What the Wife Knew

The new bride of a well-known pediatric surgeon is accused of his murder in the spellbinding latest from Kane (The Engagement Party). Barely three months after Addison and Richmond Dougherty tie the knot, Richmond takes a fatal tumble down the stairs of their palatial home in Rye, N.Y. Though police immediately suspect Addison, her alibi—that she was with her mother at a diner when Richmond died—appears airtight. Instead, one of the late doctor’s disgruntled business partners and the father of a young patient who died during surgery become the main persons of interest. In flashbacks, Kane details how Addison’s mother blackmailed her into marrying Richmond, and explores his previous marriage to Kathryn, a beloved figure among Rye’s upper crust. In the present, Addison’s neighbors turn on her, and a series of anonymous notes left in her home make her fear that whoever killed Richmond might come after her next. Kane keeps readers brilliantly off-balance, obscuring everyone’s motives until they become crystal-clear in the jaw-dropping finale. Readers won’t be able to put this down. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (Dec.)