The House Guest

This engrossing psychological thriller from Mary Higgins Clark Award winner Ryan (Her Perfect Life) thrusts Alyssa Macallen into a world where nothing is as it seems. Bill, Alyssa’s husband of eight years and “a big-deal charity fundraiser,” has left her for no apparent reason. She’s stonewalled by his lawyers and shunned by the members of the Weston, Mass., country club set who have always considered her to be a mere appendage to the famous and extremely wealthy Bill. Despondent and alone, Alyssa walks into a bar where she’s sure no one will recognize her. There she meets Bree Lorrance, a young woman with problems of her own. In need of a friend, Alyssa impulsively invites Bree to stay in her guest house. Then FBI agent Hattie Parker comes knocking at her door. It seems that most of Bill’s fundraising for charity went to line his own pockets, and the FBI thinks Alyssa was a party to the fraud. From that point on, Alyssa’s life spins out of control. Surprise after surprise follows, each of which sends the plot skittering off in a new direction. Ryan is a master of suspense. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, DeFiore & Co. (Feb.)