For Better and Worse
On their first date back in law school, Natalie and Will Clarke bonded over drinks, dinner and whether they could get away with murder. Now married, they’ll put the latter to the test when an unchecked danger in their community places their son in jeopardy. Working as a criminal defense attorney, Nat refuses to rely on the broken legal system to keep her family safe. She knows that if you want justice…you have to get it yourself.
Shocked to discover Nat’s taken matters into her own hands, Will has no choice but to dirty his, also. His family is in way too deep to back down now. He’s just not sure he recognizes the woman he married. Nat’s always been fiercely protective, but never this ruthless or calculating. With the police poking holes in their airtight plan, what will be the first to fall apart: their scandalous secret—or their marriage?
Genre: Thriller
Author: Margot Hunt
Paperback, 336 pages
Published: December, 11th 2018
Publishing House: MIRA
My Review
Lies have short legs….
In the case of Natalie and Will Clarke, this happens to be a big detriment…a lesson to be learned the hard way.
Suburbia…life is good for Nat and Will. They have gone through Law school together, invested into their careers, moved into a quiet neighborhood with a good school system and began their family. Sure, their love life is not as exciting anymore as it used to be, but between carpooling, work, sports and life…marriage care and romance has moved a little on to the back burner. Understandable and nothing to worry about though. With a strong foundation, their marriage has not even begun to face the unthinkable. A test to come, in the worst of ways.
It all begins with a regular morning dropping off kids at school, except today there are lots of police officers parked around the premises and the community gossip cogs are running ramped. It turns out, the superintendent of the school was just put on leave of absence for alleged pedophile activities. As the hours pass and the gossip mill keeps on turning, everyone in town finds out who the kid was that has come forward with claim.
Nat and her son are having a beautiful time at the park having some ice cream, as she approaches the subject of what has happened in school. To her horror, her son begins to cry uncontrollably and it turns out that he was taken advantage of as well.
As any mama-bear, Nat is shocked, hurt, outraged and sick about it. The worst part is, the superintendent was a good acquaintance of the family…and Nat sees red. She secretly devises a plan on what to do about it while relying on all her experience as a defense lawyer to go about it. A quality or fault that intrigues, perplexes and disgusts her husband, as he gets involved involuntarily on a situation gone wrong!
Which one of the two ends up being the most cold blooded liar of the two? And are they smart enough to cover their tracks and get away with what they did?
What would you do?
***
Told for the first part of the novel in the voice of Nat and the second half from Will’s point of view, this novel is a wild ride. And I stinkin’ loved it.
Why so? Well…all of it seemed very contemporary and casual. You are on this girlfriend trip with Nat through her life and it is easy to understand all the nuances and efficiency of a working mother. All of it reads very plausible and there are funny moments as well as cringe worthy ones. And then there is “that scene” I about died right there and could hardly breathe and read on…a mishap in her act of revenge (as if holding my breath through it all could help in any case, haha).
I don’t read as many thrillers as some others, so I understand that there might be better ones out there. Perspectives are different depending on your walk of life or experience, so the molestation of a child is definitely something that touches me. As well as the devastation for parents and the ability to sit and twiddle thumbs while a life has to be restored to normal with the possibility that a pedophile gets away with it.
Fictionalized, of course, I thought this to be a great thriller to keep me on the edge with convoluted lies that come to light in the midst of it, that I am not touching on to spoil this review.
This is a page-turner for sure! :)