A Fatal Affair

Let me pose two questions that may predict whether or not you like this book:

▪️ Is it a dealbreaker for you if you can see what the major plot twist will be before you’ve even opened the book?

▪️ Can you still enjoy a book and have fun seeing how the story gets you there even if you’re confident of where it will go?

If you’re the first kind of reader, I suspect this won’t be quite as much fun for you. If, like me, you’re the second kind of reader, you may have fun just hopping on this train and seeing where it takes you along the way. If you’re lucky, you’re neither of those and can just roll with whatever happens!

Hugh and Trent Iverson are twins and Hollywood royalty. Hugh is the Oscar-winning star and fiance of beautiful actress Nora Kemp. Trent is the drug and booze-addled bad boy who's been in and out of rehab and scrapes with the law. When Trent and an unknown woman are found dead in a guesthouse on Hugh and Nora’s property, L. A. detectives Farah Anderson and Kevin Mathis are assigned to the case.

Add in a mystery about a “moms gone wrong” Facebook group, a missing child, an old religious children’s show called Story Farm, and a sketchy charity group called Protect the Children that fulfills Make-a-Wish requests for seriously ill children and their families, and you’ve got the ingredients for a pretty whackadoodle but intriguing story!

Did the plot have more holes than a shooting range target? Yes. Did I care? No. I really liked Farah and Kevin, and if nothing else, this played out like a fun episode of any popular TV police procedural/detective show. Some plot aspects are absurd, so just pop your popcorn and don’t take things too seriously. This is my fifth A.R. Torre book and she hasn’t disappointed me yet!

★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley, and author A.R. Torre for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s now available.