Friends with Secrets: A Novel

In a funny and suspenseful debut, Christine Gunderson explores the myth of the perfect mother, the bonds of female friendship, and the haunting impact of secrets. What you see isn’t always what you get. Take Ainsley.

The gorgeous mother of two lives a picture-perfect life with her husband, Ben—aspiring politician and heir to a candy fortune—in suburban Washington, DC. But in reality, Ainsley has no idea what she’s doing and suffers constant anxiety that someone will figure out who she really is and where she came from. Nikki’s fighting to keep afloat as a stay-at-home mother of four, subsisting on chicken nuggets and very little sleep.

She’s a mess on the outside, and inside yearns for the validation—and the paycheck—of the television news career she left behind. When a dangerous figure from Ainsley’s youth becomes a coach at her kids’ school, she fears the worst and confides in Nikki, spilling every detail of her former life. Together, they devise a plan to expose the coach and safeguard their kids.

But can they protect their own lives—and their new friendship—in the process?