The Shape of Things to Come: A Novel [Paperback]

Isabelle, a woman in her thirties without any of the trappings of a grown-up life, has just been fired from her job at a San Francisco phone company. Returning to the midwestern suburb of her childhood, Standardsville, Illinois, she contends with her dating single mother, a neighbor who once appeared on The Honeymooners, and an ex-boyfriend. She also becomes a mystery shopper for a temp agency, posing as a variety of potential tenants for newly built suburban communities to access their exclusive services.

Enchanted by the possiblities of disguise, Isabelle spins a web of lies that keeps the world at a distance until she unearths long-kept secrets that force her to rethink everything she thought she knew.

Isabelle, a woman in her thirties without any of the trappings of agrown-uplife, has just been fired from her job at a San Francisco phone company. Returning to the midwestern suburb of her childhood, Standardsville, Illinois, she contends with her dating single mother, a neighbor who once appeared onThe Honeymooners,and an ex-boyfriend. She also becomes amystery shopperfor a temp agency, posing as a variety of potential tenants for newly built suburban communities to access their exclusive services.

Enchanted by the possiblities of disguise, Isabelle spins a web of lies that keeps the world at a distance until she unearths long-kept secrets that force her to rethink everything she thought she knew.

A startling debut. [Caseys] fresh voice emerges like a song thats bound to be a hit. -Virginia Quarterly Review

Maud Casey's accomplished first novel, takes up with the endearingly subversive Isabelle . . . -Elle