Bonding

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 26 THG 5, 2025

Franklin's wry debut skewers the shifting social mores of late-stage capitalism. Mary, 32, is in a rut—recently fired from her dead-end London marketing job, she watches old episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot in place of a social life. Seeking excitement, she flies to Ibiza, where she meets alluring but aloof 36-year-old pharmaceutical marketer Tom. Their early interactions are stilted, and Tom, a fellow Brit, dispenses withering comments about her passive demeanor (" ‘You're one of those people who never shares anything, aren't you?' he said. ‘You're a pervert. You like lurking' "). But as they continue partying together, their connection grows. Meanwhile, Mary hears from enigmatic Lara, 33, once her lover and friend, who ghosted her three years earlier. Lara, an artist turned entrepreneur, practically begs Mary to take a job at Openr, her new dating app for "open-minded singles and couples." Back in the U.K., Mary ignores her instincts in favor of a paycheck and takes the role. Her days intensify as she balances developing edgy content for Openr and supporting Tom's work on the pharmaceutical industry's first prescription psychedelic. Franklin grounds the novel with textured characterizations, particularly in the contrast between Lara and Tom and in Mary's conflicting feelings toward them. This smart novel has plenty of bite.