This is the debut psychological thriller from Lisa Kusel, an author of four books. Lisa previously worked as a project manager at Microsoft before travelling extensively through Europe and Africa and living in Indonesia. These days, while she’s not volunteering at the local food shelf or meditating or posting cooking videos on Instagram, she can be found writing at her desk overlooking Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont.
Thirty-six-year-old stay-at-home soccer mom Kate Burke is happily married to Matt Parsons, although their marriage looks very different behind closed doors. Kate has never had any interest in having sex but faked it for her husband in the early years of their relationship and marriage. So, while they still love each other madly and want to stay together, she offers him an arrangement: Matt can have one-night stands with other women on work trips, but when he returns home, he has to tell Kate about them—every juicy detail. Kate has a secret life writing erotic romance novels, and Matt’s sexual encounters are the inspiration behind all the spicy scenes in her books.
This unusual agreement is disturbed, however, when Annie Meyers, an eccentric young widow, moves to town with her daughter. Anne’s daughter Tara quickly becomes close friends with Kate’s daughter Finley, and the two mothers also become friends. In the beginning, Kate is smitten with this eccentric, witty woman, who gives her a much-needed break from the other picture-perfect suburban moms. Kate, however, is hesitant to share her secret life as an erotic author with her new friend. But as Kate learns more about Annie, she begins to resemble more and more a woman in Colorado that her husband described having a one-night stand with. When Kate confronts her husband, questioning him whether he’s slept with Annie, he blatantly denies it. But Kate can’t shake this unsettling feeling about Annie and decides to investigate further. She soon learns that Annie has secrets too—big ones that could destroy all their lives.
This is a suspenseful family drama with dark humor. The suspense is slow-burning, unpredictable, and heats up towards the end. All of the adult characters in the novel are flawed and unlikeable. The storyline is extremely unique and unsettling, which speaks well to the author’s creativity and writing talent. This is definitely a book that is difficult to put down, regardless of loving the premise or not.
The book has several spicy scenes, but they mostly involve Kate’s fictional characters from her novel, which definitely makes them more humorous than heated. There’s definitely a strong element of the “dedicated author” trope in this novel, but presented in a somewhat absurd manner. Some of the fictional scenes in Kate’s novel are longer than necessary and could instead have been replaced by more drama between the real protagonists. The book also features some wonderful art references that are nicely woven into the suspense of the story. Also, having a male protagonist with a high appreciation of art and who is fully invested in his wife’s writing was an intriguing aspect of the story.
Narrators Brittany Pressley and Hillary Huber are the perfect duo for narrating this audiobook. Pressley’s range of talent shines through in her portrayal of unstable Kate, and she uses a lot of different pacing and emotions to vividly convey this character. Pressley’s narration of the scenes of Kate’s novel is especially entertaining, as she uses a different tone of voice that definitely brings both comic relief and more intrigue to the story. In contrast, Huber’s performance of Annie is performed with an even tone and full of sarcastic humor. Huber accurately conveys Annie’s unlikeability and two-sidedness by shifting her performance, especially during Annie’s intimate conversations with Matt. Both narrators most definitely elevate this interesting story into a very entertaining one, resulting in a very addictive listen.
Overall, this novel will please readers who enjoy engrossing family dramas with conniving female protagonists. While the story falls short on edge-of-your-seat thrills, there is an abundance of delicious drama and compelling dialogue that will keep readers and listeners engaged throughout. A great option for those looking for an entertaining read without too much complexity.
