#ATBR2020 – A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight

More books for the May #allthebookreviews list!

Thanks to Harper Books for the free early copies in exchange for our honest reviews

A GOOD MARRIAGE – Kimberly McCreight (Released May 5th, 2020)

Book Description:

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.

Chandra’s Thoughts: 4/5 stars

I absolutely loved Reconstructing Amelia so was thrilled to get a copy of McCreight’s latest, A Good Marriage!  And color me surprised to realize I’ve also read the first two of her Outlier trilogy!  And yes, I loved them all!  Also, this cover – it took me a moment to realize there’s a guy’s face on top of the girl’s… and that it’s super creepy… and I love it!

This was quite a fun read.  Lizzie takes on a little more than she can chew when an old friend of hers needs her as his lawyer.  He found his wife dead, claims he’s innocent but still in jail for assaulting an officer.  Just what IS this dude’s deal?  Like with most thrillers, nothing is as it seems.  

McCreight keeps us on our toes.  I love the Grand Jury testimonies and memos throw in periodically between the chapters.  There’s something about the law and thrillers that really piques my interest.  The suspense is real here and the author keeps the tension alive throughout the pages.  Reveals are given to us as we read so even while we’re still adjusting to a “WHAT” moment, we’re still continuing in our journey to find the killer.

While maybe this could’ve been shorted just a tad, the 400 pages shouldn’t deter you as this reads very quickly.  A perfect entertaining read that will keep you guessing until the end.

My Thoughts: 4/5 stars

I read the first two books of McCreight’s Outliers series and loved them both! So it was about time that I picked up another one of her books (and RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA is on my shelves already). Don’t let the 400 page count deter you because this one moves incredibly quick.

We open with the murder of Amanda Grayson, the beautiful wife of millionaire Zach Grayson. As we all would expect, he becomes the prime suspect in the crime. We then meet Lizzie, a former classmate and friend of Zach, who has just taken up a new job at a lawfirm. He convinces her to take his case, despite her having no real experience in violent criminal cases.

Of course we get the secrets and the lies as she begins to dig in deeper to the case. What happened the night before Amanda’s murder? What secrets was she hiding? I loved the inclusion of the transcripts and testimonies as the story progressed, that’s something I will always find appealing and intriguing about the legal thriller genre!

This is part legal thriller and part domestic suspense in the best way. A GOOD MARRIAGE is the perfect book to lose yourself in with all the twists and reveals the author leaves throughout the story for us. All the tension and suspense doesn’t let up and I loved it all.