November 1, 2023
Konen's (You Should Have Told Me) new domestic thriller is told in two voices: Mary, a Brooklyn housewife and mother, and Willa, the friend she makes on the playground. Mary is mid-divorce from George, who comes from a wealthy family; Mary has only what he gives her. All she wants is shared custody of their toddler, but George wants her back--and he is used to getting what he wants. Willa is her sounding board and friend until she abruptly ghosts her. Hurt but unsure how to fix things with the only friend she has, Mary is checking out a small town halfway between her family's home in upstate New York and Brooklyn when she sees Willa--except this Willa has changed her hair color and insists her name is Annie. Mary quickly figures out that Annie/Willa is lying, and the story really goes off the rails when George is murdered and Mary is the prime suspect. It seems like everyone is prevaricating in this fraught battle to get to the truth and the murderer. It all unravels at breakneck speed, careening crazily to the dramatic ending. VERDICT This twisty tale told by an unreliable narrator will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn, Shari Lapena, and Paula Hawkins.--Stacy Alesi
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 1, 2023
Trust no one, especially not your new best friend. When Mary meets Willa at a playground in their upscale Brooklyn neighborhood, they bond over their beautiful little boys and become fast friends. Mary is in the middle of a bitter divorce and custody battle with her husband, George, and when she finally relates all of the sordid details to Willa after one too many margaritas, Willa disappears. A few months later in Woodstock, the two cross paths again, but now Willa claims to be someone called Annie and has a young daughter. Then George is murdered, and the story gets really complicated. Identities, relationships, and motives all come into question, and it's up to the reader to puzzle through the answers. The narrative, which is enhanced by fashionable settings, is related in the alternating voices of the two women, and moves backward and forward in time and between locales in upstate New York and Brooklyn. The ending may be a bit too neat for some, but devoted fans of domestic suspense will enjoy the ride.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
December 15, 2023
A recently separated Brooklyn mother loses her one new friend and chases the woman down for answers. As the book opens, Mary, who's recently left her controlling husband, makes a new friend at the playground. Alex, Mary's 2-year-old son, whines that he's hungry, and the beautiful young mother sitting next to them on the bench offers up a bag of potato chips. This is Willa, and at this vulnerable moment in Mary's life, she's thrilled to connect with someone so attentive and engaging. After leaving her husband and the wealthy milieu that came along with him, Mary has been struggling to build a new life. Her relationship with fun, irreverent Willa is the one bright spot in her drearier new existence. Willa invites Mary to the opera, arranges play dates with their little boys, and fills in the gaps left by Mary's now-estranged in-laws. Mary begins to rely heavily on Willa and maybe even love her, which is why, when Willa suddenly and inexplicably ghosts Mary, it's so devastating. With nothing left for her in Brooklyn, Mary moves upstate with Alex, eager to start over. It's a shock when she bumps into someone near her new home who looks exactly like Willa, but the woman insists her name is Annie. As the story unfolds, Mary learns information about Willa that she could never have imagined. This is a fast-paced, plot-driven novel that manages to poke fun at millennial parenting and the culture of wealthy Brooklynites. Although the number of coincidences and outlandish opportunities for scheming may stretch credibility, Konen does an admirable job of building suspense and keeping readers guessing. The story is perhaps tied up a bit too neatly at the end, but most readers will find themselves sufficiently surprised by the ultimate reveal. A thrilling and unpredictable hunt for answers that pays off.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from March 11, 2024
A woman’s contentious divorce takes on murderous new stakes in Konen’s surprise-packed latest (after You Should Have Told Me). After Mary Haywood files for divorce from her wealthy, controlling husband, she moves with her two-year-old son from Brooklyn to Woodstock, N.Y., to be closer to her family. On her first day Upstate, she’s shocked to run into Willa, a friend from Brooklyn she hasn’t heard from in months—especially when Willa insists her name is Annie, and that she and Mary have never met. Meanwhile, Mary’s husband, George, arrives in Woodstock with his sights set on winning her back. Soon thereafter, Mary finds George murdered in his brother’s house, with “Die Rich Pig” painted on the wall above him. After notifying the police, Mary becomes the primary suspect in his murder. Soon thereafter, Willa drops the “Annie” facade and explains to Mary that she, too, has come to Woodstock to start over—in her case, after an affair gone wrong. The women reconcile, but the more Mary looks into the stories Willa tells her, the less trustworthy she seems. From there, Konen provides a tantalizing IV drip of revelations about the women’s pasts until they come face-to-face with George’s killer. Even seasoned genre veterans won’t be able to predict where this supercharged spine-tingler ends up. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group.