It's One of Us
From the New York Times bestselling author comes this twisting,
emotionally layered thriller about a marriage torn apart when the police arrive
at an infertile couple’s door and reveal the husband’s son is the prime suspect
in a murder. The perfect blend of exhilarating suspense and issue-driven book
club fiction.
Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know
best of all . . .
Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most
demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble
counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility
treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest
point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.
DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is
Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their
desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many
years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was
sold—or how many children he has sired.
As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to
light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she
married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps
such dark secrets of her own?
This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to
keep a marriage together--or break each other apart . . .
About the Author
J.T. Ellison is the NYT and USA Today bestselling
author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville's premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her
work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26
countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.
Author Links
Author website: https://www.jtellison.com/
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/jtellison14
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thrillerchick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrillerchick
Excerpt
Park whistles as he whisks eggs in a
bright red bowl. Park’s breakfasts are legendary. Savory omelets, buckwheat
blueberry pancakes, veggie frittatas, yogurts and homemade granola—you name it,
he makes it. Olivia handles dinner. If she cooks three nights out of seven, she
considers that a success. They eat like kings in the morning and paupers at night,
and they love it.
She pauses at the door, watching him
bustle around. He is already dressed for work, jeans and a button-down, black
lace-up brogues. His “office” is in the backyard, in a shed Olivia converted
for his use. A former—reformed—English professor on a semipermanent sabbatical,
Park has launched a second career ghostwriting psychological thrillers. He
claims to love the anonymity of it, that he can work so close to home, and the
money is good. Enough. Not obscene, but enough. They’ve been able to afford
four rounds of IUI and two in vitros so far. And as he says, writing is the
perfect career for a man who wants to be a stay-at-home dad. There’s no reason
for him to go back to teaching. Not now.
A pang in her heart, echoed by a sharp
cramp in her stomach. They are throwing everything away. She is throwing
everything away. This round of IVF, she only produced a few retrievable eggs,
and this was their last embryo.
My God, she’s gotten clinical. She’s
gotten cold. Babies. Not embryos. There are no more frozen babies. Which means
she’ll have to do it all again, the weeks-long scientific process of creating a
child: the suppression drugs, the early morning blood tests, the shots, the
trigger, the surgery, the implantation. The rage and fear and pain. Again.
The money. It costs so, so much.
She has frozen at the edge of the
kitchen, thoughts roiling, and Park senses her there, turns with a wide smile.
The whisk clicks against the bowl in time with her heartbeat.
“How are my darlings feeling this morning?
Mama and bebe hungry?”
She is saved from blurting out the
truth—mama no more, bebe is dead—by the ringing of the doorbell.
Park frowns. “Who is here so early? Watch
the eggs, will you?”
Even chickens can do what she cannot.
It’s infuriating. House cats escape into
the woods and sixty days later purge themselves of tiny blind beings. Insects,
birds, rats, rabbits, deer, reproduce without thought or hindrance.
Nearly four million women a year—a
year!—manage to give birth.
But not her.
She’s not depressed, really, she’s not.
She’s come to terms with this. It happens. Today will be a bad day, tomorrow
will be better. They will try again. It will all be okay.
Mechanically, Olivia moves to the stove,
accepts the wooden spatula. Park disappears toward the foyer, shoulders broad
and waist nearly as trim as the day she met him. She will never get over his
handsomeness, his winning personality. Everyone loves Park. How could you not?
He is perfect. He is everything Olivia is not.
The television is blaring a breaking news
alert, and she turns her attention to it, grateful for something, anything, to
focus on beside the intransigent nature of her womb and the fear her husband
will abandon her. The anchor is new, from Mississippi, with a voice soft as
honey. Tupelo? No, Oxford, Olivia remembers; Park took her to a quaint
bookstore there on the square one summer, long ago.
“Sad news this morning, as it has been
confirmed the body found in Davidson County earlier this week belongs to young
mother Beverly Cooke. Cooke has been missing for three months, after she was
last seen going for a hike at Radnor Lake. Her car was found in the parking
lot, with her purse and phone inside. Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Vanda
Priory tells Channel Four Metro is working with the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation and Forensic Medical to determine her cause of death. The Cooke
family released a statement a few minutes ago. ‘Thank you to everyone who has
helped bring Beverly home. We will have more information on her burial soon. We
ask for privacy during this difficult time.’ Metro now turns their attention to
identifying a suspect. In this morning’s briefing, Homicide Detective William
Osley stated that Metro has a lead and will be pursuing it vigorously. Next up,
time to break into the cedar closet, it’s finally sweater weather!”
Olivia sighs in regret. That poor woman. Like everyone in Nashville, Olivia has followed the case religiously. To have a young mother—the kind of woman she’s so desperate to mold herself into— disappear into thin air from a safe, regularly traveled, popular spot, one Olivia herself hikes on occasion, has been terrifying. She knows Beverly Cooke, too, albeit peripherally. They were in a book club together a few years ago. Beverly was fun. Loud. Drank white wine in the kitchen of the house and gossiped about the neighbors. Never read the book.
Are you ready to read It's One of Us? It's One of Us is available from Amazon*, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, IndieBound, and Books-a-Million. You can find J.T. Ellison's other novels here. Thank you for stopping by today. Tomorrow I am featuring In Farm's Way by Amanda Flower. It is the third book in the Farm to Table Mysteries. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The
Avid Reader
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