cover image MY EX-BEST FRIEND

MY EX-BEST FRIEND

Beth Brophy, . . Simon & Schuster, $23 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-4422-0

An old friendship turns sour—very sour—in this able suspense debut set in Washington, D.C. Claire Newman and Lydia Finelli were close pals from childhood onward. Lydia and her physician husband, Matthew, kept up the friendship while Claire, a journalist, remained single, and they continued it after Claire married and had twin boys. But suddenly, when her own son was seven, Lydia shut Claire out of her life, and the abrupt break left Claire with a gaping emotional wound that, in five years' time, has not healed. Then a chance meeting in a Bethesda bakery has Lydia mysteriously and urgently pleading for Claire's help. Before Claire can ask Lydia any questions, Lydia dies, apparently from a combination of medications and dangerously interacting foods. Was it suicide, insanity or flat-out murder? Despite everyone's insistence that Lydia had long been unstable, Claire refuses to let the matter lie. When a package arrives at her office containing a "just in case" note from Lydia and a bundle of stock certificates, Claire is certain there's a nefarious reason for Lydia's death. The certificates lead to evidence of crooked financial dealings, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Photos left in Lydia's old camera show Randy, a psychiatrist and neighbor, getting more than a bit friendly with Lydia. And there's that letter from Claire's brother Rob—another red herring? Claire turns sleuth, discovering financial shenanigans, sexual misbehavior and a secret in her own family. Brophy's fiction debut is a fast and easy read, and if the killer's motivation doesn't quite hold water, readers will identify with feisty heroine Claire. (July)

FYI:Journalist Brophy has links to the book community; her sister (and agent) is Philippa Brophy.