Suburban mother Paige Atwell lives a comfortable middle- class life just outside of Denver. Her husband Paul works too hard and travels too much for his techno-babble job. Her children are finally both in elementary school, giving her free time during the day for the first time in 11 years. Her neighbor Karen has just breathlessly confessed to a spicy extramarital affair with a sexy Spanish model/barista. And suddenly Paige isn't content -- with her boring days, her tenacious children, her distant husband, and especially with her practically non-existent sex life.
Every man Paige meets seems to find her desirable, and she can't stop thinking about sex. The grass is always greener in the neighbor's yard, and Paige secretly envies Karen and her passionate affair, at least until Karen is found dead on the floor of her attached garage. Paige isn't sure if she is more like Nancy Drew or Miss Marple, but she is very suspicious of the circumstances of Karen's death, and she's determined to keep searching until she uncovers the truth. After Paige locates Karen's lover, who is indeed irresistible, she hopes to find answers but only uncovers more conflicting information about Karen's twisted life.
Desperately trying to target the fans of TV's most popular housewives, this book tries too hard to fit that mold. Suburban housewives and mothers who gather for coffee and share gossip and intrigue have become clichΓ©d characters lately. To keep multiple characters as viable suspects, the characterizations are awkward, but the most memorable characters are Paige's two children, who are honest, embarrassing and fun. In spite of small flaws (Paige's kids don't do any extra-curriculars, let alone soccer) this story is suspenseful and unpredictable. The ending surprised me and the resolution was satisfying for this fast-paced suburban housewife mystery.
βI felt fairly
confident that I would take this information to my
graveβeven though it
was the juiciest thing to happen in Aberdeen Mists in about
eight
years.βPaige
Atwell appears to have a fulfilling life in the cozy
community of
Aberdeen Mistsβa nice house, a great husband, and two young
kids. But
behind the façade of neighborhood coffee klatches and
carpools, Paige
is growing restless with her increasingly busy spouse, the
early onset
of her ten-year-old daughterβs teenage hostility, and her
young sonβs
alarming preoccupation with bodily functions.When
her friend
and neighbor, Karen, looking even more vibrant and gorgeous
than usual,
confesses to a passionate affair with a sizzling Latin
lover, Paige
assesses her own state of domestic ecstasy: not good. But
Paigeβs
attempts to βre-sexualizeβ her marriage produce comically
calamitous
consequences.Just when Paige begins to wonder whether an
extramarital remedy may be the key to happiness, Karen is
found dead in
her garage, lying in a pool of blood. The residents of
Aberdeen Mists
may be satisfied with the freak accident theoryβthat Karen
fell and hit
her head on a metal toolboxβbut Paige knows the adulterous
secret that
could blow the closed case wide open.With sleuthing
skills
acquired from her favorite TV crime dramas, Paige vows to
find out the
truth. Her list of potential perps (thatβs what Law &
Order calls
them, right?) includes Karenβs aggrieved husband, Doug, and sexy
Spanish lothario Javier. As Paigeβs Miss Marpleβesque
adventure winds
through her allegedly quiet enclave to the boundaries of her own
fidelity, what she uncovers may prove more shocking than she
ever
imagined.In this outrageously entertaining gem,
Robyn Harding
shines a light on the plight of suburban housewivesβthe
sacrifices, the
secrets, and the desperate lengths theyβll go to to keep up
appearances. With a sharp wit and a delightfully
unpredictable story
line, Hardingβs darkly funny novel examines whether the
grass really is
greener on the other side of the white picket fence . . . or
if itβs
just a good place to bury a body.
No excerpt available.
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