Lucky Night

In Kennedy’s serviceable latest (after Do This for Me), the bounds of a 40-something couple’s yearslong affair are tested by a hotel fire alarm. Nick, a high-powered lawyer, and Jenny, a successful YA romance author, first met at a parents’ night at their children’s school. Now, six years into their affair, they rendezvous at a ritzy Manhattan hotel, pretending they’re only there for some “outrageous” and “filthy” sex (Nick’s words). The truth is that each privately harbors serious feelings for the other. When a fire alarm goes off just as they finish having sex, neither is particularly worried (Nick calls the sound an “orgasm gong,” and they trade jokes about an employee named Gong Boy who rings it out). As the alarm continues, however, their unease leads to more candid conversation; Jenny admits that she’s just faked her orgasm and they wonder if they’re in serious danger. When Nick tries to get a handle on what’s happening by calling the front desk, the person who answers explains that the newly opened high-rise has been dealing with false alarms and they’re “almost positive” this is a false one, too. But as the night wears on, the lovers start to panic. The novel doesn’t quite reach the gravitas it aspires to, but Kennedy ably interweaves Nick and Jenny’s flirty banter with more vulnerable exchanges. It’s a pleasant enough romp. (Mar.)