Eileen is surprised when she gets the call from her brother-in-law, Simon, that her sister, Claire, was found dead on the beach from an apparent suicide. The news comes after the release of Claire’s latest book, A Perfect Life. Eileen flies to California to help Simon with the funeral details. Eileen has been jealous of Claire’s fame so hadn’t read many of her latest novels, but is there something hidden in the new one that will help her understand why Claire did what she did?

I thought this book was done really well. It is told from three different perspectives – Eileen in the present day and Simon and Claire in the past. I enjoyed all three points of views and liked learning about what lead to Claire’s suicide. The author did a great job of showing Eileen and Simon’s grief without making it cheesy. It was a very thoughtfully written book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book is tagged as a mystery/thriller, but it’s really not that at all so don’t go into it expecting some big mystery. There is a small mystery that is pretty easy to figure out, but it does not take away from the story at all. I would consider this more of a literary or contemporary fiction novel. This was an easy read, and I highly recommend it.