Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

 

From the outside, Alison's life was perfect.  She had a career as a lawyer and had just been assigned her first murder case.  She had a loving husband and an adorable little girl.  What more could she want?

But from the inside looking out, it doesn't seem so wonderful.  Alison spends her nights and weekends drinking way too much.  Her marriage has been full of tension since her husband lost his job and was rebuilding his career as a therapist from home.  Worst of all, she has been having an affair with a work colleague for about a year.  Each time they meet she swears it is the last but the next time she finds she can't say no.

Then the drinking gets much worse to where she is having blackouts.  She starts to get anonymous messages on her phone that seem to be calling her out for her affair.  Her home life gets worse and worse as her husband turns away further from her.  Can she pull things back?

This is a debut novel.  The author was a barrister for ten years before her first child was born.  That makes the legal part of the story realistic, the hurrying from case to case, the ability to talk with someone in crisis and find a way to make things better if possible.  The dissolution of the marriage is also written about in realistic terms.  The affair is portrayed as a constant betrayal not only of the woman's marriage but of her sense of herself as the man pushes her closer and closer to her boundaries.  This book is recommended for readers of psychological thrillers.