THE DEAD EX

Vicki Goudman has finally found some peace in her life, living near the seashore and working quietly as an aromatherapist. But when her ex-husband, David, disappears, she may well lose everything, including her freedom.

Although their relationship ignited fast, Vicki and David’s marriage flamed out fairly quickly, too, particularly after Vicki discovered that his business trips to the Caribbean and Paris were actually liaisons with another woman, Tanya, his former assistant who's now his wife. She also suspects that David may have been involved in some white-collar crime. Worse, during their marriage David was adept at gaslighting Vicki, often telling her that his unexpected disappearances were business trips she had simply forgotten about. His vanishing into thin air might point to murder, but maybe he’s simply slipped off the grid again. If only Vicki’s epilepsy hadn’t left everyone convinced that she just can’t remember killing him. Corry (Blood Sisters, 2018, etc.) toggles chapters between Vicki’s story and that of Scarlet Darling, the young daughter of an impoverished drug addict and trafficker. When Scarlet’s mother lands in prison, Scarlet is placed in foster care. Longing to be reunited with her mother, Scarlet endures abuse from the other children, not to mention the adults, in her first foster home. Her second foster home offers stable, loving adults, but Scarlet has trouble connecting. Her distrustfulness eventually leads to her, too, being snatched up by police. How Scarlet connects to Vicki remains deliciously murky as the two stories alternate and the tension ratchets up. Under suspicion and hounded by the police, Vicki must soon reveal secrets long buried about her former job, how she developed epilepsy, and the real reasons for the breakdown of her marriage.

An electrifying, page-turning thriller simply begging to be filmed.