Books like Sleeping with the Enemy

4 ½ stars. Worthwhile read about a woman escaping a physically abusive husband. Fulfilling feeling at the end.I saw the movie years ago. The book is better. One part of the movie annoyed me - stupid frustrating act of the mother. In the movie Martin visits the mother in a nursing home pretending to be a cop. He tells her that he needs to contact Sara to warn her about something with Martin. The mother stupidly tells him where Sara is. The book is different and better on this part. Sara does smart things. But Martin also does smart things to find her.This book does not have much suspense until the end. But I liked it the way it was. If you want suspense and terror, read Stephen King’s Rose Madder which I loved.I did not like what happened with Martin at the end. It was too convenient. I wish the author did something different to achieve the same end. But the ending was happy.At times I felt like the author’s mind was wandering. A character is thinking about the environment, the smells, the sights, the feelings. Some of that was good, but some could have been cut. Some of Martin’s thoughts were too repetitive.I love the plot of Sara taking action to change her situation. I was surprised that she nearly starved while waiting for her first paycheck. Weren’t there any food pantries or shelters? Was there a reason she avoided them?I liked that Sara initially loved Martin, but after they married he changed. That happened to me twice.Something I enjoyed, but it had very little to do with the plot were conversations about literature with happy vs unhappy endings. A couple of those follow. “Fellini says he never wants to make a film with a happy ending, because then people will go home and never change their lives. On a subconscious level, happy endings fool us. We think our lives will turn out nicely without our help, like the movie.” Mrs. Eaker said. “I like easy books - escape in them, you know? Murder mysteries. Historical romances.” “Do you really escape into them?” Sara asked. “Or are you just watching the characters do this or that, but when you’re through the world hasn’t changed at all for you?”Me, I’m like Mrs. Eaker, I want happy endings. I wonder how many other readers make changes in their lives or the world after every book with an unhappy ending?DATA:Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 322 pages. Swearing language: moderate including religious swear words, but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 3. Setting: current day New York, Massachusetts, Iowa, and Nebraska. Copyright: 1987. Genre: relationship fiction with a little romance.