Crimes Against a Book Club

Cooperman’s debut novel is a lighthearted look at the evolution of a female friendship through entrepreneurial success and strife. When best friends Annie and Sarah find themselves broke with growing medical bills, the women decide to go into business selling a homemade face cream to the wealthy wives of La Jolla, San Diego. With meticulous Annie’s chemistry background and beautiful Sarah’s charisma, the business takes off—and Sarah soon finds herself learning more than she ever hoped for about the unfulfilled women of La Jolla. It is a whiplash-inducing rise to success, but when their secret ingredient comes to light, Annie and Sarah find themselves in the middle of a high-society scandal. Using a clever heist plot as her vehicle, Cooperman introduces the reader to a variety of characters trying to figure out how to age gracefully in a milieu dominated by the young and beautiful. While Cooperman’s characters are always intriguing and their personalities clear, their resolutions often feel like an afterthought to the main story. Cooperman’s debut is a light, engrossing novel with two bold protagonists that won’t quickly be forgotten. (May)