The Dead Ex

November 15, 2018
Vicki Goudman has finally found some peace in her life, living near the seashore and working quietly as an aromatherapist. But when her ex-husband, David, disappears, she may well lose everything, including her freedom.Although their relationship ignited fast, Vicki and David's marriage flamed out fairly quickly, too, particularly after Vicki discovered that his business trips to the Caribbean and Paris were actually liaisons with another woman, Tanya, his former assistant who's now his wife. She also suspects that David may have been involved in some white-collar crime. Worse, during their marriage David was adept at gaslighting Vicki, often telling her that his unexpected disappearances were business trips she had simply forgotten about. His vanishing into thin air might point to murder, but maybe he's simply slipped off the grid again. If only Vicki's epilepsy hadn't left everyone convinced that she just can't remember killing him. Corry (Blood Sisters, 2018, etc.) toggles chapters between Vicki's story and that of Scarlet Darling, the young daughter of an impoverished drug addict and trafficker. When Scarlet's mother lands in prison, Scarlet is placed in foster care. Longing to be reunited with her mother, Scarlet endures abuse from the other children, not to mention the adults, in her first foster home. Her second foster home offers stable, loving adults, but Scarlet has trouble connecting. Her distrustfulness eventually leads to her, too, being snatched up by police. How Scarlet connects to Vicki remains deliciously murky as the two stories alternate and the tension ratchets up. Under suspicion and hounded by the police, Vicki must soon reveal secrets long buried about her former job, how she developed epilepsy, and the real reasons for the breakdown of her marriage.An electrifying, page-turning thriller simply begging to be filmed.

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December 1, 2018

Vicki is steadily rebuilding her life as an aromatherapist after a traumatic divorce from David when the police arrive to question her about his recent disappearance. The stress of the encounter aggravates her epilepsy and clouds her judgement, setting into motion a series of poor choices that culminate in a violent confrontation with David's current wife, Tanya, who won't share what she knows about his absence. Vicki's tale unfolds against alternating chapters of eight-year-old Scarlet, whose entire world revolves around mom Zelda's imaginative games that serve as clever disguises for drug sales and con jobs. When a hustle goes wrong and Zelda is finally arrested, Scarlet ends up in foster care without an advocate or any way to help her mother. Over time, Scarlet's dreams of a new life turn into a calculated quest for revenge, bringing the story back to the initial mystery of David's departure. VERDICT Corry (Blood Sisters) delivers strong plot twists, a fast pace, and devious characters, making this a perfect blend of Liv Constantine's The Last Mrs. Parrish and Alafair Burke's The Wife that will keep readers guessing until the end.--Tina Panik, Avon Free P.L., CT

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2018
A self-employed aromatherapist trying to control her recently diagnosed epilepsy, Vicki Goudman is piecing her life back together after a painful divorce and career troubles. Her former husband, David, has been missing for weeks, and Vicki?who still pines for him even after he left her for his secretary, Tanya?falls under suspicion. So Vicki confronts Tanya for information about David, a meeting that turns physical and leaves Tanya dead and Vicki arrested for murder. Chapters about Vicki alternate with chapters about Scarlet Darling, whose single mother, Zelda, uses Scarlet to deal drugs until Zelda goes to prison and Scarlet to foster care. As information about Vicki's marriage and career is gradually revealed, and Vicki acknowledges her potentially faulty memory because of seizures, the two plot threads inevitably intertwine, delivering unexpected twists to the final page. Corry's skill at building suspense and creating characters with secret pasts, as shown in her earlier novels (My Husband's Wife, 2017, and Blood Sisters?, 2018), is on display again here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)