by M.K. Oliver
First published 2026
Lalla Rook has her afternoon planned. She needs to host a four-year-old's birthday party, advance her husband Stephen's partnership prospects, and secure their dream house in Hampstead. Then a stranger breaks into her living room and she stabs him seven times. Now Lalla has a body to dispose of alongside her usual tasks. Her life already requires careful management. Stephen lacks ambition, their current house falls short of perfect, and their daughter's habit of drowning class pets threatens her prep school admission. The dead intruder complicates everything. Who was this man and why did he target her? Lalla has secrets from her past that must stay buried. When police arrive, avoiding detection becomes another item for her to-do list. She frames a friend, maintains her maternal duties, and handles domestic details with practiced efficiency. Lalla misses the thrill that comes with crossing lines, and motherhood has made her an expert at juggling multiple demands. She just needs to keep her picture-perfect facade intact while managing this latest crisis.
Genres: domestic-fiction, suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Hampstead
384 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books
Content warnings: murder, violence
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