Thanks to NetGally for the early read. I am giving this three stars (3.5). The plot was interesting, but the middle of the book became pretty mundane. Much of this story could have been left out. It was also a bit of a struggle keeping up with each character. They were all pretty bad people who were manipulative, adulterers or worse. There was not one good or kind character in the book unless we are counting the detectives. I almost DNFd the book, but I decided to stick with it, and I am glad I did. The twist at the end was not at all what I predicted. I did not see it coming. The ending was the best part. I did love the little league team and how they stood up for one another. The brawl was one of the best parts of the book. An interesting read, but it would have been better if the editor cut out some of the mundane parts.

4 stars

The women of Buckhead are in some ways insufferable, but most of them grew on me, and as a group, I even began to root for them. While they all have their own struggles, poor judgements, and inequities, they do share a love of their respective children, and it's those children that tie them together at the start of this novel.

Anderson Tupper, one of the aforementioned women's brothers-in-law, is the town little league coach. Thus, he's known to all of these women and to their young sons. When he ends up dead, folks aren't sure who the obvious culprit is. Sadly for him, there are multiple options.

I was skeptical about this book because for me it has too slow of a start. There are a lot of characters, and a lot of time is spent describing them; it's a lot to keep track of, especially in the audio format, and it's also hard to keep these folks and their details straight so early on in the narrative. While that entry point was a little rocky, I will admit that I really got into this and found that the narrative sped up ultimately (as needed). Folks who find themselves struggling to get into it may also want to just hold on a bit longer.

As more about these women comes to light, they become more and less likeable situationally. The biggest win for me was how this all ended; there's a great wrap.

I hadn't heard about this book and ultimately selected it because I was looking for an intriguing but not overly complicated mystery/thriller, and that's very much what I got. I recommend this to folks who enjoy a domestic thriller/mystery focused on the secret lives of Buckhead wives.