Juliet "Jules" Belleno is a 34-year-old widow who rarely leaves her house in Wissberry, Maine, since her police officer husband, Jason, died in the line of duty. Every Tuesday, Jules reviews a book on her blog, but when she's disappointed in the latest novel by her favorite author, Patrick Reagan, and posts an unfavorable review, her life changes in unexpected ways.
On the day that would've been her wedding anniversary, Jules sets out to the grocery store to buy ingredients to re-create their favorite meal. Along the way, she meets Reagan, who ultimately kidnaps her, ushering her into a nightmare where she's taken to task and forced to explain her review--and herself--to a deeply troubled man who has suffered heart-wrenching personal losses of his own.
With Jules missing, her worried, alcoholic father, a retired military officer, enlists the help of Jason's former partner on the force. As the two search for Jules, startling revelations begin to emerge about Jason's death. Was it really an accident? Or might Jason's death be connected to Jules's kidnapping?
Misery Loves Company is categorized as "spiritual suspense." The flawed, lonely characters grapple with ideas of faith amid loss, evil and corruption. However, as in Gutteridge's other novels (Listen; Possession), the narrative is never preachy. The fast-paced twists and turns of the plot present an insightful, chilling look at how privacy is often compromised in the Internet age and how choices in life can ripple beyond the scope of personal existence. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines