About the Book:
Big Little Lies meets Presumed Innocent in this riveting novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia, in which a woman’s brutal murder reveals the perilous compromises some couples make—and the secrets they keep—in order to stay together.
Lizzie Kitsakis is working late when she gets the call. Grueling hours are standard at elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow if Lizzie was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily underpaid federal prosecutor. That job and her brilliant, devoted husband Sam—she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then, suddenly, it all fell apart.
No. That’s a lie. It wasn’t sudden, was it? Long ago the cracks in Lizzie’s marriage had started to show. She was just good at averting her eyes.
The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help—even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: his wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect.
As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed—and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Grace Hall private school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own. In the end, she’s left wondering not only whether her own marriage can be saved, but what it means to have a good marriage in the first place.
My Review:
What a fabulous slow-burn thriller! Please disregard any review that describes ‘A Good Marriage’ as fast-paced; it is definitely not! But the rich character development and intricately woven plot was well worth the pay-off in the end.
This audiobook grabbed me right from the beginning. A husband is arrested on a minor infraction but is quickly charged with his wife’s brutal murder. The case against him appears to be very strong. Zach and Amanda seemed to have it all: a new home in fashionable Park Slope, Brooklyn, a privileged lifestyle and a young son who attended the elite private school nearby. Zach is a wealthy start-up entrepreneur but his long hours at work took a toll on his and Amanda’s marriage.
“But sometimes it’s easier to stay married if you pretend.”
This book covers two of my favorite genres: a legal thriller and a domestic thriller. Not only do we get to see how Zach’s defense attorney Lizzie will defend her seemingly-guilty client, but we also get to read about all the other couples in Zach and Amanda’s world. Every couple seems to have a secret and everything seems to be coming to a head at the annual Fourth of July party, which promises to be a wild, hedonistic blow-out every year.
Lizzie and Zach were law school friends but Lizzie cannot figure out why Zach would want to hire her instead of more well-known defense attorneys. Her law firm, on the other hand, is eager to take the case due to the high-profile nature of the case.
The story is told in multiple points of view, with Amanda’s being the most poignant. She comes from a poor background and doesn’t feel like she fits in with the other Park Slope mothers. She is also having a difficult time dealing with Zach’s workaholic tendencies and his abrupt personality. However, Zach seems to Lizzie like he really loved Amanda, and even though they had issues, was that enough of a motive for him to kill his wife?
“That’s the hardest part about marriage, isn’t it?” Zach went on. “Somebody else’s problems become your own. It doesn’t always feel fair.”
I had a few minor issues with some the of legal parts of the story but overall I loved this book and the huge plot twist at the end. The author really took the time the develop all of the characters and the Brooklyn setting. And not one of the main characters was without fault, which made them all feel very relatable. Not necessarily likeable, but relatable!
“And in the end, wasn’t that the key to marriage? Learning to pretend that a few unspoiled things could make up for all the broken ones.”
Once again Karissa Vacker did an absolutely standout job as one of the narrators, as did Sarah Zimmerman. I highly recommend this thriller and look forward to reading Kimberly McCreight’s other books!
