THE SECOND WIFE

Alex Carmichael’s house just burned down, but that’s shaping up to be the least of his troubles.

Alex is happy with his wife of six months, Natalie, and she seems to be getting more comfortable with his 14-year-old daughter, Jade. Things have been hard since his first wife died, and he’s thrilled things are coming together so well. However, that delicate balance is tested when Alex returns from entertaining London clients to find his home ablaze and his daughter still inside. Natalie claims she tried to find Jade and get her out but couldn’t. Luckily, Jade is rescued from the blaze, but she requires hospitalization, and Natalie and Alex must stay at a hotel. If the fire wasn’t bad enough, Jade confides to Alex that she saw a man inside the house before the fire broke out, and it wasn’t the first time. And it just gets weirder from there. The police claim that the fire doesn’t look like an accident, and when Alex returns to the remains of his home in hopes of rescuing a few personal possessions, he discovers documents that suggest Natalie might not have been honest about her past. He doesn’t know the half of it, but he’s hiding a few secrets of his own. Fleet alternates past and present and moves among several narrators as she unfolds the truth about Natalie and the horrible events that came to define her. That past is about to catch up with her, but she’s not about to go down without a fight. Fleet is a capable writer, and Natalie’s story is especially compelling and well plotted, but most readers will see the big twist(s) coming from a mile away. This book will handily pass the time but ultimately fails to distinguish itself from a crowded field.

Standard fare.