cover image Her Three Lives

Her Three Lives

Cate Holahan. Grand Central, $15.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-5387-3634-0

In this tempestuous thriller from Holahan (One Little Secret), 52-year-old Greg Hamlin is waiting at his house for his pregnant fiancée, 32-year-old Caribbean American culture and style blogger Jade Thompson, to dress for a party being thrown by his New York City architecture firm when two masked men force their way inside and fracture Greg’s skull with a crowbar. Greg later emerges from a coma to learn that the intruders took Jade’s engagement ring after physically assaulting her and triggering a miscarriage. Upon arriving home, a PTSD-stricken Greg installs security cameras in every room and begins obsessively monitoring the feed. He becomes convinced that Jade is acting suspiciously, and wonders whether his 23-year-old daughter, Violet, was onto something when she accused Jade of being a gold digger who orchestrated the attack. The couple’s relationship deteriorates as their respective stories unfold in alternating sections, tension and paranoia mounting in tandem. The characters’ increasingly rash actions strain credulity, but abundant drama and escalating stakes rivet nevertheless. Fans of soapy domestic suspense will be well satisfied. Agent: Paula Munier, Talcott Notch Literary. (Apr.)