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This stunning new book by Emily Listfield is driven by character development and the psychological stress that accompanies every day life, but can suddenly turn into something much more sinister. Like many women readers, Lisa Barkley appears to have it all: a loving family, a high-powered career, a charming best friend, and a spot on the fund-raising committee at her daughters' tony private school. Beneath the surface, however, it's a different story. She is anxious about money after her husband's bad investments, her company has just been bought out, her best friend seems to be involved with another difficult man, and she's trying to fit in with the mothers at her daughters' school, who clearly have none of her mundane money worries. Two events that will shake her foundations happen almost simultaneously, although on the surface they appear as little more than blips on the radar screen of life. The first is a birthday dinner with an out-of-town college friend who still has romantic yearnings for her best friend, Deidre. The second, more worrying development, is a phone message for her husband from a strange woman. It builds from there, as Lisa's husband is caught in a web of continual lies, and Deidre waffles between reuniting with the old college flame or sticking with her current boyfriend, a renowned photographer who refuses to commit. Pressures mount as the public relations company Lisa works for is bought out, and a new man at the company is trying to make her look incompetent and marginalize her once-commanding role. All the daily pressures continue to build until life finally spins out of control with a dead body. Then the lies that everyone has been living will come home to roost. Who can be trusted? Author Emily Listfield does an excellent job of building and maintaining suspicion in BEST INTENTIONS. Reader theories of whose sinister behavior is responsible will change from minute to minute, page to page. She deftly handles her characters and keeps the mystery going until the book's end. This excellent tale will keep readers engrossed from beginning to end. It's not your average murder mystery. There's much more focus on character development and psychological profiles, trying to determine who is operating with the "best intentions" and who has another agenda entirely.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, June 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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