A Good Marriage
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4.3 • 20 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
**Soon to be an Amazon Prime series**
The perfect life. The perfect neighbourhood. The perfect murder.
Welcome to Park Slope, where everyone has something to hide...
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When young lawyer Lizzie gets a call for help from an old friend accused of murdering his wife, she reluctantly says yes. Zach is the chief suspect in his wife, Amanda's, murder but there's no way he could be guilty - is there?
The further Lizzie dives into the glossy world of Brooklyn's Park Slope, the more she realises that things don't add up. Zach doesn't know the most basic details of his wife's past, and Amanda's friends barely know he exists.
And in uncovering the truth, Lizzie will be forced to confront dark secrets that lie at the heart of her own once perfect marriage...
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'McCreight is a master of misdirection - even if you've already read a lot of domestic thrillers, you'll be shocked by her jaw-dropping twists. Clear a spot next to Big Little Lies and The Couple Next Door - A Good Marriage is just as edgy and just as good.' APPLE BOOKS
'Expertly blends domestic drama with a gripping murder mystery.... Filled with credible plot twists and realistically flawed characters, McCreight's page-turner presses readers to question everything they think makes a "good" marriage. This will stay with the reader long after the finish.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
'McCreight expertly weaves multiple plot threads with a few sly red herrings, paving the way to a series of surprising, and satisfying, reveals. A smartly plotted and altogether successful union of legal thriller and domestic suspense.' KIRKUS
'Filled with emotional urgency, sharp insights and profound revelations, Kimberly McCreight's newest novel is a marvel - both a compelling mystery and a discerning exploration of love and marriage.' JEAN KWOK, author of SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE
'Part legal thriller, part domestic suspense, pure page turner, this is a novel that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about marriage.' MARY KUBICA, author of THE OTHER MRS
'Absolutely, positively riveting. I could not put this down! Kimberly McCreight has crafted a captivating, thrilling story that bolts out of the gate at a breakneck speed and never misses a step.' TAYLOR JENKINS REID, author of DAISY JONES AND THE SIX
'Full of dark secrets and surprising twists, A Good Marriage explores what lies beneath the surface of friendships, families, and communities. A captivating psychological thriller that gripped me from beginning to end.' MEGAN MIRANDA, author of THE LAST HOUSE GUEST
'I loved A Good Marriage, a fast-paced page-turner that combines the complexity of a legal thriller with the emotional resonance of domestic suspense. You won't be able to put it down!' LISA SCOTTOLINE, author of SOMEONE KNOWS
'What makes a good marriage - in fact and fiction? Kimberly McCreight takes a gimlet-eyed attempt at answering that question in the irresistible domestic drama, A Good Marriage,' THE WASHINGTON POST
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller McCreight (Reconstructing Amelia) expertly blends domestic drama with a gripping murder mystery. Lizzie Kitsakis, a senior associate at a prestigious Manhattan law firm, receives a phone call while working late one night from Zach Grayson, an old law school friend who's being held at Rikers for assaulting a police officer. Zach reveals that he's also the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, Amanda, in their swanky Brooklyn brownstone. Insisting that he's innocent, Zach begs Lizzie to represent him as his defense attorney. Reluctantly, Lizzie takes on the case and soon unravels secrets of childhood abuse found in Amanda's journals and of a loveless marriage after speaking to Amanda's circle of neighborhood friends. Meanwhile, Lizzie's alcoholic husband, Sam, recently had a car accident and must pay a large settlement. The two plots intertwine when Lizzie discovers a missing earring in Sam's messenger bag that belongs to Amanda. Filled with credible plot twists and realistically flawed characters, McCreight's page-turner presses readers to question everything they think makes a "good" marriage. This will stay with the reader long after the finish.
Customer Reviews
Rich white folk be crazy
Author
American. Graduated law from U Penn, but prefers to write novels. Lives in Brooklyn (where else?). Her debut Reconstructing Amelia (2013) covers goings-on among the student body at an exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn and their families, by which I mean the women folk mainly. I thought it was pretty good. The follow-up Where They Found Her (2015) moved the action to rural New Jersey, and employed a female protagonist who moved there from you know where. It was better. I have not read Ms McCreight's YA trilogy The Outliers (2016, 2017, 2018) but the reviews are good. She takes us back to an exclusive school in Park Slope, a different one, for adult novel number 3. I'd be prepared to hazard a guess at the Brooklyn neighbourhood, in which the author lives.
Plot
Lizzie's working late at her high powered law firm when she gets a call from Zach, an old classmate at U Penn, who is locked up at Rikers for assaulting a cop. The assault occurred beside the dead body of his glamorous younger wife Amanda, who was bludgeoned to death in the family home. The cops like hubby for the perp, but need time to stitch him up properly, I mean gather more evidence, so they're holding him on a lesser charge. Lizzie and Zach were an item back in the day. Lizzie didn't think so at the time; Zach did. In the interim, Zach made big money from inventing an app, sold out to a whale, then moved his wife and young son Case to the Big Apple to work on a mysterious new project. Lizzie and Amanda have mucho psychological and emotional baggage, as do most parents at the school. Stuff happens. Red herrings aplenty. The denouement is suitably complicated. I worked out who did it, but not why or how.
Writing
Ms McC writes crisp, clear prose that gets better with each outing, even if the plot teetered on the brink of being overwrought. Strong female characters and piss-poor blokes is business as usual for this author (and many others).
Bottom line
The blurb reads "Big Little Lies meets Presumed Innocent." That's a fair assessment. I'd add rich white people be crazy. I can see Reese Witherspoon picking up the option for this.