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A Circle of Wives

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
From the New York Times–bestselling author of Half Moon Bay. “Marriage is as mysterious as murder in LaPlante’s captivating psychological thriller” (People).
 
  • An Indie Next Pick
  • A LibraryReads Selection
  • An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mysteries & Thrillers)
  • A Daily Candy Best Book of March
  • One of More magazine’s “Five Thrillers Not to Read After Dark”
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    When Dr. John Taylor turns up dead in a hotel room, the local police uncover enough incriminating evidence to suspect foul play. Det. Samantha Adams, whose Palo Alto beat usually covers petty crimes, is innocently thrown into a high-profile case that is more complicated than any she has faced before.
     
    A renowned reconstructive surgeon and a respected family man, Dr. Taylor was beloved and admired. But beneath his perfect façade was a hidden life—in fact, multiple lives. Dr. Taylor was married to three very different women in three separate cities. As the circumstances surrounding his death emerge, Detective Adams finds herself tracking down a murderer through a tangled web of marital deception and revenge. New York Times–bestselling author Alice LaPlante’s haunting and complex novel of family secrets dissects—with scalpel-like agility—the intricacies of desire and commitment, trust and jealousy.
     
    “Exhilarating and smart, A Circle of Wive is a wild ride of love, loss, marriage and murder, with a finale that’s provocative, thrilling and grand. It all shows that while some deaths are a mystery, so, too, are some loves.” —San Francisco Chronicle
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      • Publisher's Weekly

        December 2, 2013
        The murder of prominent Stanford plastic surgeon John Taylor jolts the career of Samantha Adams, an inexperienced Palo Alto, Calif., police detective, in LaPlante’s engrossing second thriller (after 2011’s Turn of Mind). The charismatic, well-respected doctor, who specialized in reconstructive surgery for needy children, had a damning secret: he kept three wives, Deborah, MJ, and Helen, in different cities. The investigation affects commitment-phobe Sam’s own relationship with nice-but-bland Peter, as she becomes fascinated with the question of why these very different women found John appealing. Told in the alternating voices of Sam, Deborah, MJ, and Helen, the novel explores love, loss, control, the influence of past relationships, and passion. The multi-narrator approach may strike some as choppy at first, but LaPlante quickly settles into a captivating rhythm. She paints a sympathetic picture of the enigmatic John while channeling the women’s voices to explore how their separate stories converged on him. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

      • Library Journal

        January 1, 2014

        On the surface LaPlante's second novel (after the acclaimed Turn of Mind) is a straightforward mystery. A respected plastic surgeon, Dr. John Taylor, is found dead in his hotel room in Palo Alto, CA. Det. Samantha Adams is assigned the case, and though her hometown rarely sees a murder, she's determined to solve the case. Sam discovers that Taylor was leading a complicated personal life, one that involved three wives, Deborah, M.J., and Helen, all of whom become suspects in his murder. Each of the women knew a different version of the man. Sam must find out which life was the one that got him killed. VERDICT Though a murder mystery serves as the backdrop to LaPlante's tale, her characters tell the story. The narration alternates from chapter to chapter and from woman to woman. An investigation of a crime becomes an exploration of the choices these women made and the resulting impact. Fans of character-driven puzzles will find much to like in this psychological novel. [See Prepub Alert, 10/20/13; 12-city tour; library marketing.]--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

        Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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    • English

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