SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

His Scandal

Her Secret

From New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke, a stunning domestic thriller in the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Woman in Cabin 10—in which a woman must make the impossible choice between defending her husband and saving herself.

When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past.

Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look—at both the man she married and the women she chose not to believe.

This much-anticipated follow-up to Burke’s Edgar-nominated The Ex asks how far a wife will go to protect the man she loves: Will she stand by his side, even if he drags her down with him?

Our first Alafair Burke book (shout out to Tal Shapir for recommendation) and we LOVED it! Her style of writing is up there with the best of our best reads! We are hooked!

So, you will experience major character bonding straight away. As Angela’s story unravels and her past is revealed, her secrets will haunt you. We were rooting for her from the beginning. I mean, who wouldn’t! Her husband turns out to be a cheating jerk. Hasn’t she been thru enough in her life? She was just settling down in her new Manhattan home with her son and husband Jason, leaving her shocking past behind for good when the news of her husband’s unfaithful behavior sends her world tumbling down and her secrets spewing out!

But don’t get too comfy thinking you know how the story will end. Even the most seasoned Psychological Thriller reader will be shocked! That was a fabulous twist to a thrilling story. We look forward to reading more from Alafair Burke!

Alafair Burke is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels.

Her most recent psychological thriller, THE WIFE, has been praised as “sneaky” (Lisa Scottoline), “schemey” (Seattle Times), “twisty” (Megan Miranda), and “tantalizing” (Booklist).  THE WIFE was selected as a best-of-the-month pick by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Entertainment Weekly, O (Oprah Magazine), and others.  It is being adapted as a feature film by Amazon Studios, with Alafair hired to write the screenplay.

Her previous novel, THE EX, was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel. 

In addition to the standalone novels that have earned her a reputation as “a genius for plot” (Oprah Magazine) and “a virtuoso” of domestic suspense (Minneapolis Star Tribune), she authors “two power house series” (Sun-Sentinel) featuring NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher and Portland Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid. Alafair is also the co-author of the “Under Suspicion” series with Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark. 

Alafair was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but grew up primarily in Wichita, Kansas.  She traces her lifelong fascination with crime to the fact that a serial killer was active in her hometown in her formative years.  In a world where the killer could be anyone, and where an arrest appeared hopeless, Alafair found comfort in crime fiction. Her mother, a school librarian, helped her navigate her way from Encyclopedia Brown to Nancy Drew to Agatha Christie and eventually to Sue Grafton. In the books, as opposed to Wichita, smart sleuthing always paid off, and order was always restored.

Her interest in crime led her to a career in 

America’s police precincts and criminal courtrooms. After graduating from Reed College and Stanford Law School and clerking for a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Alafair served as a Deputy District Attorney in Portland, Oregon, where she specialized in domestic violence offenses and also served as a liaison to the police department.  Alafair decided to write a novel when she realized that her own job was fertile ground for crime fiction.  Her first novel, JUDGMENT CALLS, was set in the very office where she worked for several years, and was loosely based on elements drawn from multiple cases she encountered as a prosecutor.

Although Alafair no longer practices law, she remains a tenured member of the faculty at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where she teaches criminal law and procedure.  Her legal scholarship focuses on the discretionary decisions of prosecutors and police, and she frequently serves as a legal commentator for various media outlets.

Alafair is often asked about the origin of her name, especially by readers who are familiar with the fictional character, Alafair Robicheaux, created by her father (author James Lee Burke). Alafair was named for her father’s maternal grandmother. It was a more common name in the United States, particularly the south, at the turn of the twentieth century. Now it is a name that belongs to her, two of her cousins, and, from what she can find on Google, ten cats, two dogs, an alpaca, boat, and at least one very cute little girl.

She lives in New York City and East Hampton with her husband and two dogs, Double and Fra.

Praise for Alafair Burke:

 “Burke’s female characters are always very involving, with big, strong voices.”

— Gillian Flynn

 

AMAZON | THRIFTBOOKS | KOBO

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE