From Publishers Weekly
A group of women in an upscale Dutch country town form the titular clique in this engaging crime novel, the first English translation from Noort (
Back to the Coast). Karen, who narrates, bonds with another Amsterdam escapee, Hanneke, an interior designer, and together they recruit Patricia, Angela, Babette and their husbands to drink, dine and enjoy one another's company. But when Babette's husband, Evert, begins having psychological problems and apparently commits suicide by burning down his home, their group begins to fracture amid allegations of infidelity and shady financial dealings. From an innocuous social gathering to a group mired in extramarital affairs and distrust, the disintegration of the "dinner club" unveils the web of deceit among friends. Sensuality and intrigue propel the novel to its shocking conclusion, when Noort reveals that no character is exactly who he or she seems.
(Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Noort is a journalist who took the Netherlands by storm in 2004 with this delicious tale of deception and death. It's from one of the basic guilty-pleasure food groups: genre fluff leavened with smart writing. An exotic (to U.S. readers, anyway) locale helps turn this tale of striving exurban backstabbers into an even tastier treat. Think
Desperate Housewives with a decent plotline. There's the dashing mogul-in-the-making who takes the women to bed after taking the men to the cleaners. There's a roundelay of sumptuous parties at impeccably decorated houses complete with ornamental children. There's a spate of mysterious deaths that unravels the superficial bonds among this five-couple "dinner club." There's the detective with a personal score to settle who's determined to pierce the conspiracy of silence. There's a woman who might well be more unbalanced than she appears. And there's another one who keeps asking uncomfortable questions the others ignore for fear of undermining their comfortable lifestyles. What's not to like? Pop this book open and serve it with your finest meats and cheeses.
Frank SennettCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
