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"From New York Times bestselling author John Lescroart, a riveting standalone novel about the unexpected, shattering, and lethal consequences of a one-night stand on a seemingly happily married couple. Kate loves her life. At forty-four, she's happily married to her kind husband, Ron, blessed with two wonderful children, and has a beautiful home in San Francisco. Everything changes, however, when she and Ron attend a dinner party and meet another couple, Peter and Jill. Kate and Peter only exchange a few pleasant words but that night, in bed with her husband, Kate is suddenly overcome with a burning desire for Peter. What begins as an innocent crush soon develops into a dangerous obsession and Kate's fixation on Peter results in one intense, passionate encounter between the two. Confident that her life can now go back to normal, Kate never considers that Peter may not be so willing to move on. Not long after their affair, a masked man barges into the cafe Kate is sitting in with her best friend, firing an assault weapon indiscriminately into the crowd. This tragedy is the first in a series of horrifying events that will show Kate just how grave the consequences of one mistake can be. An explosive story of infidelity, danger, and moral ambiguity, John Lescroart's latest thriller will excite and satisfy both his current and new fans"--… (more)
User reviews
I don’t know if it was the authors intention to write the characters as
It was an interesting piece for showing that no matter how small our actions are (and this one was a doozy!) our choices affect so many around us. The ripple affect I imagine.
Unfortunately, there was less that I liked about this book than what made this a boring read.
The conclusion was not quite the shock to me that I imagine the author wanted it to be. That does not mean that I figured it out early on -I did not-it is just that by the time I got to the end I just didn’t care. The characters were just that uninteresting.
The author did add things that, in my mind had been totally unnecessary -why add the part of the terrorist attack and what about the anorexic and Ginny?
It almost felt to me that this book was written in the 70’s and then edited it to bring it up to date and the parts never meshed.
*ARC supplied by publishe
This was a slightly bizarre novel with an interesting premise: a sort of anti-adultery treatise, in a way. The novel confounded me slightly with its two different tracks: one of personal angst and murder (I don't think it's a spoiler to state that shortly after the terrorist attack, Peter Ash winds up murdered) and then the terrorist attack, which seems somewhat oddly inserted into the novel's plot. Kate's friend Beth is a police detective, and for me, Beth was driving force of the book (and seriously, practically the only sane person in this story). I enjoyed her character and while it's been noted that this was a standalone novel for Lescroart, I could see another book featuring her.
Beth is perplexed as she tries to solve Peter Ash's murder. For us: not really. I felt as if the suspect was fairly easily identifiable the whole time. Lescroart did a fairly good job as casting suspicions on someone else; at one point, I finally thought, oh, ok, maybe I really am wrong (but I wasn't). There's a whole host of characters in the novel and they are interesting, but not really as complex or intricate as Beth. Overall, I enjoyed this novel-- I haven't read anything by Lescroart since some of his early Dismas Hardy books ages ago-- but I didn't find it to have an amazing "wow" factor or anything. It was an interesting, if somewhat predictable thriller, with some strange plot points thrown in.
I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley and the publisher (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 01/24/2017.
An unforeseen terrorist attack sidelines Kate and Beth while Peter considers how to convince Kate to meet him again.
And then he turns up dead . . . .
Complex characters drive this tale of seduction and murder and, although they are not all likeable, they are all completely believable. Spinning out deception and unintended consequences, this dark yet satisfying tale is one readers are likely to find mesmerizing.
Recommended.
Standalone
3.5 Stars
From The Book:
Kate loves her life. At forty-four, she’s happily married to her kind husband, Ron, blessed with two wonderful children, and has a beautiful home in San Francisco. Everything changes, however, when she and Ron attend a dinner party and meet
Not long after their affair, a masked man barges into the café Kate is sitting in with her best friend, firing an assault weapon indiscriminately into the crowd. This tragedy is the first in a series of horrifying events that will show Kate just how grave the consequences of one mistake can be.
My Thoughts:
John Lescroart is an excellent writer and his courtroom series with Diz and Abe is one of the best to come off the press. While this one had good characters it somehow missed the mark in the plot department. Nothing that Peter...the dead guy...did to become dead... made any sense what so ever. Why would a successful attorney jeopardize his entire life as he knows it to have a two hour fling with a woman he barely knows, and why would he change his personality so drastically because of it? I'm sure it probably could and does happen but the reader is left in limbo. It's never successfully explained enough for the reader to buy into it. Please stick with what you do best Mr. Lescourt.
I read the book based on some good buzz and previews. The murder investigation fumbled along a bit too long for my taste and interest. Just not my cup of tea…
Great story.
A HUGE, thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.