No One Could Have Guessed the Weather

Screenwriter Casey’s debut novel entwines the lives of four women trying to survive and thrive in New York amid relationships, misunderstandings, and broken dreams. When Lucy Lovett’s husband loses his high-powered job and the couple is forced to move from London to a small apartment in New York, she worries about feeling isolated. But when her mother dies and Lucy takes a trip back to London, she recognizes the patterns of unhappiness in her old life and realizes that things in New York aren’t so bad. Soon she connects with Julia Kirkland, a TV writer; Christy, the trophy wife of an older, wealthy man; and Robyn, whose low self-esteem manifests as aggression. In dealing with their individual challenges, these women become more connected than they’d imagined. Casey’s bright, witty writing and scalpel-sharp insights create a quick pace, marred only by the inevitable shadow cast over the book by Sex and the City. But Casey’s debut leaves the reader eager for more. Agent: Allison Hunter, InkWell Management. (June)