by Chris Pavone
First published 2012
Kate Moore stands in her new Luxembourg kitchen, folding laundry and wondering how her life became so ordinary. She left America to escape a secret that threatened to destroy everything. Her husband took a banking job that pays well but keeps him working late into the night. Kate fills her days with coffee mornings and school pickups, trying to blend in with the other expat wives. When another American couple moves to town, Kate's instincts kick in. Something feels wrong about these newcomers. Her husband grows more distant and evasive about his work. Kate discovers he's lying about his client and his daily activities. She begins investigating, uncovering fake companies, hidden weapons, and bank accounts filled with mysterious money. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that everyone around her is living a lie. Her quiet expat life was never what it seemed. The past she tried to leave behind has followed her to Europe, and now her family faces danger she never anticipated.
Genres: mystery, contemporary, thriller, espionage
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Europe, Luxembourg, United States
Period: 21st-century
326 pages · Hardcover · Crown