“That Terrible Woman” by Jacki Racke – Book Review #BooksGoSocial #ThatTerribleWoman #BookReview

When I read a blurb about a grumpy/cantankerous older woman, it immediately holds some appeal. After all, I can relate. LOL

As many of you know by now, I often read debut novels, always keen to further a writer’s career if and when it is deserved. I would say that this one, “That Terrible Woman” was a worthy debut deserving of your time. That being said, it was not the most polished novel that I’ve read recently, and I found the catalyst for decades long estrangement to be quite weak. Yes, I know that a five year old could have been traumatized by what happened to Edna, but I feel that she would have risen above the resentment toward her Aunt and Uncle as she aged.

As the blurb states, Edna Watson, the protagonist, is a woman you love to hate. She lives alone and you have to feel sorry for her when she begins to receive threatening messages. Someone wants her house, and she is NOT selling.

When she learns that her Uncle has passed away, Edna is more than reluctant to attend his funeral. She has never forgiven him for an incident when she was just five years old and in his care.

Family secrets, long-held grudges, and self-knowledge are themes that permeate this narrative. Told mostly in the present tense, but with flashbacks to Edna’s childhood, we gradually learn how Edna’s past has shaped her present. Introspective in nature, this is not a fast-paced book. Edna is rude one minute and caring the next, making her mercurial personality hard to grasp and truly appreciate.

This was a short novel, though it could have been even shorter if less attention was paid to the fact that Edna is constantly munching on cookies/biscuits. I’m sure that the author did this to portray that Edna used food as a comfort, but I found it was too repetitive.

The ending of the novel was quite promising up to a point, after which it suddenly took a shocking turn that in my opinion missed the mark. In all, I’m not sorry that I read this book, but there are many other novels out there that are more worthy of your time.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Books Go Social via NetGalley.

Publication date: July 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781068625305 – ASIN: ‎ B0DG9DRXP3 – 233 pages

Jacki Racke was born in London. She has had a varied and interesting career, including the release of three pop records as Jacki Bond in the 60s, before working as a model agent at the famous Jean Bell Agency in the early 70s. She worked for a world famous Bureaux de Change as their Regional Manager at Heathrow Airport, before retiring to spend time with her husband . “That Terrible Woman” is her debut novel, which she started during Covid, following a successful blog entertaining friends through lockdown. Then followed an initial creative writing course and subsequent Alumni mentoring program with Curtis Brown Creative. She lives in London with her husband where they love spending time with their four children and eight grandchildren.