The Dictator's Wife: The gripping BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick

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A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless' LARA PRESCOTT I have always had questions about the wives and children of world leaders and figures throughout history that have held distatorships but none more prominent in my mmind than how much did their wives really know and/or agree with their policies and reigns of terror and for that reason this book was so thought provoking and intrinsincly fascinating. There were moments that were truly heartwrenching and yet there were also moments of love.

But for totalitarian leaders, their partners become an extension of themselves, and a useful foil or distraction. Just think of the Philippines, where the Marcos regime tortured dissenters while the media covered Imelda's shoe collection, and the Marcos family is still reaping the benefits. Or how the downfall of the Iranian Shah was brought on in part by the Queen's taste for pricey modern art and European jetsetting. Catching sight of Kim Jong Un’s wife is so rare it’s basically a sport for journalists who cover North Korea. Are these women pulling the strings, or just along for the ride? The tension is palpable throughout, and the pacing of the story is well executed. Laura is afraid, but it seems she isn't even sure what she is/should be afraid of, other than the obvious of losing the trial. Yanussia itself, while fabricated and imagined by Berry, could easily be referencing so many real countries. And there is an interesting dynamic in the general society there. Amidst the protests, surveys are conducted that reveal that the people in Yanussia don't feel things have improved since the overthrowing of Popa's regime. A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless'-- LARA PRESCOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We KeptWith a title like that, with the blurb on the covers, the comments from the author herself, I was expecting a full on exposé of the lives of the wives of the appalling men who have caused so much damage and despair in our world over the past 100 years. Think Imelda Marcos, Elena Ceausescu, Eva Peron and others - how culpable are they in the crimes of their husbands, how much did they know, take part in, facilitate. But no, disappointingly it is not about that at all. The author has been a financial and political journalist for Reuters, and through her work has had the opportunities to observe the wives of the world's powerful leaders, and hence planting the seeds for this story. But this is not really about the wife.

I know the phrase “will have you reading long into the night” gets thrown about an awful lot, but it is completely true for this book. The Dictator’s Wife, Marija Popa, faces the death penalty for the crimes of her husband, who can’t stand trial himself, as he was brutally murdered. Set in the fictional country Yanussia, Marija hires defence lawyers from London to help her fight her case. In comes Laura - who is a Yanussia born lawyer along with her boss to try and save Marija from the noose. Will she ever find out the truth about her family secrets, and why her family never want her to return to Yanussia, and certainly don't want her to defend Marija Popa? Mary Jordan, a biographer of Melania Trump, found her more ambitious and knowing – more like Donald Trump – than is often assumed. Berry comments: “She’s very good at disappearing, even when she’s right there, behind her sunglasses.”She isn’t a person, she’s a puppeteer. She discovers what you are, what you can and cannot bear, and uses it.’ If you want to look at the influence of a first lady’s style, look no further than Vogue, says Berry, , pointing to the image-making moment of Jill Biden’s first cover on the high fashion magazine. The 70-year-old is seen smiling, wearing a floral-patterned blue dress, leaning against a White House balcony – a wholesome contrast to Melania Trump’s opulent couture. We then revisit this period, when Laura is part of the team of lawyers returning to her home country of Yanussia to defend Popa, accused of being party to widespread fraud and other dictator-friendly crimes. Laura's parents left Yanussia when she was young, she is prepared to meet a manipulative serpent... but instead finds herself falling for the older woman's intense intelligence and magnetism. Will the evidence show innocence? Acquiescence? Co-operation or collaboration? A gripping, intelligent, utterly-of-the-moment thriller’EMMA STONEX, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamplighters Marija presents as hot and cold, innocent and guilty, evil and good, all at different times, making it hard to work out whether she should be convicted or acquitted. Her failure to co-operate with the defence team doesn’t help her cause.

The "trial" that sealed the Ceausecus' fate was perhaps the perfect foil for the decades of falsification and fraud that defined Elena's scientific career. Behr calls the proceedings "farcical" and it is clear that the prosecutors were performing an act of restitution that the entire nation desperately needed. Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including:Her second novel, The Birdcage Library, is out now: an adventuress discovers an old book containing clues about the disappearance of a woman who vanished 50 years before. Set between a Scottish castle in the 1930s and an exotic animal emporium in Gilded Age New York, it's a twisting Gothic tale of secrets, obsession and murder. Oh, and taxidermy.