Scandal

Marisa's family home has gone quiet since her twin daughters moved out. Its rooms, once loud with noise and mess, now feel empty, and Marisa longs to matter to someone again. She also carries a secret she has kept from her husband for years, and she tries to keep her thoughts busy. Her weekly coffees with her two closest friends, Claire and Elly, are one of the few things that steady her. Yet Claire has not been to work for weeks, and Elly refuses to say who keeps sending her flowers, so it is clear the friends are not being fully honest either. Then Jodi, a young woman who is pregnant, arrives on Marisa's doorstep. Marisa takes her in right away, seeing a reflection of herself in the girl and recognising how caring for others can fill every hour. Jodi's presence soon brings the hidden truths of everyone around her into view. The man who fathered her baby is someone all the women know well, and Marisa begins to suspect that her determination to help may cost her far more than she expected. This is an emotional novel about secrets, affairs and life in a close-knit small town, in the vein of domestic suspense.