Review by Booklist Review
Paul Strom is driving his wife, Mia, to their lake house for a long weekend. The Stroms are one of those picture-perfect couples: he's a high-powered executive, they have two beautiful young sons, they enjoy the finer things in life. But underneath the glossy veneer lies something broken. The action takes place over a single day, as Paul narrates the ride to the lake and what happens after they arrive. But, as readers who love suspense will discover with glee, Paul is the consummate unreliable narrator. He keeps telling Mia that he's whisking her away for the best day ever, but his idea of a great day is quite a bit different than any nonsociopath would expect. Luckily, Mia is no damsel in distress and has a few tricks of her own ready for Paul. Rouda keeps the pace taut, the action spare, and the characters intense as she takes readers on an hour-by-hour recounting of the couple's fateful getaway. Rouda's first book under Harlequin's Graydon House imprint heralds the publisher's welcome move into edgy women's fiction and will be sure to find a wide readership.--Vnuk, Rebecca Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this slow-burning marital thriller, Rouda (The Goodbye Year) delivers a chilling, first-person portrait of a modern-day psychopath that delves into questions of how well we really know those closest to us. Paul Strom has planned the best weekend ever for his lovely wife, Mia. From the outside, he seems to be the ideal doting husband, with an amazing job at a big advertising agency in Columbus, Ohio. They have two beautiful boys, a wonderful home, and even a fabulous lakeside getaway by Lake Erie. Although it seems like they have it all, Mia hasn't been feeling well and things between them don't have quite the same spark-so Paul has decided to take her to the lake house for the weekend, just the two of them. Even as they drive away from the city and toward the idyllic cottage by the lake, a small thread of lies and deception begins to unravel, the tension building as it becomes clear that Paul is not everything he says he is and the weekend he has planned is not quite what it seems either. But Mia, though her voice is not the focal point of the novel, is not to be underestimated. A tensely written, shocking book that will hold readers on the edge of their seats to the very last page. Agent: Katie Shea Boutillier, Donald Maass Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Promising an idyllic respite from their everyday routine, "the best day ever," Paul Strom whisks his wife, Mia, away from their suburban home in Columbus, OH, to Lake Erie for a romantic weekend. Their lakeside retreat, in its prestigious gated community, is just one benefit of the couple's extravagant lifestyle. Paul and the much younger Mia met a decade ago at the advertising agency where he was an executive and she a promising newcomer. After a whirlwind romance, they married, set up housekeeping, and Mia spent the next decade at home raising their two young sons. As Paul narrates this memorable day in their life, offering glimpses into the past and hints of his motivations for the trip, disturbing secrets bubble under the surface, threatening to compromise their relaxing vacation. -Verdict This latest psychological thriller from best-selling Rouda (The Goodbye Year) is destined to fly off the shelves, enticing readers to ride along as this multifaceted day in the life of the Stroms unfolds.-Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A husband and father has a very, very special weekend planned for his wife in this creepy little chiller.Ohio couple Paul and Mia Strom are heading up to their lake house on the shores of Lake Erie for the perfect weekend, and Paul is determined to make it the best day ever. Their two young sons are with a babysitter, and Mia, who has been struggling with a mysterious illness, is feeling better. And why shouldn't it be a perfect day? Paul and Mia have a perfect family, and Paul is the perfect husband (he even says so) and Mia, the perfect housewife. All is...well, perfect. Or so Paul would have everyone think. After 10 years, the shine has worn off for Paul, but he chose Mia for a reason, and he's determined to make it work; he'll do it on his terms, though, and this weekend will be a turning point. But Paul's skeletons are falling out of the closet in droves, and Mia isn't the wilting housewife he thought she was. The Stroms seems to have it all and are a king and queen of their suburban domain, but there's a creeping rot underneath, and his name is Paul. There are children at stake, though, not to mention Mia, who has endured this man for far too long. Rouda's (The Goodbye Year, 2016) choice to have Paul narrate is a compelling one, and he is about as awful as he can possibly get without going completely over the top (although a laughable attempt to whisk his mistress off to Disneyland in the middle of the night pushes it a bit). He laces his narrative with just enough snippets about his fraught childhood to give his warped pathology some psychological heft. The conclusion even leaves a little bit of uncertainty for readers to chew on. Darkly funny, scandalous, and utterly satisfying. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
