"What's the opposite of premonition? There are people who 'know' things in advance, or say they do. I am not one of them. In fact, I frequently don't 'know' something even after it's already happened.... All of which is a roundabout way of saying that when my well-ordered life started unraveling, despite ample hints and warnings, I didn't have a clue."
After more than a decade alone, attorney Lynn Bartlett was ready to shake up her reliably comfortable life. So when successful, kind-hearted Jack Hughes—with his home in Silicon Valley (the perfect place to launch her new law practice), his safely remarried ex-wife, and his two grown children ("They love you already")—proposed, it seemed like a dream come true. After all, how hard could it be? All you had to do was be nice to everybody and you'd all get along.
Welcome to the perilous world of the second wife, where nothing turns out quite as expected. With an unemployed, unmotivated stepson who declares he's moving in "temporarily," a stepdaughter who oozes scorn, and a husband who's hiding something, Lynn's imagined domestic bliss begins to crack. Add in an ex-wife who shows up at inopportune times, a law partner who may be involved in illegal dealings, and a client whose attractions prove far too tempting, and Lynn finds both her marriage and her career could be in trouble.
Not even the Anne Boleyn Society—an informal support group for second wives—has all the answers. Sure, they can commiserate when Lynn says, "I never thought it would be so hard," but they don't know the half of it...
PRAISE:
"A smart, darkly funny novel about the plight of a second wife... Lynn's wryly funny, rueful voice is what makes Secret Lives appealing." —Diane White, Boston Globe
"Sassy, irreverent, and smart. Catherine Todd has a wicked sense of humor." —Carla Neggers, Bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series
"Not only should this book be required reading for any second wife as well as anyone contemplating a second marriage, but it's a riveting, beautifully written story on its own. I stayed up very late reading just to see how Lynn worked through the same turbulent mess that hits so many Second Wives who enter into a marriage without realizing how much baggage inevitably comes along with it. VERY HIGHLY recommended." —Rendezvous Magazine
