The Thunder Beneath Us

In Blades’s second novel, a talented but self-sabotaging writer is forced to grapple with her painful past as years of secrecy and shame come back to haunt her. Best Lightburn is an ingenue making a name for herself in the New York magazine world; she is surrounded by fabulous, fun friends and is dating a handsome movie star. But things take a bad turn when her boyfriend, Grant, has a breakdown and her beloved boss leaves the style magazine where she works. Suddenly, Best finds herself forced into a corner by the new leadership and under pressure from a reporter who wants to break the one story Best has worked for years to keep quiet: when she was a child, she and her brothers fell through the ice on a lake; she was the only survivor, a secret source of guilt that she has kept hidden from even those closest to her. Blades layers her narrative with twists, snap decisions, and deep introspection, building a story that feels realistic and human. Although at times Best’s stubborn self-preservation feels overwrought, as a whole the book is a fascinating look at the way people process their own survival in the wake of death, and the many ways the past can wreak havoc in the present. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel & Goderich. (Nov.)