The Exit Strategy

By: Lainey Cameron

Narrated by: Susan Marlowe

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of 2020 Readers' Favorite Award for women’s fiction.

Tech executive Carly can’t wait to marry the man of her dreams. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers her fiancé is already wed to Ryn - her company’s top investor! Can the two women overcome heartbreak together?

Silicon Valley investor Ryn Brennan is on the verge of achieving everything she dreamed. She’s succeeded in the sexist venture capital world, has a supportive husband, and is about to close the deal of her career. Everything is going exactly as planned, until she meets her husband’s mistress, across the negotiating table.

Carly clawed her way back from being a teenage runaway to become an accomplished scientist, caring single mom, and co-founder of her startup. Once she marries her loving fiancé, she’ll secure the complete family she craves. But she’s blindsided to discover her not so perfect fiancé is already married.

In an industry full of not-so-subtle sexism, can the two women rise above, and work together to overcome heartbreak, and ensure their success?

©2020 Lainey Cameron (P)2021 Lainey Cameron

Critic reviews

“A provocative, edgy page-turner. With whip-sharp prose, the characters are ingeniously crafted.” (Wall Street Journal best-selling author Kerry Lonsdale)

“Strong women faced with timely struggles. Friendship, forgiveness, and moments of heartfelt laughter. You won't forget these courageous characters.” (Rochelle Weinstein, USA Today best-selling author)

“SO MUCH FUN. Incredibly fast paced and satisfying, with two believable protagonists and one guy so bad you'll be dying to see if he get what he deserves.” (K J Dell’Antonia, New York Times best-selling author)

A redeeming read!

If your self confidence has ever been put down by a genuinely imbalanced person, this story will impact your experience. I chose this review because I’ve read about so much heartache, but this dramatic rendition of the other side of cheating offered room to imagine that - hey, sometimes dishonesty is someone else’s character trait - and not necessarily indicative of the kind of people we choose to be. Wildly emotional, largely redeeming - a fresh perspective on female energy in a male-driven Silicon Valley. We need more stories like this!

Depth of Story and Characters

I'm an avid audiobook "reader" rather than having book in hand for several reasons: I can do housework, laundry, go for a walk and a million other things while I am being read to. So, I listened to the audiobook of this release and was very pleased with the narrator. She did an excellent job of pacing and using her voice to not get in the way of the words or the story.

Two women, one empowered but blind to the goings on around her business in Silicon Valley and personal life, the other shy, but with a passionate project she wants to push forward, come together as enemies. Enemies evolved into a a deep friendship. They come together to fight against Todd, a manipulating con-man, whose behavior is not unlike the challenges of the good ol' boys club in Silicon Valley.

Cameron does an excellent job of digging deep into the characters and exposing the paradigm that women are seen as less in the corporate world and exploited, no matter how empowered they become. She highlights that this behavior is so subtle, it is seen as a normal way of treating colleagues and employees.

It doesn't matter if you work as a waitress or as a CEO of an influential company, women, and men too, become victims of a certain line of belief put together with behaviors that hold them back. Cameron reminds us that this is totally unacceptable and must change.