Do This For Me

When a high-powered New York lawyer discovers her husband has been unfaithful, she decides to exact merciless revenge in this enjoyable novel from Kennedy (I Take You). Raney Moore has it all: a husband she loves, two beautiful daughters, and a prestigious job as a partner at her law firm. But when she gets a call telling her that her husband, Aaron, has been cheating on her, everything falls apart. Raney’s first reaction is to systematically destroy Aaron’s life by calling on her minions at the firm to cancel his credit cards, pack up and sell their home, hack his social media, and make massive public donations to climate change denial organizations in his name. The sequence is deliciously fun and cathartic, due in no small part to Kennedy’s talent for quick, theatrical dialogue. As Raney’s fury cools and she and Aaron give their marriage another shot, she investigates herself and the ways in which her life was perfect only as a facade. However, the broad comedy that plays so well in the beginning doesn’t coexist well with the nuance the book strives for (but doesn’t quite achieve) at the end. Still, there’s plenty of fun to be had. This zany tale will appeal to readers Zoe Heller’s The Believers. (May)