Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Beware the Man of the Year. You praise him, but you don't know him at all. Caroline Louise Walker's debut psychological thriller delves into the paranoid mind of a narcissist who suspects his wife is cheating on him--for fans of Herman Koch's The Dinner and Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door. Dr. Robert Hayden has the perfect life. He just won Sag Harbor's Man of the Year, after all. So when his son's troubled college roommate needs a place to stay for the summer, Robert generously opens his home to the kid, only to find that his new houseguest is getting a little too close with his wife--and the good doctor's veneer begins to crack. His pathological narcissism comes to the fore, and Robert sets up a scheme to get the boy to leave his home.
But when the boy shows up dead on their property, all the little lies Robert has told here and there start to mount up into something worse. He should be respected--he's an impressive man, after all--but suddenly his beautiful life is looking more and more peculiar. His wife won't admit to an affair. His son is in mourning. And Robert is becoming suspect number one.
Filled with electric unpredictability and offering an in-depth look at the destructive consequences of excessive narcissism, Man of the Year races along at a breathless pace before concluding with a wicked twist that you won't see coming.
Synopsis
A sinister, sophisticated debut thriller by "a remarkable new voice to watch" (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), Man of the Year has been lauded by Shelf Awareness as "an impressive slow burn that builds suspense and cracks the whip at the end...redolent with menace and ego." Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor's just-named Man of the Year, is the envy of his friends and neighbors. His medical practice is thriving. He has a beautiful old house and a beautiful new wife and a beautiful boat docked in the village marina. Even his wayward son, Jonah, is back on track, doing well at school and finally worthy of his father's attentions. So when Jonah's troubled college roommate needs a place to stay for the summer, Hart and his wife generously offer him their guesthouse. A win-win: Jonah will have someone to hang with, and his father can bask in the warm glow of his own generosity.
But when Robert suspects his new houseguest of getting a little too close to his wife, the good doctor's veneer begins to crack, and all the little lies he tells start to mount. Before long, Robert is embroiled in a desperate downward spiral, threatening to destroy anyone who stands in his way. It's only the women in his life--his devoted office manager, his friends and neighbors, his wife--who can reveal the truth...if he's willing to look.
Biting and timely, Man of the Year races along at an electric pace, building to a wicked twist you won't see coming.