Jake Taylor has just lost his boyfriend of six years, Tom, in a car accident. In addition to being the love of his life, Tom was the primary breadwinner, and Tom’s sister—who blames Jake for Tom’s death—quickly evicts him from Tom’s apartment. The mourning, middle-aged Jake is forced to move back in with his elderly mother and father, the latter of whom is slipping quickly into Alzheimer’s. Vicky Harper is a Black, trans introvert whose workaholic tendencies have elevated her to the position of senior partner at her law firm. She prefers to keep people at arm’s length, and her “self-curated Ice Queen reputation” means she can usually “make do with nodded greetings and avoid the casual chit-chat.” When she receives an anonymous voice message threatening her over one of her cases, however, she realizes how vulnerable she truly is. Lucy Penrose, one of Jake’s oldest friends, is wrapped up in planning her wedding to her Canadian boyfriend Colin after a whirlwind romance. Unfortunately, her father—a famed author and television host known for uncovering scams—is suspicious of Colin’s intentions and demands a prenup. What’s more, it seems like Colin’s family may have ties to the Canadian far right. As the three characters’ stories overlap and intertwine, an enemy emerges that threatens not only the them but potentially all of British society. Fanning’s prose is simple but filled with deeply human moments, like when Jake goes out to visit his father in his tool shed after the man has been found wandering the town. “He might not know who you are,” his mother warns him. “It doesn’t mean he’s forgotten. Not really.” The three main characters are not quite as engaging as the plots that surround them, but the stakes are such that the reader is happy to root for them as they attempt to outwit their antagonists.
