Indiscretion; Charles Dubow

Title: Indiscretion
Author: Charles Dubow
Publication Year: 2013
Publisher: William Morrow
Edition: eGalley
Source: Edelweiss
Date Completed: March - 2013
Rating: 4.5/5 
Recommend: yes

In Charles Dubow's debut novel, Indiscretion,  the title says it all! Yes,the topic of infidelity rears its ugly head once again in the world of fiction. Despite a frequent theme in fiction these days, this book was somewhat different. It was well written, engaging and had an unpredictable ending. 

 Harry and Maddy Winslow seem like the perfect couple and together with son Johnny they have a wonderful life. New Yorkers, with a summer home in the Hamptons, Harry is a successful author, and Maddy is financially independent, gorgeous, a domestic goddess in the kitchen, and they are still in love after many many years. The couple loves spending summers out in the Hamptons and entertaining for a close circle of friends. 

All that is about to change when one weekend Harry rescues 26 year old Claire while she out on the beach alone. Claire is visiting nearby with a friend. She is immediately attracted by the older, handsome, well built Harry. The two meet again when an invitation to her friend gets Claire an invite as well to one of their social functions. Claire gets to meet Maddy, Harry's wife and the three hit it off, but for Claire her attraction is definitely Harry, she can't seem to stop thinking about him, and her attraction proves disastrous all around. Even a trip for Harry and Maddy to Rome for several months where harry plans to work on his book, isn't a guarantee of keeping Claire away. 

The story is told through Walter, an attorney and a childhood friend of Maddys. It's fast paced, well written, sensual in parts, the characters are multi-dimensional, and the ending packs a wallop as well. The story is a great expose on marriage, betrayal and friendship. It's also a story without a predictable ending. Well worth reading - I liked it.

 Favorite Quote - "Victor Hugo wrote that the supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, but that conviction is based on an assumption of such love. If we are proven to be wrong, the void left behind is often filled with resentment and rage. Hugo could have written that the supreme unhappiness of life is discovering that we are not loved. It is one thing if we already suspect the absence of love in our life, but what truly crushes us is finding out that the love we cherished was a lie."