56 pages • 1 hour read
Shari LapenaA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: The source text contains a graphic description of murder, as well as instances of substance use disorder and sexuality.
Amanda Pierce dies in the first pages of the book, in a hammer attack by the teenage son of one of her extramarital lovers. Unlike the novel’s other characters, she is never described by the omniscient narrator and does not appear in flashbacks, only in the memories and spoken accounts of the other characters. These secondhand portraits, however, are fairly consistent. Amanda was a physically attractive woman in her twenties, with long brown hair, a beautiful smile, and a powerful allure. She and her husband, Robert, lived in Aylesford only for a year, but in that time, she had relationships with two of their neighbors (Larry Harris and Keith Newell) and—by the neighborhood wives’ accounts—attracted the groveling attention of many more. Keith’s wife, Glenda, remembers Amanda’s flirting with all of the men at a neighborhood party while ignoring her husband. Amanda seemed to enjoy taking risks: Her affairs with Larry and Keith were conducted at the same time, a fact that she kept from both of them, and it was Keith’s emails to her, discovered by his son, that led to her murder.
Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
By Shari Lapena
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Friendship
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Marriage
View Collection
Mothers
View Collection
Pride Month Reads
View Collection
Psychological Fiction
View Collection
Revenge
View Collection
Sexual Harassment & Violence
View Collection
Trust & Doubt
View Collection