One Good Affair

With her gift for “surprising emotional honesty…[and] an impressive ability to get inside the heads of [her characters],”* Tess Stimson grips readers with this internationally bestselling novel of six lovers, two marriages, one affair—and what happens when a lifetime of secrets begins to unravel.

Ella Stuart is a pediatrician with a fulfilling career and a marriage any woman would envy. William Ashfield is a devoted husband, a good father, and a successful businessman. Beth Ashfield married the love of her life and loves him still, but the light inside her is going out and she has one last chance to rekindle it. And Cate, Beth and Williams brilliant but troubled teenage daughter, is trying to negotiate the rough waters between adolescence and womanhood. But when tragedy strikes, the repercussions spiral through all of their lives—and in an instant, nothing will ever be the same. Now Ella, William, Beth, and Cate will discover that trying to have it all might be keeping them from the very thing they each want most….

With sharp wit and moving honesty, Tess Stimson has written a brazenly unsentimental yet deeply felt novel of hearts gone astray that somehow keep the faith—even when everyone seems to be cheating.

*Publishers Weekly

"Pediatrician Ella Stuart has it all — a loving husband, a great career and a devoted lover, William Ashfield. For his part, William has a troubled wife, Beth, and a rebellious teenage daughter, Cate. When Ella's husband dies unexpectedly, it sends everyone spiraling out of control, and forces Ella and William to decide what they really want — and how many lives they're willing to ruin to get it. Despite a small cast of characters, readers will want a diagram to chart their overcomplicated relationships. Novelist Stimson (The Adultery Club) comes perilously close to soap opera territory, but maintains integrity with a canny roving perspective that takes into account each character's point of view, including a well-handled bipolar personality. Unfortunately, the device isn't enough to save a plot far too implausible and drawn out. Though Stimson manages to elevate her material above the chick lit fray, her contrived ending gives readers little reward for keeping up. (July)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Tess Stimson frequently contributes to newspapers and women's magazines. Born in England, she graduated from Oxford before working as a television news producer. She now lives in Florida and Vermont with her family, and is currently at work on her next novel, The Cradle Snatcher, which Bantam Dell will publish in 2010.