April 23, 2018
London divorce lawyer Francine Day, the bipolar narrator of Butler’s engrossing thriller, is on the cusp of a major promotion when she and a client, wealthy businessman Martin Joy, fall into a torrid love affair. Suspecting that Martin and his estranged wife, Donna, are still involved, the jealous, obsessive Francine follows them to a restaurant one night and then to Donna’s home. The next morning, she has no memory of what happened afterward, but when she learns that Donna is missing, she suspects foul play. As her career and personal life unravel, Francine struggles to discover whether her lover is a murderer. An unsavory neighbor figures in an unsettling subplot, and other secondary characters, such as a rival at her law firm and her long-suffering best friend, add verisimilitude, though Martin is less well-drawn. An impeccably paced plot builds to a riveting confrontation, but some readers might find the resolution too tidy. Butler, the pseudonym of a British author with a background in law and magazine journalism, handles Francine’s bipolar disorder with awareness and compassion. Agent: Rachel Mills, Furniss & Lawton (U.K.).