The Last Affair
Love may be blind, but obsession's a real killer.
Nora Holliday is not that kind of woman. Not the kind who has an illicit affair with a married man. But Josh Landon is everything Nora's alcoholic husband isn't. And now she and Josh are so infatuated, they can't stay away from one another.
Abby Landon, Josh's daughter, is home from college nursing a broken heart. She's seeking solace, not more scandal, so when she catches her dad kissing Nora, she vows to take the homewrecker down.
And as for Abby's mother and Josh's wife, Gwen? To anyone on the outside looking in, the mother of two appears to be living the ideal suburban life.
Until she winds up dead.
The serene seaside town of Shoreham has always been the perfect place to raise a family--not somewhere housewives are brutally murdered. So who killed Gwen Landon, and how many twisted secrets will be exposed as the vindictive plot comes undone?
Title: The Last Affair
Author: Margot Hunt
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Publishing Date: November 26, 2019
Pages: Paperback, 336 pages
Publishing House: Mira Books
ISBN: 0778309223 (ISBN13: 9780778309222)
Edition Language: English
My Review
What is the one thing you must not do when you are married that's worse than any other offense...aka leaving the toilet seat up or giving the silent treatment? It's having an affair!!! Or was it murder?
I don't know...but in the case of Margot Hunt's novel, she makes it pretty convincing that either could be justified...fictionally speaking, of course ;)
So, here is a quick synopsis of what's going down in The Last Affair. Two married couples, Nora, a prominent food blogger, mother of two teenagers is married to a recovered alcoholic husband and they have had their rough patches over the years due to drinking, some violence, and gambling. Gwen, a fitness fanatic and mother of two, is the wife to an orthodontist who is liked just a bit too much by the ladies all over town. Abby, their daughter, has just returned from college after a break-up, throwing the semester to the wind and sulking in PJ's all day in her room.
It's at a convention that the two of them meet. Nora is enjoying the weekend away from home, meeting with other bloggers and looking for a peaceful little retreat alone, in quiet, in a fancy hotel room.
Josh just spent the day at his dental conference and runs into Nora at the hotel bar. They vaguely know each other, just from her kids needing braces, and they immediately hit it off talking, casually, relaxed. So, the conversation leads to dinner, the laughter leads to wine, and the atmosphere turns flirty into the elevator.
Let's just say the sheets needed changing and both of them had an unforgettable night...so much so, that they can't stop thinking of each other in the next days and weeks.
This isn't something we haven't all read or heard of, but it's here at this point in the novel, where Margot Hunt's talent comes in. The story is told from each protagonist's view, including Josh and Gwen's daughter, so the reader gets a feel for what any and all the players are thinking or where they are coming from in their argumentations. Because you know...they will get caught!!! To make the whole thing more interesting, Hunt adds in several other narrative trails to figure out and casts a foreshadowing campaign to throw the reader of the course (I love when that happens and works out), so the players don't always act as we anticipate after all.
Though we are all on the moral high ground of course (right?), reading in the pov of the adulterers, one might come to find sympathy for these characters perhaps when learning what goes on behind closed doors in their homes and marriages. A justification that makes sense can be found for either of them if you spin it right! Well, either way, Hunt seems to have the upper hand and understanding of what goes in the minds of everyone. It stays relatable and plausible, written with insight into the human psyche and behavior of American suburbia, it's housewives and the domino effect of rumors...until everyone is going down and someone has to die!
So, what happens to the bad apples in the end? Is it a Happy Ever After?
Well, let's just say it gets messed up good! A train wreck in slow motion. You don't want to look, but you can't stop looking either. Hmm....would that not be the affair itself???? You don't want to have one but you can't stop it..... Never mind, not where I was going.
The cringe and thrill turn way up when other secrets come forth and everything becomes a gritty and sticky territory. Easily readable, fast-paced and entertaining, this is a great little thriller dish best paired perhaps with a vacation ;)
Enjoy
