Someone Else’s Life

Annie Lin, the protagonist of this unsettling thriller from Butler (The Red Thread of Fate), has recently moved from New York to Kauai, Hawaii, with her husband, Brody, and their four-year-old son, Finn. She hopes the change of scene will provide comfort and stability for Finn, who suffered a traumatic accident six months earlier, and shore up her shaky marriage. But most of all, Annie hopes to regain some semblance of normalcy after personal and professional failures, including the bankruptcy of her dance studio, have left her depressed, resentful, and difficult to be around. She’s even started to doubt her own sanity. As the family adjusts to a fragile happiness, severe weather rocks the island, and a strange woman appears at their door seeking shelter. What happens next forces Annie to question everything in her life as she wonders whether this stranger is friend or foe. Well-developed characters and plenty of local color add to the slowly simmering plot, which builds to a strong and unexpected climax. Alfred Hitchcock fans will be satisfied. Agent: Rachel Brooks, Bookends Literary. (Jan.)