Delving into the dark underbelly of the picturesque, fictional town of Piermont, Conn., Regrets Only by Kieran Scott is an entertaining domestic thriller. A glamorous group of moms struggles to recover after Ainsley Aames, the popular president of the Piermont Elementary parent association, tumbles to her death from the deck of her mansion. One of the moms might be the murderer, since each had a complex relationship with the enigmatic Ainsley. Alternating among the narratives of three characters, Regrets Only offers readers multiple intriguing storylines that enhance the mystery at the novel's heart.
Paige Lancaster, a talented but drama-prone writer for a Hollywood TV series, grew up in Piermont and has returned with her young daughter, Izzy, after an embarrassing career implosion sent her fleeing back east. Paige is intimidated by the perfectly turned-out women who run the parent association at Izzy's school but decides to volunteer in the hope that she and her daughter can assimilate into their new community. After Ainsley is found dead, Paige decides to lean on her experience as the writer of a popular TV detective series to investigate the crime.
Scott, an acclaimed writer of teen fiction (Pretty Fierce) and a previous adult thriller (Wish You Were Gone), packs Regrets Only with suspense. Paige's secretive past and the shocking reason she fled the West Coast loom large as the murder investigation takes an unexpected turn and the full extent of "what happened in L.A." comes back to haunt her. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer