by Belva Plain
First published 2001
Hyacinth once had everything. Her husband Gerald was a successful plastic surgeon. She painted in their comfortable home while their two children played nearby. Other couples looked at them with envy. Then Hyacinth discovered Gerald's betrayal. In a single night of rage, she did something unforgivable. Gerald now holds that act over her head like a weapon. He demands full custody of their children in exchange for his silence about what happened. Hyacinth agrees, unable to explain her choice even to her own mother. She loses her children and her old life crumbles around her. But the truth about that terrible night still haunts her. Until she faces what really happened, she cannot move forward. Only by confronting her past can Hyacinth hope to win back her children and rebuild her shattered world.
Genres: fiction, drama, family-life, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
448 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Dell
Content warnings: child-death, domestic-violence