The Scandal

Gossip and secrets galore drive this entertaining domestic thriller from Marsh (Long Way Home). Three friends—social worker Risa Thurston, cop Claire Casey, and executive Elly Knight—meet regularly for drinks and snacks in the garden of Risa’s lavish mansion in Gledhill, a town in the Hamptons. Then one day, pregnant Jodi Van Gelder—broke, alone, and seeking her unborn baby’s father whose photograph she saw in a newspaper—finds her way from Manhattan to the Thurston home during one of the elaborate parties Risa organizes to impress her wealthy husband’s business associates. Risa, seeing herself as she once was, gets Jodi settled at the help center where she works, formulating a plan that will allow Jodi’s baby to be adopted by Claire and her husband, who just found out they can’t conceive a child. A subsequent murder upsets the residents of Gledhill, especially Elly, who believes she may be having an affair with the killer. The dynamics among the women enhance the plot, which, like a good daytime soap opera, one can’t turn away from. Those who prefer the focus on relationships rather than criminal activity will be rewarded. Agent: Jennifer Hunt, Bookouture. (Oct.)