Curfew

By: Jayne Cowie

Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson, Celine Buckens, Olivia Poulet

Think The Handmaid's Tale but with the women in charge, set in a world where all men are electronically tagged and placed under strict curfew, and the murder investigation threatening to undo it all.

Imagine a near-future Britain in which women dominate workplaces, public spaces, and government. Where the gender pay gap no longer exists and motherhood opens doors instead of closing them. Where women are no longer afraid to walk home alone, to cross a dark parking lot, or to catch the last train.

Where all men are electronically tagged and not allowed out after 7 p.m.

But the curfew hasn’t made life easy for all women. Sarah is a single mother who happily rebuilt her life after her husband, Greg, was sent to prison for breaking curfew. Now he’s about to be released, and Sarah isn’t expecting a happy reunion, given that she’s the reason he was sent there.

Her teenage daughter, Cass, hates living in a world that restricts boys like her best friend, Billy. Billy would never hurt anyone, and she’s determined to prove it. Somehow.

Helen is a teacher at the local school. Secretly desperate for a baby, she’s applied for a cohab certificate with her boyfriend, Tom, and is terrified that they won’t get it. The last thing she wants is to have a baby on her own.

These women don’t know it yet, but one of them is about to be violently murdered. Evidence will suggest that she died late at night and that she knew her attacker. It couldn’t have been a man because a curfew tag is a solid alibi.

Isn’t it?

©2022 Jayne Cowie (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“What a thought-provoking read! So timely, so relevant and so remarkably written, it’s going to live with me for some time to come." —John Marrs, bestselling author of The Passengers

“An intriguing murder investigation, credible worldbuilding, clever gender-role dynamics, and a fast-paced narrative…. A conflict-rich story that demands a safer world for women.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A solid debut novel with twists and turns and an interesting plot that keeps you engaged in reading throughout the novel." —Red Carpet Crash

Ummmm

The narrator did a fantastic job switching between all of the characters and was pleasant to listen to. The plot was intriguing and the book definitely kept me guessing and turning the pages. But I have to say….. Has the author ever had one decent man in her life? I kept waiting for the twist to the story that would flip the convention of the plot on its side a little and make us all “think.” But the whole thing just reiterated her point that all men are awful and can’t be trusted. Just kind of sad that that’s the reality she creates. As a woman reading this, I was disappointed.

Intriguing

The concept is intriguing and it’s easy to get hooked. Switching between the characters and timelines was a bit confusing to me, but the narrator did a good job changing the voices. The characters are relatable.

Waste

This was awful, based on the summary it was interesting. Actually listening to it is torture.

First, I felt like I read something like this before.
This isn't a mystery or suspense. It's all women, get to listen to every woman talk about all men are evil and worthless. There were only 4 or 5 guys, and of course she made them all awful human beings, cheaters and killers.

Endlessly talking about feminists and mother house's. I thought for sure there would be a long drawn out telling of the back story....nope. Literally just said some lady got killed around 2026 and they decided all guys over 10 should be tagged like cattle.

I would have liked a more honest summary. This is why I don't usually preorder. The author could really do with some therapy for all that hatred and anger.

Does not pass the bechdel test

Not even for a page. I was so disappointed. This book could have been empowering and also highlight the hypocrisies that the author chose not to develop more. The mother daughter relationship was quite contentious, which I feel a lot of women can relate to but the ‘resolution’ was not satisfying as it was not explored as much as I would have liked to see.

This felt like it was written by a teenager that wanted to write something provocative but couldn’t yet understand the intricacies and nuanced subjects they were trying to tackle.

It felt very focused on small details that in the long run we’re of no importance at all. It also left a few plot points completely unresolved.

Personally, I only got interested in the book in the last three chapters when actual detective work was happening. I read this in three days and hoped to have my opinion turn around at some point but I was just annoyed at Cass (daughter) and the fact that this whole book felt to come from a teenager’s perspective, even at times when it’s clear you’re reading from a mother or a police detective’s point of view…

Finally I’ll say the narrators were good but the older female narrator went into a shrill head voice for Rachel that made it hard to pay attention to what the character was saying but her actual voice is quite nice. just an strange character choice in my opinion.

TLDR: immature POV, several plot points went unresolved, felt a bit all over the place, disappointing and did not pass the bechdel test. If you are actually interested in nuanced, dark subjects, I cannot recommend this book.