April 25, 2016
Cohen (War of the Wives) captures divorce with pin-point accuracy in this unsettling read, where ugliness reigns, amicability flies out the window, and accusations, broken promises, financial shenanigans, and hatred dominate. When Dan decides to leave his wife, Sasha, for a 24-year-old model, their closest friends, Josh and Hannah (whose four-year-old is their own little girl’s best friend), become part of the drama. Dan’s efforts to minimize his betrayal just makes things worse. Sasha’s refusal to accept that her marriage is irreparably broken morphs into bitterness and vindictiveness. As Josh and Hannah try to remain neutral, financial worries, intimacy problems, and other dilemmas strain their marriage and damage their careers. Peppered throughout are pages from a girl who exhibits signs of a dual personality as a result of her mother’s abuse. Who is she? The reader knows Sasha had a horrible upbringing, but Hannah’s may have been even worse. Cohen’s marital drama morphs into a psychological thriller, and a last-minute twist set into motion much earlier in the narrative is brilliant.
June 1, 2016
Hannah and Josh have a cozy family with little daughter Lily. Making it even more perfect are their best-couple friends, Sasha and Dan, whom they met years ago at a neighborhood new baby group. Their daughter, September, the same age as Lily, makes the sextet complete and inseparable. That changes when Dan leaves Sasha for a young, hot model named Sienna. Incensed, Sasha leans heavily on Hannah for support. Josh feels strongly about standing by Dan and works hard to continue being his friend, even while disagreeing with his decisions. And then things go Gone Girl bad. Josh and Hannah are tested personally--their marriage is on the rocks, their careers are in shambles, and bodily harm is imminent. Cohen (The War of the Wives) is so adept at drawing out her broken, flawed, and emotionally shattered characters that no one is very likable in this biting novel. VERDICT For fans of stories in the vein of Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train, this tensely written drama about the consequences of choosing sides when a marriage close to you goes down in flames is aptly named.--Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 15, 2016
Not only are Josh and Hannah best friends with Dan and Sasha; they also live in the same neighborhood, and their young daughters are inseparable. So when Dan unexpectedly tells Josh he is leaving Sasha, their perfect world is turned on its head. Josh and Hannah are soon embroiled in the messy separation, unable to escape it. Dan continues his affair with a young model, and Sasha is determined to make him pay, both financially and emotionally, by preventing him from seeing his daughter. Josh and Hannah do their best to maintain a neutral stance, but things soon escalate. Did Dan abuse Sasha? Is Sasha having a breakdown? Neither Josh nor Hannah knows whom to believe, and they soon begin questioning the strength of their relationship and start harboring secrets of their own. This is a dark account of what can happen when a marriage fails and how the effects can be far-reaching. Cohen (War of the Wives, 2015) keeps readers on their toes, slowly building the tension before reaching a spine-chilling conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)