Worst Fears (Charnwood Library) - Hardcover

The 21st novel by the "quintessential anti-romance novelist" Fay Weldon, Worst Fears focuses on Alexandra Ludd, a minor actress whose seemingly idyllic life in the West Country in England is turned upside-down when her husband Ned dies of a heart attack. Alexandra learns that not only was her marriage a sham, but that her friends and family are not as loyal as they seemed. When at the funeral her husband's mistress, Jenny, receives more sympathy than Alexandra and even her dog, Diamond, snubs her, Alexandra realizes it is she who has been shallow and vain, and embarks on a journey to discover what really sustains romantic love.

This ironic quasi-detective story of disquieting revelation reminds one of early Tom Stoppard, though the implications are even darker. The "veddy dry" British wit is as neat as a good martini. But not as dry as narrator Porter makes it. In measured cadences she proceeds with general comprehension of the characters and situations, suffers a few lapses in line readings and generally misses both the humor and the suspense. While a less-balanced approach may have erred in the opposite direction, certainly judicious timing and urgency would have given this deliciously mischievous, urbane novel more of what it requires. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine