A Good Marriage

KIMBERLY MCCREIGHT

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, HarperCollins, 2020.

How acquired: NetGalley

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts: It took me about three weeks to read this book, longer than it should have. While reading I could generally become immersed in the story, but once I set it down and then picked it up again later (or closed my Kindle app and then reopened it later), it took a bit to get immersed again as I didn't seem to be retaining much in my head.

Lizzie narrates her part of the story, and relates to us how she receives a call from Zach, an old law school friend, who has been accused of murdering his wife and is currently in Rikers. He is insistent that she represent him, and she is reluctantly drawn into his case. Not because she believes he is guilty, but because she recently began working for a large corporate firm, where associates aren't allowed to bring in cases. To Lizzie's disappointment, her boss, who is a partner, flouts that rule and tells her to take the case.

The narration switches back and forth between Lizzie's story, and Amanda's story, told in third person POV, and going back over the days leading up to the murder. Despite the two being very different women, the narrative voices did not feel distinctive to me. Other than the POV, it was as if the same person were narrating.

The plot got quite convoluted, with a lot of surprises and reveals. But it was Amanda's story that drew me in and kept me reading. Her story was more of a character study than Lizzie's, and I'll take a character driven story over plot driven any day. The more we got to know Amanda the more I felt sorry for her. Referencing my earlier remark about not retaining much in between reading sessions, I actually do still remember quite a lot about Amanda, but not so much about Lizzie.

As for the supporting characters, I had a little trouble remembering which woman was who, as they seemed to run together. But I was able to keep the men straight in my head. And I hated Zach early on, long before we found out whether he was guilty or innocent.

Overall, not an especially memorable story other than some of Amanda's parts, but easy reading to while away some time.

Goodreads synopsis: Lizzie Kitsakis is working late when she gets the call. Grueling hours are standard at elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow if Lizzie was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily underpaid federal prosecutor. That job and her brilliant, devoted husband Sam—she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then, suddenly, it all fell apart. 

No. That’s a lie. It wasn’t sudden, was it? Long ago the cracks in Lizzie’s marriage had started to show. She was just good at averting her eyes. 

The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help—even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: his wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect. 

As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed—and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Grace Hall private school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own. In the end, she’s left wondering not only whether her own marriage can be saved, but what it means to have a good marriage in the first place.