Kate White’s newest thriller The Fiancée is a perfect poolside or beach read, as this psychological thriller has everything a great summer read needs! Told in an almost locked-room style, as we are secluded at a wealthy family’s sprawling estate, this mystery looks at what appears to be a picture perfect family. However, after a mysterious death occurs, it looks deeper at all the individuals that make up this family, some of their hidden secrets, and who tends to take sides with whom.
We first meet Gabe who, with his second wife Summer and his son Henry, from his first marriage, are headed to Gabe’s parents’ estate in rural Pennsylvania for their annual week-long vacation away from the hectic daily life of Manhattan. Gabe has three brothers, two of which are married and one will be bringing his new girlfriend, as they all make this annual trip and vacation together.
While meeting so many new characters just as a novel is opening could spell disaster, White skilfully manages it in a masterful way. Though the reader is quickly introduced to multiple members of Gabe’s family, White immediately gives each character their own clear, unique personality making this early exposition flow smoothly. The reader stays with Summer’s point of view throughout the novel, but as she interacts with each of the different individuals and couples, we get a real feel for each of these family members.
Gabe’s brother Nick brings his new girlfriend Hannah, who becomes the main source of contention for Summer, as well as for other family members. Summer catches Hannah in several lies almost immediately, but not wanting to cause a scene, Summer says nothing at first. As her suspicions grow that something nefarious may be going on with Hannah, Summer confides some of her suspicions in some of the other family members—only to end up more confused and uncertain about what is really going on.
When an untimely death occurs, Summer is even more sure that Nick does not know the “real” Hannah, but Gabe is unwilling to even consider Summer’s suspicions about his brother’s new love. Because Hannah and Summer are both actresses, most of Summer’s concerns are brushed off as jealousy among rivals, but Summer knows that is not the issue. She seems to genuinely struggle with balancing her desire to keep the peace in the family with her need to warn or protect her family if it is truly needed.
The family drama is non-stop as alliances constantly shift over Hannah, over money, over business deals, and over the various secrets that family members are keeping from each other. But this is still, at heart, a family that sits down in the evenings for elaborate dinners on the patio where (at least for the most part) they enjoy each other’s company. The unsettling things that Summer starts picking up on stand out in sharp contrast against the backdrop of this imperfect, but loving, family and the constant threatening feeling in the air propels this psychological thriller to a truly surprising climax.
The Fiancée is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up The Fiancée? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
The New York Times bestselling author returns with an unsettling but riveting psychological thriller about a captivating woman who joins a family and threatens to upend their picture-perfect lives.
They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst?
Summer’s looking forward to a break from hustling for acting work in Manhattan when she, her husband Gabe, and Gabe’s nine-year-old son arrive at the annual family get-together at her in-laws’ sprawling estate. On the agenda are leisurely gourmet meals, tennis matches, and plenty of relaxation by the pool.
But this year, Gabe’s brother Nick has invited his new flame Hannah, whom Summer immediately recognizes from a few years before. Oddly, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend claims not to know her. Yet she charms the other family members, and after Nick announces that he’s proposed to Hannah, Summer doesn’t have much choice but to grin and bear it.
Then the reunion is rocked by tragedy when a family member is found dead. Though the doctors attribute the loss to natural causes, a grieving Summer fears that the too-good-to-be-true Hannah is involved, even as Gabe dismisses her suspicions.
How far will Summer go to expose the truth? As she investigates just what Nick’s fiancée might have done to keep her perfect image intact, she begins to fear that the first death might only be the beginning…
