempestuous Angelica, the time when he was well known as the author of one of the great novels to come out of World War II, the time before his creative juices dried up and Angelica suddenly ran out on him and Rickie and into the arms of a destitute bohemian . . .
But one day he sees Angelica on a Manhattan street corner and foolishly lets her back into his life. The next he knows, Angelica's latest lover, Jaimie, is romancing Daphne with an eye to a share of C.J.'s fortune, and Angelica has become sufficiently a part of Bill's existence to be caught grappling with him one night on the living-room couch by the hired help. Thanks to the interruption, the episode is truncated, and Bill resolves to confess all to Betsy.
Then Jaimie's found murdered and C.J. constructs a cockamamie alibi to keep Daphne's name out of the police investigation -- an alibi that involves bribing the household help to swear that Daphne was chastely playing board games with her brother-in-law at the time the murder was committed. Trouble is, that destroys Angelica's alibi -- that she was on the verge of being seriously indiscreet with Bill at the fatal hour -- and the NYPD's perspicacious Inspector Trant soon focuses on Angelica as the prime suspect . . .
Patrick Quentin (Hugh Wheeler in collaboration with various others) has always been one of my very favorite mystery writers, and it's far too long since last I read anything by him. Deciding to renew my acquaintance, I deliberately avoided choosing one of his terrific Peter Duluth series, all of which I believe I've read, and opted for a standalone. (Now Goodreads tells me this too is part of a series -- it's supposedly "Timothy Trant #6" -- but Trant is merely a member of the support cast, so it may more likely be that PQ used a recurring cop.)
The Man with Two Wives is in many ways archetypal PQ. An essentially honest man, believing his life to be far more on an even keel than it actually is, buys into a single piece of falsehood only to find circumstances running away from him as that initial falsehood compounds itself to become a labyrinth of dishonesty from which it seems there's no escape. Although we sympathise with and identify wholeheartedly with Bill, at the same time we occasionally want to slap him upside the head for being a sap . . . precisely because we can see ourselves all too easily falling into the same traps.
And, again as is typical of PQ, we become very emotionally invested in the characters, and come to care very much about their fates. Bill, because he's in effect us; Angelica because, while she may be battered and disordered by life, she has not yet been entirely broken and clearly is at heart a misguided idealist bent on saving others; Betsy, the insecure elder sister who's always been the dowdy, worthy, boring one; and even the ditsy, spoilt Daphne.
As for the mystery aspect, the plot is quite beautifully woven. Even though the correct solution to the murder had crossed my mind once or twice -- or, at least, the identity of the murderer -- until the final pages I was as bamboozled as poor old Bill himself as to what had really happened.
In short, my reintroduction to PQ's oeuvre could hardly have gone better. More, please.
July 19, 2021
It seems it is a running theme in this "author's" books that men shouldn't lie or hide anything from their wives. In this case, not all was as it seems, though. Quite an entertaining mystery, with a tense ending though also with a truly unlikable cast of characters - with an infuriating protagonist.
November 6, 2014
This mystery novel from 1955 had me guessing and re-guessing myself as to who the killer was, and even near the end, they still duped me. A great, quick read if you find it as it does keep you on your toes and the quick pace keeps the action flowing.
March 26, 2020
I am giving it 2 stars because it's such a time capsule.
April 2, 2020
Buena y enrevesada novela. El final no me pareció predescible, lo que es siempre bueno, ¿no?
May 18, 2020
Swietnie napisany kryminal!
April 3, 2017
Una historia detectivesca, llena de mentiras y falsedades, donde uno cree saber quién es el asesino y conforme avanzan las páginas piensas que "solo tal vez" pudo haber sido otro, luego regresas a tu punto de partida y vuelves a pensar que "quizá" fue entonces aquél otro... y así con cada personaje.
Al final resulta que siempre fue quien uno creyó pero no de la manera que uno se imaginó. Es una buena historia, aunque en lo personal, al principio no me lograba atrapar a pesar de estar contada desde el punto de vista de un personaje que no era el detective y, además, de una manera muy amena y fluída. Creo que en realidad comencé a meterme mucho en la trama cuando sospeché quién era el asesino y pude entonces empatizar con el narrador.
Al final resulta que siempre fue quien uno creyó pero no de la manera que uno se imaginó. Es una buena historia, aunque en lo personal, al principio no me lograba atrapar a pesar de estar contada desde el punto de vista de un personaje que no era el detective y, además, de una manera muy amena y fluída. Creo que en realidad comencé a meterme mucho en la trama cuando sospeché quién era el asesino y pude entonces empatizar con el narrador.
Want to read
December 22, 2018Synopsis: Bill Harding doesn't really have two wives, but he lets his first, Angelica, back into his life. Disaster.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews