The Practice of Deceit: A Novel [Paperback]

Eric Lavender, a 40-something Manhattan therapist, transforms from hard-core bachelor to blissed-out family man then alleged felon in Benedict's new psychological thriller (after Almost). Soon after Eric falls for Colleen O'Brien Golden, strawberry blonde Scarsdale divorce lawyer and single mom, and her toddler, Zoe, an unplanned pregnancy precipitates marriage and his relocation to the suburbs, where much to his surprise, he finds contentment in domesticity. But Eric's creeping suspicions that Colleen—"with her milky breasts... and her blazing feminist ideals to help women and children suffering at the hands of so many deadbeat dads"—is not the woman she seems put an end to their idyll after a few years. The story about her first husband doesn't add up, and it turns out that her book, Your Fair Share! Women and Divorce, was ghostwritten. On top of this shaky foundation of trust, Eric and Colleen encounter a disastrous professional conflict of interest—he unwittingly takes a client whose wife has hired Colleen as her divorce lawyer. The upshot: Eric finds himself cuffed, jailed and falsely accused of molesting Zoe. This intelligently written and briskly plotted update on the femme fatale story makes an absorbing beach read. (June)
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"Entertaining...clever." --Deirdre Donahue

"Intelligently written and briskly plotted update on the femme fatale story makes an absorbing beach read." (Publishers Weekly )

"It's smart entertainment by a very smart writer--the best kind of summer reading." --Janice P. Nimura (Newsday )

"The story practically spills into your lap as you turn the pages...A lot of wicked fun." --Alan Cheuse, NPR's "All Things Considered" (N.P.R.'s All Things Considered )

"the stunning new break-out thriller" -- New Mystery Reader (New Mystery Reader ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

When Eric Lavender, New York psychotherapist, meets the sexy, stylish Colleen O'Brien Golden, his bachelor life quickly loses its appeal. He moves to Scarsdale to join Colleen and finds a life of domestic bliss as a husband and father. But Eric's suburban oasis is soon threatened by a conflict of interest with his lawyer-wife and the disturbing evidence of her hidden past. Eric must uncover the truth or lose everything that matters to him, including his own freedom. As she did in her bestseller Almost, Elizabeth Benedict navigates the turbulent waters of love, power, and vengeance with biting wit and penetrating insight. The Practice of Deceit is a razor-sharp novel of marriage and divorce gone awry.

Elizabeth Benedict is the author of Almost, which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year, a Newsweek Best Fiction Book of the Year, and a Best Book of the Year by National Public Radio"s Fresh Air. She is also the author of three other novels, as well as The Joy of Writing Sex: A Guide for Fiction Writers. She lives in New York City.