London and Wiltshire, England - Present Day

Nicholas Lyon is a charming, handsome divorce attorney. He knows how debasing divorce is and after ten years is still happily married. Malinche, his beautiful wife, is not only a wonderful mother to their three girls, but has found success as an author of cookbooks. Nicolas often uses the word chaotic to fondly describe Malinche’s day, but he wouldn’t change a thing. But change is about to happen.

At the night of the retirement party for a senior law partner, Nicholas meets a newly hired associate. Sara Kaplan, gorgeous, bright, and very single, decides after meeting Nicholas that she wants a fling. She doesn’t care that he is married, she just wants to borrow him. Nicolas is horrified that he is sexually attracted to her. He is happily married; he doesn’t indulge in that type of behavior. But after a business trip that abruptly ends with a terrorist attack, he decides to embrace the moment, and to heck with what it may cost.

THE ADULTERY CLUB is written in first person with a voice for each member of the triangle. Nicholas knows only too well the consequences of infidelity. As the reader hears his thoughts, it seems that Nicholas is ripe for an affair. He has become a testosterone-driven fool, running amuck. Explicit sex seems to be all that he has on his mind, be it with Sara or Mal. Sara’s thoughts portray her as selfish and self- absorbed. She reasons that because her friends all indulge in affairs with married men, why not her? But the fling quickly turns serious, and now she wants Nicholas. How dare he spend time with his wife and family! Nicholas falls head over heels for Sara, and he quickly learns to use the old line, my wife doesn't understand me, to justify his affair. What about the consequences? What will Mal do? What about the children? Will Mal turn away or fight for her marriage? Or will she turn to an old flame?

THE ADULTERY CLUB deals with an age-old problem: why remain faithful, if one can justify an affair? The characters’ thoughts show stark emotional honesty, and the characters, while hard to warm to, are extremely intricate and believable. Mal is not as ditzy or engrossed in the daily grind as Nicholas wants Sara to believe. Mal learns that she is still attractive, and maybe it is time to fight for her husband. But what about trust, can she ever trust him again? Secondary characters are woven through the story, adding to the biting realism of advice that friends and family are famous for doling out.

Tess Stimson has written a tough, stark, and very provocative book that will keep you enthralled...if you dare.

Deborah C Jackson