The Fallout

Cohen (War of the Wives) captures divorce with pin-point accuracy in this unsettling read, where ugliness reigns, amicability flies out the window, and accusations, broken promises, financial shenanigans, and hatred dominate. When Dan decides to leave his wife, Sasha, for a 24-year-old model, their closest friends, Josh and Hannah (whose four-year-old is their own little girl’s best friend), become part of the drama. Dan’s efforts to minimize his betrayal just makes things worse. Sasha’s refusal to accept that her marriage is irreparably broken morphs into bitterness and vindictiveness. As Josh and Hannah try to remain neutral, financial worries, intimacy problems, and other dilemmas strain their marriage and damage their careers. Peppered throughout are pages from a girl who exhibits signs of a dual personality as a result of her mother’s abuse. Who is she? The reader knows Sasha had a horrible upbringing, but Hannah’s may have been even worse. Cohen’s marital drama morphs into a psychological thriller, and a last-minute twist set into motion much earlier in the narrative is brilliant. (June)