Embassy Wife

A Novel

By: Katie Crouch

Narrated by: Marni Penning

Persephone Wilder, a displaced genius posing as the wife of an American diplomat in Namibia, takes her job as a representative of her country seriously and comes up with an intricate set of rules to survive a range of problems: how to dress in hundred-degree weather without showing too much skin, how not to look drunk at embassy functions, and how to eat roasted oryx with grace. She also suspects her husband is not actually the ambassador’s general counsel but instead a secret agent in the CIA.

Ever the embassy wife, she takes the new trailing spouse, Amanda Evans, under her wing. Amanda Evans has just arrived in Namibia, mere weeks after giving up her Silicon Valley job, as her husband, Mark, has accepted a Fulbright. But once they arrive in the sub-Saharan desert, it becomes clear that Mark, who lived in Namibia two decades earlier, had other reasons for returning. Their marriage, which seemed solid in the safety of home, feels tenuous in the glaring heat of the Kalahari. Mark, it seems, has secrets born 20 years ago, and this journey is actually a quest to find a woman he left behind.

When Amanda’s daughter becomes involved in an actual international conflict, lines are drawn in the sand, and it is clear that her own government won’t stand up for her or her daughter. Propulsive and provocative, this satirical pause-resister compellingly explores the limits of human resiliency and loyalty.

©2021 Katie Crouch (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Started out strong

Started out strong. Fun premise but the story became silly. More character and plot development would have made a fabulous story.

I never review books, but…this one is special.

The performance is BRILLIANT and the plot is ingenious and the dialogue is hilarious! Treat yourself to this book!

Narrator should have done some more research.

The story was entertaining enough, if predictable. The problem was with the narrator who couldn't apparently pronounce Windhoek correctly. As a South African I couldn't figure out when she was speaking Afrikaans, and had to rely on the English translations. Though admittedly she did get some words spot on.

Sometimes tedious…

At times I struggled with the readers voice. It was a bit grinding for me. And there were times that I was confused at which character was speaking. Persephone’s voice (though certainly defined the character) just about did me in and admittedly I fast forwarded a number of times during the last third of the book because of it. Plus I was ready for the story to move faster. I labell the book a light piece of summer entertainment with a lot of character development that saves the day.

Campy and cute

This was an entertaining read. A bit campy, silly and over the top, but it was fast and kept my attention. The narrator did a good job of mixing things up with voice, but the accents were a bit cringe worthy.