January 1924 saw the election of the first Labour government in the UK – but the country was already seeing the effects of falling coal production and wage reductions which would lead to the General Strike of 1926. Beatrice Cade is an orphan, unmarried and childless. London is full of invisible women who struggle to find somewhere to work through their grief. But Bea is determined to make a new life for herself. She takes a room in a Bloomsbury ladies’ club and a job in the City. Just when her her new world is taking shape, a fleeting encounter threatens to ruin everything. Beatrice Cade is an orphan, unmarried and childless – and given the dearth of men, likely to remain that way. London is full of women like her: not wives, not widows, not mothers. There is no name for these invisible women, and no place for their grief. Emma Flint has cleverly structured this story so that the reader is aware of the murder trial from the beginning. Both Bea and Kate's voices are strong and readers will empathise with both of them. As Kate slowly allows herself to realise what she's been trying to hide for years, and Bea's delight and happiness begins to fade, the story becomes quite harrowing and utterly devastating. And then, of course, into this rather puzzling scenario the inevitable happens Bea gets pregnant... and ends up murdered and dismembered - though Tom also gets his comeuppance through the actions of his wife.

Utterly, utterly brilliant. Other Women is compelling, thought-provoking, harrowing and incredibly urgent. -- Caroline LeaWriting a review for this book without giving away anything is quite a challenge. The story is based on a true murder case from the 1920s and begins by introducing two women – one married and one unmarried. They share a connection through a man who is a despicable character, all the more so because he is based on a real individual. The first few chapters concentrate on the two women, allowing the reader to get to know them. Both characters are likable, with one being a little naive and the other overly trusting. It’s difficult to discuss more without revealing too much of the plot. Perhaps it also lies in a stubborn determination to hope that men like these are just misunderstood. A belief that if they’d just met the right woman, she might have saved them from a life of murder and mayhem. Or a belief that if they met the right woman after their arrest, she might still save them from damnation, by encouraging to express remorse and ask for forgiveness. Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review, and for hosting the Readalong - the discussions have been fantastic, and I adore how our perceptions and opinions of the characters shifted as the book went along. A fast paced plot, told in a hugely readable and compelling writing style, I raced through this one.

The disturbing narrative unspools with a veneer of unsettling normalcy, which make the reveals which Flint masterfully serves up all the more gripping and profound when we reach them. -- Philippa East, author of I'll Never Tell Other Women is an immersive read and a book I could hardly bear to put down. This is an author with a talent for characterisation and scene setting, and her ear for authentic dialogue is sharp and true. This is historical crime fiction, but its message still rings loud and clear 100 years on, within the tandem narratives of two women wronged by a master manipulator. Dowdy, easily dismissed spinster Bea and dutiful wife and mother Kate are given equal billing here and neither of them should be taken for granted. They are women with surprising depths – in stark contrast to the conniving but shallow Tom Ryan. In the UK, 8.4 million women (largely wealthy middle-class white women) had obtained the right to vote for the first time in 1918. Many women were coming to terms with the loss of husbands, sons, brothers, fiances. Women who had been raised to assume they would be wives and mothers now found that they had to enter the labour market to support themselves. Overall, I felt that this is too agenda-driven with a clear ideological urge to show Kate's agency in punishing the husband who seduced and abandoned Bea - a muted form of female solidarity against masculine violence and disdain. That's fine but it's like all the seams are showing and the characters just aren't given enough life to carry the story. This is fine as a commute book but unsatisfying as a follow-up to Flint's marvellous Little Deaths.We follow the stories of Beatrice who is a single woman in her thirties who falls for the charms of a married man, and of Kate Thomas, his wife. Set in the early 1920s, this clever mix of romance, thriller and courtroom drama proves love and heartbreak never ages, whatever the era. * Woman & Home * Two women's world collide, and neither of them will ever be the same again. They will remain connected forever. It's interesting to note that in 1924, officers were not outfitted with gloves and were forced to retrieve Emily Kaye's dismembered remains for analysis with their bare hands. (Eew!!!) Kate Ryan is a mother and a wife and is used to lying for her husband. Looking in from the outside, they seem like a perfectly happy family, but looks can be deceptive.

All that changes with the arrival at the office one day of Tom Ryan. He is a traveling salesman for Morley’s, taken on at the suggestion of his wife, who works in another branch of the company, and he is both handsome and personable. Bea begins to look forward to Ryan’s occasional appointments with Mr Morley. Gradually, the pair become friends… and then something more than friends. I liked the way the book unfolded from the contrasting two POVs of the murdered lover and the murderer's wife. This beautifully written, pitch-perfect historical mystery is based on a real case - here, a murder that took place in 1924 . . . a moving study of loneliness, desperation, shame and public prurience. -- Laura Wilson * The Guardian * I don’t have any easy answers to this, but perhaps one answer lies in the fairy tale belief that beauty equals goodness. This maxim is usually applied to women, but Mahon and Bundy – conventionally attractive men – seemed to have no trouble attracting admirers who believed their stories even when the extent of their crimes were revealed. The murdered lover's POV was very, very, very S-L-O-W and repetitive. How many times did readers have to listen to a woman lusting for a married man?????Then there is Kate. A wife and a mother. Living the 1920s dream. Isn’t that what every woman wants? But if you ripple the surface you will find things are far from perfect. And eventually the dream will become a nightmare as these two women become connected in a way they could never begin to imagine. Loosely based on a real murder this novel is set in 1920s London. It is told by two women, Bea and Kate, and has two timelines. Bea is one of the many women at that time, after the First World War, who work in an office for a low wage and live in a hostel with other women and no real expectations that anything will change. But then, when a new employee, Thomas Ryan, joins the firm as a buyer she is flattered by his attention and falls in love with him, despite knowing that he is married to Kate who also works for the company in a regional office. When someone is murdered suspicion immediately falls on him, he is charged with murder and the trial ensues. This is a story of love and obsession and I enjoyed it and found it interesting.” Bea had a rich and happy life. She had people who cared for her, people who would miss her when she waas dead. Other Women was born from a fury that the life she created for herself could be so entirely destroyed, and from a determination that she would not be forgotten. The book was selected with the help of a panel of library staff from across the UK. Our readers loved Other Women – here are some of their comments: Heartbreaking. I wanted it to go on and on, even as I raced to the end. Excellent, absorbing and totally gripping. -- Melanie Golding, author of The Replacements