Publishers Weekly: This engrossing psychological thriller from Pashley (The Watcher) finds 25-year-old budding chef Brett Novak heartbroken, out of work, and down to seven dollars in her bank account. She’s delighted and relieved when a former colleague recommends her for a temporary job as a personal chef for bestselling mystery author Carson Smart. She arrives at Smart’s beautiful, secluded beachfront property on Cape Cod in high spirits, but nothing prepares her for his offer of $20,000 for two weeks of preparing meals while he rewrites his latest manuscript. Elated, Brett endures his flirting and overlooks his more eccentric demands. Then Carson’s wife, Vera, returns from a visit to Brazil, and the psychosexual tension in the house heats up, leading Brett to wonder if she’s been hired as a pawn in a perverse marital game. An unexpected death raises the stakes, and Pashley’s subsequent dives into the backstories of her three principals keeps the tension almost unbearably high—with each new detail, readers’ loyalties shift. It’s a riveting ride.
May 132026