The Goddesses

May 22, 2017
Huntley’s (We Could Be Beautiful) second novel is an engaging account of a middle-aged woman’s journey for an identity apart from her family. Nancy Murphy moves from San Diego to Hawaii with her husband, Chuck, and their twin sons after he has an affair. In search of transformation, she tries a yoga class, where she connects with the magnetic teacher, Ana. The two begin a friendship, and Nancy is drawn in by Ana’s stories of battling cancer and her rough past. She joins Ana in her quest to reverse her karma, and soon the two declare themselves goddesses in their quest for reinvention. Nancy’s sons and husband feel neglected as she gets closer to Ana and allows her to move in with her family when her cancer returns. However, Ana’s behavior grows suspicious, culminating in an ill-fated revenge plot that has fatal consequences. Though the characters lack substantial depth, readers will be pulled along by the quick-moving story.

May 15, 2017
Huntley's (We Could Be Beautiful, 2016) second domestic thriller turns its attention to an all-consuming friendship between two middle-aged women--one of whom may not be exactly who she seems.Newly settled in Kona, Hawaii--part of a last-ditch attempt to save her flailing marriage--Nancy Murphy is desperate to reinvent herself into a new person, an exciting person whose husband did not cheat on her with his assistant manager from Costco. That means uncharacteristically dragging herself to yoga class. "I'd read online that yoga had transformed many peoples' lives, and I needed a transformation," Nancy says. She finds it through Ana, a woman so at peace she's a parody of a yoga teacher, and instantly falls under her charismatic spell. Free, unencumbered by children or marriage, spontaneous and spiritual and girlishly fun, Ana is everything Nancy isn't. And yet they recognize each other as kindred spirits--and soon the two fall into an easy intimacy, soaking in Ana's hot tub, browsing used bookstores, and eating at hippie health food buffets, circling the island distributing sandwiches to homeless people so they might "create space for better destinies." With Ana, Nancy has an escape from her old self. "I'm going to call you Nan from now on," Ana informs her. "Don't you see how the letters of our names match up perfectly? Nan and Ana! Yin and yang!" But as Nancy becomes ever more absorbed by their friendship, Ana becomes more demanding, dangerously threatening the very foundations of Nancy's world. As in her first book, Huntley is a keen social observer, empathetic and biting at once. And while the plot itself is somewhat predictable--a familiar cloud hangs over the friendship from the start--the plot is hardly the point. Instead, it serves as necessary scaffolding, a vehicle for Huntley's gripping psychological portrait of a woman at a personal crossroads. A haunting story of betrayal and forgiveness that packs an unexpectedly emotional punch.

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Starred review from June 1, 2017
Nancy and Chuck thought a change of scenery would do the whole family good. Their teenage boys had been getting in some scrapes at school, Chuck was drinking too much, and their marriage had been on the rocks ever since Chuck confessed to sleeping with his blonde assistant manager, Shelly. Nancy hated herself, Chuck, and Shelly, most of all, but the lush greenery and brilliant sunsets of Hawaii could solve everything. The boys and Chuck settle into their Kona routines quickly, but Nancy doesn't feel like she fits in until she attends an outdoor yoga class. The instructor, Ana, quickly becomes a friend, and Nancy's overjoyed to have someone on her side. Their friendship burns fast and bright, until Nancy feels unsure that this yoga-stretching, Rumi-quoting woman is everything she appears to be. An engrossing portrait of female friendship, Huntley's sophomore novel explores the risks and rewards of finding an unexpected soul mate. Huntley lets the idyllic Hawaiian setting wash over the reader, the volcanoes and starry skies the perfect background for Nancy's self-discovery. Readers who enjoyed Camille Pagan's Life and Other Near-Death Experiences (2015) and the works of Meg Wolitzer will savor the slow burn of this expressive and electric novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)