The Other Mrs. Miller

May 13, 2019
In this cleverly plotted if progressively more implausible domestic suspense debut from horror short story writer Dickson (Strings), recently deceased Chicago magnate Daniel Noble has left Phoebe Miller, his 32-year-old daughter, a fortune—as well as an increasingly toxic legacy as women stream forward to accuse Noble of sexual misconduct. But the disturbing allegations, which have turned the heiress into a day-drinking virtual prisoner of her suburban Lake Forest, Ill., home, prove only the initial rumblings of the avalanche of trouble to come. From Phoebe’s acrimonious battles with therapist husband Wyatt, centered on her refusal to consider adoption after a stillborn son and four subsequent failed IVF attempts, to the identity of the individual watching her every move from the old blue car that’s perpetually parked on her block, Dickson sets the stage for a stunning mid-novel plot twist. As disconcerting as it is unexpected, this abrupt turn leaves a void that won’t please every reader. Still, this is a diverting poolside entertainment. Agent: Stephanie Kip Rostan, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary.

May 15, 2019
When Phoebe Miller spots a mysterious vehicle parking on her Chicagoland street every day, the silhouette of the driver sitting there for hours at a time, she has no idea the mayhem that's about to be set loose. After all, Phoebe already has enough to worry about. Her late father, the infamous Daniel Noble, may have left her financially set for life, but he also saddled her with his notoriety. Exposed as a womanizer and rapist, he's left her little choice but to hunker down inside her mansion to escape the glare of public shame. Her husband, Wyatt, with his incessant harping on babies--whether gotten by fertility treatments or adoption--isn't helping. Phoebe can barely wait for him to leave for work each day. What's an heiress to do but drink away her days? That is, until the new neighbors arrive, offering distractions. Despite her volatile and alcoholic husband, Vicki Napier may turn out to be Phoebe's new best friend. But Phoebe isn't just an overly privileged woman who likes her cabernet sauvignon a little too much: Like her father, she gets what she wants when she wants it. And Vicki's 18-year-old hunk of a son, Jake, catches Phoebe's sensual attentions immediately. Soon, the little cul-de-sac at the end of a Lake Forest road is writhing with passion and intrigue--all ominously surveilled by the driver of the mysterious car. Dickson's debut novel swoops and swirls through startling plot twists and multiple perspectives, opening doors into the dark secrets lurking in her characters' pasts. Adept at crafting unlikable characters who make despicable decisions, Dickson also manages to make us care about these potential villains, because they, too, have been wronged. So when someone ends up murdered, fingers point in multiple directions, and every suspect has reason to chill our bones or break our hearts. A Hitchcock-ian thriller from a new voice worth noting.

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July 19, 2019

Beautiful Phoebe Miller is a reclusive heiress in a well-to-do Chicago suburb who enjoys privacy and drinking lots of wine in this shrewdly plotted domestic suspense story. She and therapist husband Wyatt have been married for ten years, but their bonds are strained after losing one child and facing multiple failed fertility treatments. After her business magnate father dies, women stream into the news with reports of harassment and rape. When a new family moves in nearby, isolated Phoebe finds a friend in Vicki Napier, who may have an abusive husband, and a lover in her college-bound son Jake. An abrupt twist occurs when a body is found and all might be guilty. Perhaps the driver of the blue car that has clearly been stalking Phoebe knows more. VERDICT The plot details somewhat test believability, but this first foray into suspense by horror/dystopian short story writer Dickson (Strings) is a chilling tale that offers a most delectable diversion. The author is definitely one to watch. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/19.]--Gloria Drake, Oswego P.L. Dist., IL

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
This debut novel of domestic suspense starts when a modern woman's life is examined under a magnifying glass after the death of her wealthy, philandering father. Then things become more twisted with the arrival of new neighbors. Phoebe Miller appears to have it all: a lifetime of luxury, a home in one of Chicago's premium neighborhoods, a longtime marriage, and a new friendship with spirited Viki Napier, whose energy is the opposite of that of her reclusive doctor husband and whose son Jake is intriguing. Split into two parts and told in shifting perspectives, the book's plot thickens further when Jake provides a welcome distraction to Phoebe's daily diet of binge drinking and paranoia. Quickly paced chapters are interspersed with intriguing interludes from a stranger who is watching it all unfold. The story has enough twists to satisfy mystery readers, and Dickson's exploration of the truth behind the fa�ade will draw in those who appreciate women's fiction with a dash of suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)