February 27, 2023
Influencer Ciara Dunphy, the protagonist of Bose’s uneven debut, lives in an unnamed village outside Dublin, Ireland, where she appears to have it all: beauty, money, a handsome husband, and many friends. Ciara is the Pied Piper to the village women, who hang on her every word, follow every suggestion on her blog, and feel blessed even to know her. Ciara’s best friend, Mishti Guha, who grew up in Calcutta and through an arranged marriage is now unhappily living in the village with her husband and child, is the only person who knows Ciara’s secrets, or so Mishti thinks. The one local who isn’t a devoted follower of Ciara’s is her outcast neighbor, Lauren Doyle, who spies on Ciara. Lauren likewise thinks she’s the only one who knows Ciara’s secrets. Early on, Ciara falls down the stairs in her mansion and dies, and the plot proceeds to examine her relationships with various people, some of whom turn out not to have had her best interests at heart. Readers should be prepared for characters whose villainies stretch credibility. Well-crafted prose suggests Bose has enough talent to do better next time. Agent: Marianne Gunn O’Connor, Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary (Ireland).
June 10, 2024
Ciara, a social media influencer in her unnamed Irish village, seems to have the perfect husband and children but ends up dead and alone in her spotless house, in this strong domestic suspense debut. Is it murder or suicide? Mishta, Ciara's best friend and neighbor, is still adjusting to moving to Ireland from Calcutta in an arranged marriage. Lauren, whose back garden abuts Ciara's, is the outcast of the neighborhood mom group--she criticizes Ciara on Instagram for flirting with other people's husbands and tries desperately to steal Mishta's friendship from Ciara. Newcomer narrator Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, also Indian Irish like author Bose, narrates the three women effectively with Irish and Indian accents, and even includes sniffs at the beginning, as Mishta suffers from a "perpetual case of the sniffles." Very few of the characters are likable (including the clueless husbands), so this is a psychological whodunit where listeners might understand why Ciara ends up dead. VERDICT Recommend to fans of domestic suspense, as well as to those who appreciate immigration and class issues in psychological thrillers.--Sarah Hill
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