THE BEST OF US

To celebrate her billionaire husband’s 35th birthday, Pauline has arranged the party of a lifetime. With his best friends from college (and their spouses) at a no-expenses-spared resort in Jamaica, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, everything. Pauline herself is a controlling robot, determined to anticipate every need and extravagant desire, from arranging helicopters rides to elegant beachside picnics, replete with masseuses and hot tubs. She wants everything perfect for Dwight—after all, without him, she and her mother could never have paid her sister’s medical expenses. But Dwight can never know the truth about Therese’s illness. Luckily, Allie is there. Cheerful Allie, who always knows how to smooth feathers. But Allie, too, has a secret. Her biological father may have died of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), but she cannot bear to tell Ryan, her husband. Perhaps she could confide in Dwight, but what does that choice imply about the strength of her marriage? Exhausted and overwhelmed from raising four children, Tina is determined to relax and enjoy herself. Why not? Allie’s mother is taking care of all the kids, and Tina’s husband, Gio, still finds her attractive, despite her more matronly figure. And then there’s Savannah, separated from her husband, Gary (who cheated on her with The Nurse), and hell-bent on showing off her assets to every man on the island, including her friends’ husbands. Pekkanen details every menu, catalogs each event’s luxuries and narrates each woman’s inner turmoil. The men, even the birthday boy, are merely props for the women’s troubles—that is, until Gary’s sudden arrival and a Category-2 hurricane begins bearing down on the group. 

Another tale of female friendships conquering all, wrapped in luxury and faux danger.