Wasp’s Nest

Stoddard debuts with a breezy if superficial retelling of The Philadelphia Story set on modern-day Cape Cod. Tess Lowell, a Manhattan art agent and socialite, divorced her ex-husband, Peter Hyun, an artist, five years ago, over his alcohol abuse. Peter, sober for the past few years, is surprised to receive an invitation not only to Tess’s wedding but to the preceding week of festivities. He arrives on the cape with his acquaintance, Mitch, an aspiring writer, and pretends Mitch is his boyfriend, but it turns out the joke is on them: the invite was sent as a prank by Tess’s brother. Despite the Lowells’ longtime disapproval of Peter, they offer him and Mitch the use of their guest house. Over the disastrous week, Mitch, a stalwart member of the working class, verbally spars with the Lowells and Tess’s fiancé, a centrist politician and “safe” choice for her future, with whom she lacks the spark she had with Peter. While Peter and Tess remember what drew them to each other, Mitch falls for both of them. The novel’s epigraph borrows a line delivered by Katherine Hepburn: “The time to make up your mind about people is never.” Unfortunately, Stoddard’s characters never surprise the reader, hewing to stereotypes throughout. This one never quite takes flight. Agent: Aurora Fernandez, Trident Media Group. (June)