My Ex-Best Friend
A Novel of Suburbia
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Journalist, wife, and mother of three, Claire Newman juggles work, soccer games, birthday parties, and errands. A successful writer at Nationweek, America's second largest newsweekly, she makes her living by being, as she says, "a relentless snoop," but she never was able to figure out why her best friend of twenty-three years, Lydia Finelli, dropped out of her life with no explanation. Claire hasn't seen Lydia in five years, and her unresolved hurt and anger still linger, brought to the surface by a chance encounter at the local bakery. When Lydia calls Claire and asks for her help, urging her to come discuss the situation in person, Claire figures it is one of "life's rare opportunities to tie up a loose end."
But when Claire arrives at Lydia's house, she finds her ex-best friend dead. While all the obvious signs point to suicide, Claire can't shake the feeling there's something very wrong. The irrepressible, feisty Claire starts investigating, and soon the list of suspects includes Lydia's neurologist husband, her psychiatrist neighbor, and even her son's handsome soccer coach. As Claire uncovers the secrets of her friend's past, and their relationship, the puzzle becomes even more complicated, and she finds that she really didn't know Lydia very well at all.
But knowledge comes with a price, and as Claire unravels the mystery of Lydia's death, she puts herself -- and the people she loves -- in harm's way.
Smart and funny, with razor-sharp storytelling, My Ex-Best Friend is the debut of a fresh new voice in contemporary fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An old friendship turns sour very sour in this able suspense debut set in Washington, D.C. Claire Newman and Lydia Finelli were close pals from childhood onward. Lydia and her physician husband, Matthew, kept up the friendship while Claire, a journalist, remained single, and they continued it after Claire married and had twin boys. But suddenly, when her own son was seven, Lydia shut Claire out of her life, and the abrupt break left Claire with a gaping emotional wound that, in five years' time, has not healed. Then a chance meeting in a Bethesda bakery has Lydia mysteriously and urgently pleading for Claire's help. Before Claire can ask Lydia any questions, Lydia dies, apparently from a combination of medications and dangerously interacting foods. Was it suicide, insanity or flat-out murder? Despite everyone's insistence that Lydia had long been unstable, Claire refuses to let the matter lie. When a package arrives at her office containing a "just in case" note from Lydia and a bundle of stock certificates, Claire is certain there's a nefarious reason for Lydia's death. The certificates lead to evidence of crooked financial dealings, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Photos left in Lydia's old camera show Randy, a psychiatrist and neighbor, getting more than a bit friendly with Lydia. And there's that letter from Claire's brother Rob another red herring? Claire turns sleuth, discovering financial shenanigans, sexual misbehavior and a secret in her own family. Brophy's fiction debut is a fast and easy read, and if the killer's motivation doesn't quite hold water, readers will identify with feisty heroine Claire. FYI:Journalist Brophy has links to the book community; her sister (and agent) is Philippa Brophy.
