Best Intentions: A Novel [Paperback]

From the acclaimed author ofWaiting to Surfacecomes a page-turning novel about four college friends whose reunion reawakens old desires and grudges—with fatal results.

What happens when you think you know the person you love—and you’re dead wrong?

Thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Barkley looks over at her sleeping husband, Sam, and can’t help but feel that their fifteen-year marriage is in a funk that she isn’t able to place. She tells herself that the strain must be due to their mounting financial pressures. With two daughters about to start another year at an elite Upper East Side private school and her own career hitting a wall, the effort of trying to stay afloat in their privileged world is increasingly difficult. But when she listens to Sam’s voicemail and hears a whispered phone call from a woman he is to meet that night, she begins to suspect he is having an affair.

Lisa’s best friend, Deirdre, claims it can’t be true. But how can Lisa fully trust her opinion when Deirdre is mired in her own obsessive affair? When Deirdre’s former college flame, Jack, comes to town and the two couples meet to celebrate his fortieth birthday, the stage is set for an explosive series of discoveries with devastating results.

Filled with suspense and provocative questions about the relationships we value most,Best Intentionsis a tightly woven drama of love, friendship and betrayal.Emily Listfield is the former editor in chief ofFitnessmagazine and author of seven novels, including theNew York TimesNotableIt Was Gonna Be Like ParisandWaiting to Surface. Her writing has appeared everywhere from theNew York TimesStyles section toHarper’s Bazaar. She is currently Chief Content Officer of Kaplow PR, where she helps brands like Skype, Shiseido, and Laura Mercier refine their voice, storytelling, and strategy. She lives in New York ls.