by Ann Leary
First published 2013
Hildy Good lives as a divorced middle-aged woman in a small, well-to-do town where she stands out as an anomaly. She approaches life with sharp humor and regular glasses of Pinot Noir. Her two adult children decide she needs help and force her into an addiction treatment program. Hildy finds their concern absurd and questions why she cannot enjoy her evening drinks. As events unfold, readers witness the elaborate deceptions Hildy constructs around her alcohol use. Her drinking damages her relationships with those closest to her. Multiple secrets begin to intersect in dangerous ways throughout the community. One person's reckless actions threaten to reveal others' hidden truths. The convergence of these concealed realities leads toward destructive outcomes for Hildy and the people she cares about.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: New England
Period: 21st-century
292 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse