Hardworking and knowledgeable, Arden Ward is very good at what she does. She is a crisis management expert for a public relations firm and her professional reputation is stellar. Her world implodes when her boss gives her two weeks' notice because the wife of a wealthy client has accused Arden of having an affair with her husband. Arden experiences a wide range of emotions, mostly rage, as a reaction to the blatant lie. As a final insult, she is told if she takes on one last client and is successful, her good reputation and excellent references will be guaranteed. What choice did she have? Enter Cordelia Bannister. She wants Arden to restore her husband Ned's reputation. Ned has recently been acquitted of charges in a motor vehicle fatality. After the acquittal, Cordelia assumed their lives would just go back to what they were before the accident. She was wrong. Cordelia is a complex character who grows even more so as the story progresses. Does she believe her husband is innocent? Is he keeping secrets, as she suspects? Even the way she speaks is perplexing. She is cryptic. Ned, too, is a puzzlement. Hard to read and almost too good to be true, readers will wonder what he might be capable of when there is yet another auto accident. It is Arden who I found to be the most fascinating of all the characters. Her understanding of human nature and her insightfulness is impressive. However, this last case requires every bit of skill that she has as her clients are truly unique. If she fails, it might be her undoing. Skillfully crafted, the author brings to readers a complex and engrossing mystery. The dynamic characters and many twists and turns make ONE WRONG WORD, by Hank Phillippi Ryan, well worth reading. Highly recommended.