Title: A Good Marriage
Author: Kimberly McCreight
Published: May 2020, Harper
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
Big Little Lies meets
Presumed Innocent in this riveting novel from the New York Times
bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia, in which a woman’s brutal
murder reveals the perilous compromises some couples make—and the
secrets they keep—in order to stay together.
Lizzie Kitsakis is
working late when she gets the call. Grueling hours are standard at
elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow
if Lizzie was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily
underpaid federal prosecutor. That job and her brilliant, devoted
husband Sam—she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then, suddenly, it
all fell apart.
No. That’s a lie. It wasn’t sudden, was it?
Long ago the cracks in Lizzie’s marriage had started to show. She was
just good at averting her eyes.
The last thing Lizzie needs
right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help—even if
Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: his wife, Amanda,
has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn
brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect.
As Lizzie is drawn
into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and
Amanda weren’t what they seemed—and that their friends, a close-knit
group of fellow parents at the exclusive Grace Hall private school,
might be protecting troubling secrets of their own. In the end, she’s
left wondering not only whether her own marriage can be saved, but what
it means to have a good marriage in the first place.
My thoughts: A while back, I read and loved Kimberly McCreight’s Reconstructing Amelia, and ever since reading that, I knew I wanted to read more of her books. I do have one or two sitting on my shelves, but for some reason just haven’t gotten to them. When I saw A Good Marriage was a Book of the Month selection, it was an easy pick…and I’m so glad I got it as it was just the push I needed to get back to reading her books.
Once again, I did this as a buddy read with two other friends and it was so fun to read this one together. We had such a great discussion afterwards and knowing that you are going to be discussing a book makes you read it a little more carefully, I think. You look for things to discuss, at least I do.
This book has a lot going on and further you get into the book, the more hooked you become. There’s the domestic drama aspect but then there’s the legal thriller aspect and I loved the way the two were intermingled. It really kept it moving and while I did feel that the court transcripts did get a little repetitive at times, the book as a whole is rather a quick read – I read it in one day.
This is such an intricately plotted mystery with lots of little twists that keep you completely engaged. I was totally caught off guard when the killer was finally revealed. I thought I had things worked out a few times only to be completely off guard…and I love that! I love when you realize you don’t know who you can trust. The web of lies that McCreight builds is so twisted that you find yourself not knowing where to turn.
I really enjoyed this and now am more excited to read this authors backlist as we wait for what comes next from her. A Good Marriage is definitely a good pick for your summer reading or your book club!
