Emily and Einstein

Lee (The Devil in Junior League) returns with a quick yet extremely predictable story of betrayal and atonement. Sandy Portman and Emily Barlow seem to lead a perfect life. Sandy is a successful businessman from an old-money family, and Emily, beautiful and smart, is quickly gaining respect in her career as a book editor. But Sandy is keeping a few secrets from Emily, and is hit by a car and killed before he has a chance to reveal the truth. In a Dickensian turn of events, he's given an otherworldly chance to make amends as a dog named Einstein. Emily adopts Einstein and he bears witness as she discovers Sandy's former duplicity, causing her life to fall apart and leaving Einstein to figure out how to save her so that he can save himself. These turns of events also reveal the novel's most frustrating aspect: an utter lack of surprise. (Mar.)