From Publishers Weekly
At the start of this taut psychological thriller from Trinchieri (
The Trouble with a Bad Fit and other mysteries under the names Camilla T. Crespi and Trella Crespi), Emma Perotti, an ESL teacher in Manhattan, enfolds one of her students, An-ling Huang, into her family, despite her husband Tom's distrust of the young Chinese woman. Emma is driven in part by the guilt she feels for the infant daughter she accidentally ran over and killed years before—a secret unknown to Tom, the child's father, and Emma's teenage son, Josh. As the bond between the women grows, Emma's marriage stalls. She moves into a loft with An-ling, but the arrangement sours as Emma prepares to return home and An-ling seduces Josh. When An-ling is found dead, Emma is charged with her murder. Though Emma's sudden obsession with An-ling and the family's final redemption both feel slightly forced, the novel is a gripping, intelligent read. Particularly compelling are its subtle insights into the nature of family, foreignness and the lies we tell ourselves and others even when our intentions are good.
(June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
ESL instructor Emma Perotti and her professor husband, Tom, had a near-perfect marriage until the day Emma accidentally struck and killed their two-year-old daughter with her car. Over time, a once-inconsolable Emma learns to navigate her grief. The couple rejoices in the birth of a son, and the future looks, if not bright, at least brighter. One day, a mysterious young artist named An-ling walks into Emma's classroom. The teacher feels an immediate connection with the 19-year-old woman, who seems to harbor deep sadness. (After the early death of her parents, teenager An-ling traded life in rural China for what seemed like a much better future in the States.) Emma develops a complex, emotionally charged friendship with An-ling, and when the young woman is found dead, she finds herself standing trial for her murder. Trinchieri, who has penned seven previous mysteries under the pseudonym Camilla Crespi, deftly interweaves multiple perspectives, from Emma's husband and son to key participants in the trial. The result is a potent psychological thriller about love, longing, and loss.
Allison BlockCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
