The Best of Friends

This workmanlike portrait of three families coping with tragedy from Berry (The Perfect Child) focuses on Kendra, Lindsey, and Dani, who share narrative duties in alternating chapters. Friends since childhood, they are now wives and mothers entering middle age in a wealthy Southern California neighborhood. They think of themselves as the best of friends, a condition that’s easy to maintain as long as their interactions remain superficial. The women are slowly forced to reveal their secrets and weaknesses when their teenage sons are involved in a shooting that leaves Kendra’s son dead, Lindsey’s son in a coma, and Dani’s son in traumatic shock and unable to speak. No sleuthing is involved in uncovering the killer. Berry, a trauma psychologist, set ups a situation full of psychological drama, but since there’s little that distinguishes one narrative voice from another, readers will struggle to engage with the characters. Those wanting more than minimal suspense will have to look elsewhere. [em]Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Aug.) [/em]