Lie, Lie Again

This disappointing standalone from Wise (Maybe Someone Like You) opens with three young women staring at a body lying at the bottom of the stairs of their Southern California apartment complex. Flash back 15 days. Sylvia Webb, a marketing professional, has a charming boyfriend she wants to have a child with, but he doesn’t seem to be over his ex-girlfriend. Embry Taylor is a devoted wife to her struggling aspiring actor husband, Brandon, and mother of two. With the financial burdens the family faces while Brandon tries to make ends meet as a bartender, Embry doesn’t want to reveal to Brandon that she’s once again pregnant. Meanwhile, Riki McFarlan develops feelings for Brandon, even though she has a boyfriend and struggles with her teaching job at a private school. Wise skillfully fleshes out the three women as they go about their day-to-day lives, but she does little to develop the suspense. The dead body doesn’t reenter the story until the end. This works better as commercial women’s fiction than as a thriller. Agent: Beth Miller, Writers House. (Nov.)