Julie's Review: A Good Marriage

Author: Kimberly McCreight
Series: None
Publication Date: May 5, 2020
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 398
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Suspense
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: More money, more weirdness
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Summary: 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 Brooklyn Country Day 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. ~amazon.com

Review: To each his own I say in marriage but the key parties that apparently happen for the nuevo riche left me a bit flabbergasted. How is having sex with someone else so blase? Sorry, I'm from the midwest and while open-minded, this one boggles my mind. Amanda Grayson seems to have it all, the rich/well off husband, the great kid and a solid circle of friends. She's hiding a secret that could destroy her life in the end except someone murders her before it can get it out. Did her murder have something to do with her secret or was it something else? Is her rich husband (because it's always the husband) guilty?

Enter Lizzie who was a federal prosecutor but now is at a firm that deals with white collar crime. Lizzie's got her own issues and so when Zach reaches out to her that he needs a lawyer, she doesn't want to take up the case. Does her firm even do murder cases? It turns out the partner she's assigned to is fine with her taking it as long as it doesn't interfere with her other case.

As Lizzie starts to turn over rocks, she begins to see that things aren't always as shiny on the outside as people make you think. What happens is Lizzie starts to examine her own marriage in a different light and starts to wonder what is a good marriage? Can she even save her marriage and if she does, will it mean saving herself?

I really liked Lizzie, a lot. She was in a tough spot emotionally and financially. She was doing her best to stay afloat but you can only doggy paddle for so long before you get tired. Plus she had the weight of her husband Sam on her back. She believes that Zach is innocent and is determined to fight for him to get the justice he deserves.

Overall I really liked the story and the pace. The characters are interesting and well rounded especially Amanda, Zach and Lizzie. I will say there were a couple things that weren't resolved for me that I would have liked closure on. 


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Julie's Review: Reconstructing Amelia

Author: Kimberly McCreight
Series: None
Publication Date: December 3, 2013
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages: 400
Obtained: friend
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A cautionary tale for all parents
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Summary: In Reconstructing Amelia, the stunning debut novel from Kimberly McCreight, Kate's in the middle of the biggest meeting of her career when she gets the telephone call from Grace Hall, her daughter’s exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Amelia has been suspended, effective immediately, and Kate must come get her daughter—now. But Kate’s stress over leaving work quickly turns to panic when she arrives at the school and finds it surrounded by police officers, fire trucks, and an ambulance. By then it’s already too late for Amelia. And for Kate. An academic overachiever despondent over getting caught cheating has jumped to her death. At least that’s the story Grace Hall tells Kate. And clouded as she is by her guilt and grief, it is the one she forces herself to believe. Until she gets an anonymous text: She didn’t jump. Reconstructing Amelia is about secret first loves, old friendships, and an all-girls club steeped in tradition. But, most of all, it’s the story of how far a mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she couldn’t save. Fans of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will find Reconstructing Amelia just as gripping and surprising. ~amazon.com  

Review: Reconstructing Amelia is one of those books that all parents and teens should read. It touches on many things including bullying, social media and the complexities of teenage relationships/friendships. It makes me happy that I grew up when I did when being a teen wasn't easy but it sure was a lot less complex.

Kate feels that her and Amelia have a strong relationship even if Kate works long hours as an attorney. She makes sure she carves out time on Fridays and Sundays for them to spend together. Still Kate isn't stupid, she knows that her daughter surely keeps secrets from her, what teenager doesn't. It isn't until she gets the call from the school that Kate wonders exactly what her daughter is keeping from her.  Except when Kate gets to the school, she's informed that her daughter has jumped from the roof of the school because she was caught cheating.

As Kate delves into her daughter's life, she wonders how well she knew her and what she could have done differently. Guilt eats at Kate.  As she starts to think that maybe Amelia didn't jump to her death, she starts to push for the truth. She uncovers various things that are going on in her daughters life and how her own choices affected Amelia.

Ms. McCreight does an excellent job of exploring how much of a teenagers life can a parent really know, especially these days with social media. What lengths would you go to for proof that your child didn't commit suicide? What if the truth was more complex and hurt more than you could ever imagine, would you still want to know?

Reconstructing Amelia examines all of these things in a way that will petrify you but also serve as a wake up call.


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