VERY SLOWLY ALL AT ONCE

A mysterious benefactor turns menacing for a young couple with financial problems.

Everything comes at a price. That’s the lesson in Schott’s first book for adults, a suspense novel about a married couple striving for upper-middle-class success whose lives veer off course when financial problems ambush them. On the outside, the future appears rosy for the Evanses: They have two young daughters, an expensive new house in an exclusive neighborhood and once-solid careers. But Mack, who teaches English at a Cleveland technical college, falls under official scrutiny after throwing parties for his students, just as he has to take over the staggering monthly payments for his mother’s assisted living facility in Florida. His wife, Hailey, a divorce attorney, runs afoul of her successful law firm when she finds herself caught between a warring couple, neither of whom seems inclined to pay their bill. So when the Evanses start getting checks in the mail from an unknown business called Sunshine Enterprises, the money is welcome, and Mack can’t resist spending it. But then a mysterious entity starts making outrageous and illegal demands in return, and Mack and Hailey can only wonder how far they’ll go to prop up their crumbling American dream. The threat, of course, is the sort of far-fetched plot device that would be rendered impotent by calling the police, but Schott comes up with enough roadblocks to keep the story feasible, and she fills the story with enough suspects to keep you guessing. She’s also effective at chronicling the unraveling of the Evanses’ marriage and makes a strong case for the all-too-real perils of living beyond one’s means. The perspective shifts among Mack, Hailey, and a malevolent observer who provides insight into motivation, and while the ending isn’t entirely satisfying, getting there can be entertaining.

A thriller with plenty of tension despite being powered by an improbable plot device.