It Might Have Been What He Said

Collinsworth's promising debut novel tells the story of a couple madly in love and just plain mad: it opens with protagonist Isabel Simpson at the psychiatrist discussing her murder attempt on her husband of twelve years. Twelve years earlier, Isabel was an ambitious publisher propelled by a childhood spent with a suicidal mother and a wealthy but unsympathetic father. Having already achieved success that belies her young age, Isabel seeks out irascible writer James Willoughby after stumbling upon his impressively written article describing his childhood home. Determined to put his talent to work for her, Isabel ignores his reputation for being insufferable and catches up with him for lunch-only to find his reputation well-earned. Nevertheless, an intense love affair begins that eventually yields a marriage and a son, and their rocky path toward the relationship's violent downfall makes up the balance of the book. What this engaging novel lacks in metaphor and descriptive language, it makes up for in clear and compelling prose that deals honestly with the desperate human desire to believe in love's saving power.