Rory, Juliet, Maeve and Dan have been inseparable friends since childhood growing up in Ballyboyne near Dublin, Ireland. But life cuts across their innocence and loyalty.
The Good Mistress is an exploration in raw human need, guilt, shame and making peace with blame and loss. Uncomfortable, confronting but a slow reveal of flawed, misunderstood, scarred adults. Sometimes our roll-out into adulthood doesn’t happen in logical, sensical order. As we come to understand this, we can bend towards some of the characters and change position on others.
Juliet, Maeve and (now) Erica are reunited at Rory’s funeral with dark secrets fiercely guarded. But slowly the veneer begins to crack and through their need to absolve past guilt, they will need each other to make sense of their decisions.
Initially our instincts are to rile and bristle as Juliet reveals herself to be the ‘good mistress’ – but her nature is redeemed and softened through her long-time friend Maeve as they revisit childhood misunderstandings to become a softer, hopeful read. This is a particular skill in Anne Tiernan’s writing. For this we can celebrate, this her second novel and as a rising New Zealand star.
The Good Mistress is Anne Tiernan’s second novel after her debut Last Days Of Joy. A genuine comparison is Lioness by Emily Perkins.
Sue Reid
Read By Reid NZ
Moa Press New Zealand
Hachette NZ
ISBN 9781869715212