First published 2026
Debbie Mullen has spent years writing her advice column, Dear Debbie, helping New England wives navigate their troubled marriages. She listens to stories of women who face neglect, humiliation, and abuse from their husbands. She offers guidance and support, always urging patience and reason. But Debbie's own world is falling apart. She loses her job at the newspaper. Her teenage daughters are acting strangely, keeping secrets she cannot crack. Her husband is lying to her, sneaking around in ways her phone tracking app reveals but cannot explain. The women who write to her column keep suffering while their husbands face no consequences. Debbie realizes she has been giving the wrong advice all along. She stops counseling patience and starts planning payback. The people who have wronged her and the women she has tried to help will finally face justice. Debbie takes control in ways that will change everything.
Genres: domestic-fiction, abuse, mystery, contemporary, thriller, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New England
336 pages · Paperback · Poisoned Pen Press
Content warnings: abuse, domestic-violence, emotional-abuse