The good goodbye : a novel / Carla Buckley.

For fans of Jodi Picoult comes an enthralling domestic thriller about the lies we tell, and let ourselves believe, in the name of love. The first thing you should know is that everyone lies. The second thing is that it matters. On her way to her nineteenth wedding anniversary celebration, Natalie Falcone leaves the struggling restaurant she owns with her brother-in-law, Vince. She doesn't speak to him on her way out; they haven't spoken in months. But out on the sidewalk, she gets a phone call every mother dreads: It's from the emergency room where her daughter, Arden, attends college. Arden's been in a fire, along with Natalie's niece, Rory-- Vince's daughter and Arden s best friend. Natalie rushes to the hospital and learns that both Arden and Rory lie unconscious, and that another student has died in the blaze. The police suspect arson. As the investigation mounts, Natalie struggles to piece together the elusive details of Arden's and Rory's freshman year. Growing up, Rory was charming, popular, and charismatic, while Arden was artistic, perceptive, and reserved. They were different yet inseparable, more like sisters than cousins. But the case unearths a different portrait of a complex friendship, a love triangle, a fight, and a girl who was struggling more than anyone realized. To discover what really happened that tragic night, Natalie's and Vince's families must confront the one truth that ultimately emerges: Nothing is ever exactly what it seems. Advance praise for The Good Goodbye Cousins as close as sisters, a mysterious fire, a tangled web of lies: It all adds up to a fluid, suspenseful story that keeps you turning the pages to find out what happened and what will happen next. I devoured this novel. Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train Elegant and emotional, deeply affecting . . . Carla Buckley has done it again, writing an exquisitely troubling, psychologically complex novel that grabs the reader on page one and never lets go. Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Language of Sisters Twisty and beguiling, Carla Buckley s The Good Goodbye shudders with revelations from its first pages. As suspense, it ensnares you, and as an emotionally rich novel about the formidable and fraught bonds of family, it will have you holding your breath until its final, moving paragraphs. Megan Abbott, author of The Fever Relentlessly suspenseful and instantly riveting, this heartbreaking page-turner probes the darkest secrets a family tries to protect. Complex, sinister and beautifully written, Carla Buckley s powerful story will make you stop, listen, and hug your children. Hank Phillippi Ryan, winner of the Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark awards Utterly hypnotizing . . . I was left in awe of Buckley s powers of storytelling, of the way she lays clues with deftness and care, luring the reader down a cataclysmic and at times evasive trail of lies, family secrets, and teenage betrayal, leading to a perfectly satisfying finale. The Good Goodbye is incredible! Mary Kubica, internationally bestselling author of The Good Girl In Carla Buckley s finest novel yet, the aftermath of a tragedy leaches long-hidden secrets into a family s vigil, revealing the hazy outlines of sin, debt, and desire. The Good Goodbye is provocative, riveting, wrenching. Sophie Littlefield, author of The Missing Place

On her way to her nineteenth wedding anniversary celebration, Natalie Falcone leaves the struggling restaurant she owns with her brother-in-law, Vince. She doesn't speak to him on her way out; they haven't spoken in months. But out on the sidewalk, she gets a phone call every mother dreads: her daughter, Arden, has been in a fire at her college, along with Vince's daughter, Rory. The police suspect arson.The families must confront the one truth that ultimately emerges: nothing is ever exactly what it seems.