Happy Wife
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jun 24, 2025
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A young woman must find her missing husband and prove her innocence in this twisty, unputdownable novel set in an ultrawealthy Florida community where looks can kill.
“In a world of the uber rich, a web of deceit, envy, and betrayal leads to one woman fighting for the truth—and her life—in this gripping tale of suspense and intrigue. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.”—Liv Constantine, New York Times bestselling author of The Next Mrs. Parrish
Nora Davies doesn’t exactly fit in to Winter Park, Florida, where old-guard Floridians mix with the tax-fleeing coastal elite. Twenty-eight and barely making ends meet working at a country club, Nora feels like she’s going nowhere fast. Enter Will Somerset: a prominent forty-six-year-old lawyer, father to a teenage daughter, and recently divorced. The two set Winter Park’s social scene agog when they fall in love and marry after a whirlwind Cinderella-style courtship.
But Winter Park is fully upended when Will disappears the morning after a birthday bash Nora throws for him. Going back and forth between Nora and Will’s romance and the search in the wake of Will’s mysterious disappearance, Nora must answer the question from all angles: Where. Is. Will?
Combining breathless suspense, glittering and juicy social dynamics, and an unforgettable cast of characters, Happy Wife is a clever and subversive novel that explores marriage, wealth, and the secrets that lurk behind closed doors.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
TV writer Lavender and former communications consultant Shores debut with a lukewarm Cinderella story turned murder mystery. Nora Davies, 28, works as "an aimless swim instructor slash receptionist" at a ritzy country club in Winter Park, Fla. There, she meets Will Somerset, a wealthy, recently divorced lawyer in his 40s. Their attraction is immediate and mutual, and before long, Nora becomes Will's second wife and his teen daughter's stepmother. Her bliss is interrupted by animosity from Will's social circle: Winter Park's women see Nora as "a harbinger of younger second wives," and everyone else considers her little more than a gold digger. When Will disappears from his lavish birthday party, the rumor mill churns, and Nora finds herself at the center of his murder investigation. To clear her name, she digs into Will's past, uncovering information that makes her wonder whether her whirlwind romance might have been too good to be true. Lavender and Shores keep the pacing brisk and the prose clean, but their characters are frustratingly two-dimensional, and the workmanlike plot fails to make much of an impression. This disappoints.
