I finally read the book everyone has been raving about, and, it deserves all the accolades. Alafair Burke’s The Ex is
a riveting story of a woman who is convinced she ruined a man’s life twenty years later. Now, she has the chance to try to save him one last time.

Defense attorney Olivia Randall has never forgiven herself for what she did to her fiancé years earlier. So, when Jack Harris’ daughter, Buckley, calls her, and demands that she help Jack, she’s convinced he needs her one more time. Three people have been shot on a Manhattan football field, and Jack was there that morning. Of course, a number of other people were there as well. But, one of the victims was the father of a teen who went on a shooting spree in Penn Station. That teen’s first victim? Jack’s wife, and Buckley’s mother, Molly.

Olivia turns her law firm upside down to take Jack’s case. She’s convinced the police rushed to arrest Jack, knowing his connection to one victim. But, she’s an astute lawyer, and she’ll dig into the victims’ stories to find someone else with a motive for that morning’s shootings. And, the entire time Jack professes his innocence, with a ridiculous story of a woman with a book on the lawn, Olivia wonders if she’s the gullible one. How well does she really know the man she has spoken to in twenty years?

Burke’s latest standalone is a complicated story of relationships. It’s a mystery wrapped in legal procedures. But, the underlying story is about relationships of all types, and how people can’t let go of the past. It’s a fascinating story with surprising twists. It’s not at all what the reader expects of The Ex, which makes for a gripping story. Alafair Burke continues to build expectations with her books, and then exceeds them. The Ex is a clever, masterful crime novel.

Alafair Burke’s website is www.alafairburke.com

The Ex by Alafair Burke. HarperCollins. 2016. ISBN 9780062390486 (hardcover), 288p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – The publicist sent me a copy of the book so I could review it for a TLC Book Tour.