Goodnight Beautiful
A Novel
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4.0 • 526 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A Most Anticipated Book by: Crime Reads, Buzzfeed, Popsugar, Bustle, New York Post
From "master of clever misdirection" (Kirkus Reviews) Aimee Molloy, author of the New York Times bestseller The Perfect Mother, comes an irresistible psychological thriller featuring a newly married woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband goes missing.
A handsome psychotherapist. His lonely wife. And in his home office ceiling, a vent …
You’d listen too, wouldn’t you? (You know you would.)
In this gripping small-town thriller, newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York City and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown upstate. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele. Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, revealing a marriage built on secrets and lies and throwing a wrench into their happily ever after.
Showcasing Molloy’s deft ability to subvert norms with a truly unreliable narrator, and culminating in the kind of stunning twist that is becoming her trademark, Goodnight Beautiful is a thrilling tale of domestic suspense that not only questions assumptions but defies expectations.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
It's no accident that more than one character is reading Stephen King's Misery in this crafty page-turner from bestseller Molloy (The Perfect Mother). For starters, plenty of it misery, that is awaits newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter after their move from Manhattan to Sam's upstate hometown of Chestnut Hill, N.Y., to be closer to his ailing mother. After a heady first few weeks during which Sam's therapy practice explodes with women eager for face time with the studly psychologist, he disappears shaking Annie to the core. But, in the absence of clear indications of foul play, his disappearance is a low priority for the local police, especially once they get anonymous tips about his major debts and possible affair with a patient of his. After some accomplished misdirection, Molloy flips the story on its head. The surprising revelations compensate for the book's major weakness readers not getting to know the most appealing character, spunky Annie, until late in the plot when she's forced to turn detective to search for the husband she still loves despite his considerable flaws. Psychological thriller fans won't want to miss this one.
Customer Reviews
Goodnight beautiful
Good read. Somewhat confusing in the first few chapters.
Eh
This book was okay, at best. It was very confusing in the beginning, I assume trying to be mysterious, but it was just confusing. And when you finally connect all the dots, the book was over. It was your typical mystery book with an overcomplicated story line.
Lacks Originality
The book kept me entertained and interested but I still could not unsee the similarities between this book and a certain novel by Stephen King. I waited for the plots to diverge but they never did. That disappointed me because I expected there to be some twist that would separate this book from the King novel I am recalling.