Someone's Listening A Novel

Glass takes some now-familiar conventions from women-in-peril thrillers and gives them a good run in this entertaining mystery. We have a narrator who, if not entirely unreliable, is at least psychologically shaky and drunk quite a bit (The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window); a then-and-now jigsaw-puzzle narrative; and even a husband who has vanished--or has he (Gone Girl)?. We start with a golden couple: Faith Finley, an academic, a practicing psychologist, and the host of a popular radio show called Someone's Listening; and her celebrity food-critic husband. After a signing party for husband Liam's latest book, the couple is in a terrible car accident--at least Faith believes they were. There's no trace of Liam. Faith believes he took off, for unknown reasons. The police believe she murdered him, and, even with her shattered nerves, Faith has to find Liam or his murderer to clear herself of the crime--as someone starts stalking her. Nicely creepy.

Psychologist Faith Finley, the heroine of Glass's stellar debut, has a happy marriage, a thriving clinical psychology practice near Chicago, and a radio show based on her bestselling book, Starting Over: Life After Abuse. But Faith's life starts to unravel after a car accident puts her in the hospital and her husband, Liam, goes missing. Then an underage patient of Faith's accuses her of sexual misconduct, and Faith, formerly a media darling, is excoriated and condemned by the press. Without Liam to rely on, Faith reacts badly and turns to alcohol. As circumstances worsen, she fights back, determined to not only clear her name but also find Liam. Yet every step forward brings two back: the police seem intent on blaming Faith for the accident and have no leads on Liam's whereabouts, then she finds an envelope with her name on it in her mailbox--inside is a scrap of paper torn from her book, which starts: "Secure your own home." Intrigue and red herrings abound. Exceptionally well-drawn characters set this above the psychological thriller pack. Readers will eagerly await Glass's next. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Folio Literary Management. (July)