The Ex-wives Murder Club

Harrison (A Special Interest in Murder) delivers a twisted thriller about a trio of women who join forces to take out the man who wronged them. Meg and Jenny, both burned by their shared ex-husband, Mark, hatch a plan to kill him. They recruit his current wife, Amelia, to their cause and carry out the crime without a hitch. Exhilarated, the women decide to turn their success into a full-time gig, launching an underground contract service that offers comeuppance to despicable spouses. But when Meg and Jenny unexpectedly fall for each other, their budding romance creates a rift between them and Amelia. As the job offers keep coming, the fault line between the women deepens, resulting in a pile-up of bodies that lends the darkly comic proceedings a tragic air. Despite the title and top-line summary, what emerges is less of a cozy than it is a surprisingly bleak and blood-spattered meditation on the cycle of violence. Tonal whiplash aside, Harrison keeps readers on tenterhooks. Strong-nerved suspense fans will walk away satisfied. Agent: JL Stermer, Next Level Lit. (Mar.)