Favorites, Old and New

When you find an author you like do you keep tabs on them?

There are some authors I can count on to publish a new novel every year or so and then there are those that I keep an eye on, googling occasionally in case they’ve written something new. I’ll periodically go back to my annual book lists to see who I need to check on, but sadly some authors never publish anything else; case in point, Lucy Harkness. I read her debut novel, The Happy Pigs, when it came out in 1999 and have been hoping for something new ever since.

Here are two reviews of two new novels: After That Night by one of my all-time faves, Karin Slaughter, and No One Needs to Know, by Lindsay Cameron, an author I read once before (her clever and fun debut, Biglaw) and will definitely read again. One book leads to another…

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I don’t know who needs to hear this but if you sign up for an anonymous site online, it is not. Anonymous. There’s no such thing as anonymity on the world wide web and a group of elite NYC parents learn this lesson the hard way in Lindsay Cameron’s third novel, No One Needs to Know.

The book blurb proclaims this is “Big Little Lies meets Gossip Girl” and having read and watched both, I agree. Secrets and lies, gossip and ambition, cheating and heartbreak – it’s all here and it all adds up to a good time (for the reader, not for these folks.)

The cast of characters are mostly couples, but the wives are the focus and include Heather the Try-hard. She’s a calculating striver who has a pretty big secret she’s keeping from her husband.

Then there’s Perfect Poppy who personifies the haughty confidence of the ultra-rich. She’s a nasty bitch but her hard shell covers some serious insecurities.

Norah works a high-powered, high-stress job in finance and while she’s too busy for a lot of cliquish behavior she’s not above anything when it comes to her daughter.

The story revolves around these wives and mothers, all connected through their children as well as the allegedly anonymous site called Urban Myth. When a small scandal threatens to blow everything up for one of the mothers, she will NOT have it. (As I read I kept thinking, if only the power of the maternal instinct could be harnessed for a greater good.) The novel moves forward quickly, in alternating voices, as each of the main characters reveals more of their true self.

Part of the reason I enjoyed this book is the vicarious living through the characters – elite Manhattanites and their private schools, designer clothing and designer apartments.  No One Needs to Know is clever throughout and I smiled at the ending which took me completely by surprise.

Sometimes fiction can provide lessons alongside the entertainment. My takeaways: think twice about what you reveal online and read every word of your pre-nup.

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Karin Slaughter’s novel, After That Night, is the latest in her Will Trent series. Will is an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and his fiancé, Sara Linton, is a physician and medical examiner. The night in question changed Sara’s life: she was brutally raped while in med school.

This is the 11th book featuring Will Trent. He and Sara each have their backstories and past relationships, all of which influence and impact their love. If you’re new to the books, Slaughter seamlessly fills in the important parts.

The mystery in this novel takes the reader from present day Atlanta back to Sara’s medical school days. I don’t want to give away too much, but even though Sara’s rapist was caught and jailed, some recent crimes point to a larger conspiracy. This is one of Slaughter’s more sinister novels, with a premise that might seem unbelievable if it weren’t for such real life monsters as Larry Nasser, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

While the plot is fiendish and expertly crafted it’s the characters and their interactions that do it for me. Slaughter has transformed from excellent to transcendent. Spare dialog and wry humor abound and her storytelling talent shines. Will and Sara are great, but I love Will and his partner Faith. They’re tired, they’re on each other’s last nerves and their interactions just fill me with joy.

After That Night is harrowing at times, but that’s nothing new for Slaughter who is known for her realism. Her style of crime fiction is not for the sensitive. But if you’re game, give her a try and get ready to be drawn into Will and Sara’s world.