This Close to Okay

December 21, 2020
Cross-Smith (So We Can Glow) explores fragility, grief, and the effects of mental illness in this wonderfully strange novel about new love between broken people. Tallie Clark is a divorced, childless therapist who sees a man about to jump from a bridge on her way home one night. She pulls over and talks him into joining her for a cup of coffee, then invites the man, who goes only by Emmett, to stay at her house. In the days that follow, Tallie and Emmett learn about each other’s divorces and the deaths, infidelities, and heartaches that have shaped their lives. All the while, Cross-Smith builds suspense by gradually alluding to each character’s ulterior motives as Tallie neglects to tell Emmett she’s a therapist, and Emmett emails Tallie’s ex-husband to get her the answers he thinks she needs. Alternating between Tallie and Emmett’s perspectives, the narrative cannily inhabits a space where Tallie calls danger a “frothing aphrodisiac,” and the two characters at times learn, or fail, to cope with sorrow and depression. As dark and tense as it is flirty and humorous, this moving novel offers consistent surprises. Agent: Kerry D’Agostino, Curtis Brown.

January 1, 2021
In her second novel, Cross-Smith (Whiskey & Ribbons, 2018) once again shows adeptness at exploring the range of human emotions, particularly the fragility of relationships in the wake of tragedy. Having a difficult time moving on after her recent divorce, Tallie makes a rash decision when she spots a man looking like he is about to jump from a bridge. She convinces Emmett to come with her instead, eventually spending the weekend. Tallie doesn't tell him she's a therapist, for fear that he will think she sees him as a project, but Emmett is hiding even bigger secrets that are hinted at during chapters from his POV. Tallie is suspicious of Emmett but also drawn to him; they seem to be just what each other needs at that moment. The weekend turns into a fairly rote new-love story, even with the added suspense that Emmett is hiding something terrible and possibly terrifying. But Cross-Smith is no fan of fairytales, offering twists that keep the novel interesting and realistic. A page-turning pleaser with a heroine to love.

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