Manhattan therapist Grace Reinhart Sachs is just about to publish a book condemning women who choose the wrong men. If only single ladies would stop ignoring their instincts, she insists, they'd be able to spot a creep during the first date--and exit accordingly. Luckily, Grace is happily married to a loving and faithful pediatric oncologist... or is she?
As Jean Hanff Korelitz's darkly compelling You Should Have Known unfolds, Grace's life begins to unravel. The mother of a student at the exclusive private school her son, Henry, attends is violently murdered. The crime is unsettling but Grace is equally troubled by her husband's failure to return from a medical conference. Worried sick about his disappearance, Grace is floored when police insist she has the answers to both of these mysteries.
In Grace, Korelitz (Admissions) has crafted an anguished character who is ultimately humbled by her arrogance--a dedicated mother whose life has become incredibly isolated as she struggles in vain to keep up with the excessively rich social set at her son's school. With no close friends to lean on, she bravely navigates the horrifying revelations in this story, determined to discover the painful truth. Along the way, she gains allies and even some redemption. It's an outstanding tale with a perfectly imagined setting and mesmerizing mood. And no one will blame you if you check your partner's cell phone records after you close the book. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend