The Ever After

Publisher's Summary

In this intricate and enthralling domestic drama, perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and The Affair, the internationally best-selling author of the “gossipy page-turner” (Glamour) The Perfect Neighbors goes deep into a marriage in crisis, peeling back layers of secrets to discover where the relationship veered off course - and whether it is worth saving.

Josie and Frank Moore are happy...at least Josie thinks they are. As parents of two young girls in the Chicago suburbs, their days can be both busy and monotonous, and sometimes Josie wonders how she became a harried fortysomething mother rather than the driven career woman she once was. But Frank is a phenomenal father, he’s handsome and charismatic, and he still looks at his wife like she’s the beautiful woman he married more than a decade ago. Josie isn’t just happy - she’s lucky. 

Until one Saturday morning when Josie borrows her husband’s phone to make a quick call - and sees nine words that shatter her world. Now Josie feels as if she is standing at the edge of a sharp precipice. As she looks back at pivotal moments in the relationship she believed would last forever, she is also plunging ahead, surprising everyone (especially herself) with how far she will go to uncover the extent of her husband’s devastating secret. 

With her “conversational writing style and a knack for making readers care about her characters” (The Washington Post), best-selling author Sarah Pekkanen paints a vivid, kaleidoscopic portrait of a marriage before and during a crisis - and of a woman who fears that the biggest secret of all may be the one she’s hiding from herself.

©2018 Sarah Pekkanen (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Snooze....

I had to quit after the first few chapters. So boring and topic has been done a thousand times over. Disappointed cause I have enjoyed author in the past. Skip this one.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Not a very good story line

Don’t waste your time. The boon climaxes within the first chapter, and is stagnant throughout. I checked out several times while listening. The ending was disappointing. There’s not much to this but a boring plot.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Slow, tedious and uninspired story of a marital crisis

I usually enjoy reading about the difficulties arising in long-term marriages. However, I was not impressed by the book. The characters are not very interesting. Josie, the wife, seems to overreact to a simple flirtation (no sex). She whines about her inability to forget the deception. Frank goes at great lengths to fix the problem but seems lame. The flashbacks to earlier stages of the relationship are useless.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Don’t waste your time

This book was almost exhausting to read. Could’ve been summed up in 4 chapters
It goes back-and-forth and time and the stories are not relevant

Truly awful

I couldn't have hated the main character more. Most of the book I was just saying out loud, "come on" and the ending was the worst. The main character is crazy. Good narration though

Boring and depressing

I really hoped this book would have more meat to it. It is a slow boring story about an overly jealous, unforgiving woman. I expected the husband to be a severe adulterer. He kisses a girl and he liked it. Depressing.

Not as good as hoped

Had high hopes after "The Wife Between Us" but this fell way short. I really wanted to like this book but found I had to talk myself into continuing. Hard to like characters, repetitive, dull back and forth inside main character's head and kept waiting for the twist that never came. Wanted to side with Frank multiple times and found Josie's inner dialogue frustrating. Will try another of her books but wish I could have my credit back on this one.

Enjoyable although predictable

I enjoyed this book in that it was an easy listen. Although for me it felt like a Lifetime movie, which isn’t necessarily bad ... so if you go in knowing this, I think you will enjoy it.

Read the Couple Next Door

The Couple next door was so much better. It kept my interest but it didn't seem to have a good enough twist, conflict or something. I gave up with an hour left.

not worth the time.

The only reason I kept listening to this book is because I had to return the one I had just bought previously by Sarah Pekkanen. That narrator was even worse than this one. Also, I had really enjoyed The Wife Between Us, so I kept waiting for something to happen, but this story had no real climax.....and the main character was extraordinarily unlikable.