Titles are my weakness. I get excited about slick verbiage in titles. When I received an email about this book from Keith Thomas Walker, I was chomping at the bit to get home so I could delve into this story. I was only familiar with KTW, so I worried Brian Smith would be too verbose in his writing. I was so wrong in that assessment on many levels. The story was written in alternating chapters, and it was amazing how it molded together seamlessly.
Keith started off by introducing the three main characters. Corey and Renee Grand and Corey’s best friend, a partner in crime, and drinking buddy-Wayne. Corey was a self-made millionaire and for years had not only cheated many times, but Renee was also aware of his infidelities. Renee was a stay at home mom and online professor. She homeschooled their son CJ, and If one was looking at her life from the outside, things probably looked unbelievable. Things were in fact, unbelievable. Corey had no qualms about having relationships outside of his marriage; he claimed not to be able to help himself. I called B.S. on that comment. A few times I wondered what his real issues were, but as the story progresses, he will bite off more than he will be able to chew. Wayne, Corey, and Renee met in college. Initially, Renee was interested in Wayne, but the competitive side of Corey would not allow his friend to win. He went after Renee full throttle. Then after getting her; he set about doing his dirt year after year.
Although Corey was a horrible husband, he was an excellent father whom his son loved and idolized. In my heart, I was hoping the kid would not be able to see his father’s transgressions until much later in life, or hopefully, his dad would get some act-right and do the right thing by his mother.
The first interaction with the lady in Corey’s office was a clear sign it was someone readers would see again in a few pages. The interaction was a signal of what was to come. Because I’m familiar with plots and suggested themes, this direction in the story made sense to me. Later, when the babysitter arrived at the Grand’s door, and Corey’s behavior was way too inappropriate, it was obvious, Jennifer was his evening delight and babysitter for CJ. I won’t give any spoilers as the story needs to be read in its entirety without having spoilers, or clues about the plot twists in the story.
CJ casually mentioned to his mother after she and Corey returned from their date about his dad touching Jennifer’s butt. This statement began a chain reaction of issues and points that resembled the blazing eyes of a woman scorned who would later settle on revenge as the solution to her marital problems. After the lying, inquisitions, and getting his friend to lie to his wife along with the babysitter, Corey had a real problem on his hands. Wayne wanted no parts to the fiasco but was pulled into the drama with his best friends wife’s requests; You can probably guess the request had something to do with hurting her man. You will see later how hurtful it will be.
All the while I was reading this story, it felt as though I was missing something. Wow! I was missing a really huge something. The thing that could potentially irreparably damage the marriage more so than it was before the request. The story ended with the thing I was missing. The missing pieces that bound the story closer were revealed in the end. I just hope Corey doesn’t get a chance to act on his anger. He started the mess with his behavior; he should not get a chance to exact revenge at this point. He needs to take one for the team; he should shut up and sit down. Obviously, I’m speaking from a females point of view… Anyway, this was a very good read. My review rating- 5 Stars.
So there is a cliffhanger ending? Thx.