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Thomas and Viv Adler have a picture-perfect family. Affluent and attractive, with two well-mannered kids almost out of the nest, they live in a beautifully restored Craftsman house in a well-to-do neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Their jobs are secure; their children are thriving; the world is their oyster.
Until one morning, when they wake up to find that their house and car have been pelted with eggs. Thomas dismisses it as the work of a few out-of-control kids, but when a smoke bomb is tossed on their front lawn, and the tires on their BMW are punctured, he begins to worry. The family installs surveillance cameras but they show nothing but grainy images of shadowy figures in hoodies. Unable to identify the perpetrators, they are helpless as the assaults escalate. The police assure them that this is just the work of bored teenagers. But no one in the Adler family believes it. After all, each of them has a secret—kept not only from the outside world but from each other.
Seventeen-year-old Tarryn is dabbling in a seedy online world; her older brother, Eli, has dropped out of college and refuses to tell his parents why; and Thomas and Viv have their own secrets that began as harmless fun and relief from the pressures of everyday life, but have grown into something darker and more dangerous. As the Adlers grapple with their guilt, fear, and shame, the assaults grow deadly. Their "perfect" façade is crumbling, and it may be too late for any of them to do anything about it in this addictive and twisty suspense novel that will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 10, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781982176884
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781982176884
- File size: 2615 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from June 28, 2021
Viv and Thomas Adler, the outwardly successful Portland, Ore., couple at the center of this highly entertaining domestic thriller from Harding (The Swap), appear to have the perfect life. So why is someone targeting them with such late-night harassments as pelting their home with eggs and rotten vegetables? Burdened with financial woes, Viv and Thomas and their two children are falling apart. Viv, who views her interior decorating business as more like a hobby, steals little things from friends and clients. Moreover, she’s convinced that Thomas, a real estate broker, is cheating on her, though he worries about betraying her in a worse way. College sophomore Eli, who’s home for the summer, won’t say why he’s dropping out, while 17-year-old Tarryn sequesters herself in her basement bedroom, dressed in sexy lingerie and a wig, talking with well-paying customers in a private online chat room. Each of their secrets is potentially devastating, yet none seems powerful enough to provoke the escalating attacks. The brisk plot takes several clever twists before building to a shocking act of violence. Harding is sure to win new fans with this one. Agent: Joseph Veltre, Gersh Agency.
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