A scandalous affair drives a wedge between two best friends and business partners. One of them is sleeping with their top investor—and that’s before he falls to his death . . . from the nationally bestselling author of We Don’t Talk About Carol.Jia and Imani’s thirteen-year friendship has endured it all, from divorce and the early trials of motherhood to career upheavals and family betrayals. So their decision to start their own small business, Hart & Harlowe, is rooted in their profound trust in one another. That is, until they find themselves on opposing sides of a life-changing business offer. To make matters worse, the only other person with the power to tip the scales—their new cutthroat investor, Ravi Patel—is having an affair with Imani. And Jia doesn’t know until he’s found in Imani’s home . . . dead on the kitchen counter.
News of his death and eight-month-long affair with Imani spreads rapidly, soon becoming a major public scandal. Everything Imani and Jia have been working towards—not just as individuals or cofounders but as each other’s chosen family—threatens to implode. And when investigators suspect foul play in Ravi’s death, Imani becomes a primary suspect.
Jia is already shouldering the weight of crippling debt and single motherhood, and now she is suddenly forced to steer the business on her own. Imani struggles to maintain her composure and sanity amidst the loss of her lover, the public backlash, and worst of all, Jia’s cold shoulder. As they both face mounting pressure, and as more people in their circle fall victim to mysterious deaths, the two must decide whether to stand together—or let the chaos tear them apart.
From the nationally bestselling author of We Don’t Talk About Carol comes an emotionally compelling mystery about two best friends caught at the center of a murder investigation that threatens to tear them—and everything they’ve built together—apart.
Jia and Imani’s thirteen-year, thicker-than-blood friendship has endured it all, from divorce and early motherhood to career upheavals and family betrayals. And what began as a weekend farmers market project has grown into a thriving nut butter business—and full-time careers for both women.
Imani couldn’t be happier. She’s finally made her entrepreneurial dreams come true. And she’s found herself in a steamy—though discreet—new romance, something she desperately craves after her marriage became an unexpected casualty of her ambition.
Jia, on the other hand, is crumbling…much like the roof she can barely keep over her toddler’s head, thanks to the debt from trying to kickstart her career. And she can’t bear to admit to Imani that she’s chafing to leave the business she never expected to start and return to her original calling as a chef.
When a life-changing offer to buy their business becomes the greatest test of their friendship, the only person with the power to tip the scales is their cutthroat new investor, Ravi…the man Imani is secretly sleeping with. That is, until he’s found dead on Imani’s kitchen island.
News of Ravi’s death and months-long affair with Imani ignites a major public scandal, and everything Imani and Jia have worked toward threatens to implode. When the investigation into Ravi’s death points to foul play, Imani becomes the primary suspect, and worst of all, victim to Jia’s cold shoulder.
As pressure mounts and more people in their circle die under mysterious circumstances, the two must decide whether to stand together—or lose each other for good.
