What an awesome mystery! I really didn’t want to put this one down.
The Happiness Thief has a main character with PTSD from a car crash where she lost her mother. Years later, she seems to take hit after hit when her husband leaves her, and then survives another crash. These losses are pretty emotional, and I liked how the author was able to bring so much emotion into the story and also bring the mystery to the plot!
I loved how the plot took some pretty crazy turns that I didn’t see coming. The plot had a bit of a slow-burn, and then as the secrets are revealed, the story sped up to a crazy pace! I thought it was a clever story, and I really enjoyed it!
Where to Find This Book:
Forty-one-year-old Natalie Greene lost her mom and her childhood memories in a car crash two decades ago. What remains is a haunting feeling that she was responsible for her mother’s death. After her husband leaves for another woman, Natalie accompanies her famous stepsister, Isabel Walker (aka “The Happiness Guru”) on a retreat to the Cayman Islands. There, a late-night collision triggers Natalie’s long-buried trauma and a heightened sense of guilt.
Upon returning home to Boston, Natalie tries to settle back into her life as a food photographer and single mother to a teenage daughter―but then, one day, an anonymous email arrives about the Cayman accident that suggests foul play. In her search for the truth, Natalie must deal with a mix of fear, confusion, and suspects. With the help of Isabel and an attractive journalist, she uncovers a trail of deceit that begins on that deserted Caribbean road, circles back home, and ends in the most unexpected of places.
Just the Facts:
The Happiness Thief by Nicole Bokat
Page Count: 280 pages
Publisher: She Writes Press
Pub Date: May 18, 2021
Nicole Bokat is the author of the novels Redeeming Eve and What Matters Most. Redeeming Eve was nominated for both the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction. She’s also published The Novels of Margaret Drabble: This Freudian Family Nexus. She received her PhD from New York University and has taught at NYU, Hunter College, and The New School. Her essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, Parents magazine, The Forward, and at More.com. She lives with her husband in New Jersey and has two grown sons.
Author Links:
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I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.
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