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The Happiness Thief

A Novel

Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

"Evocatively written and ferociously paced...a puzzle-box wrapped in a paranoia tale that rivets while exploring the complexities of grief, the anxieties of modem life, and the lasting harm of childhood trauma...an anxious read that domestic suspense fans will be tempted to devour in a single sitting."
Mystery Scene Magazine


Forty-one-year-old Natalie Greene lost her mom and her childhood memories in a car crash two decades ago. What remains is a haunting feeling that she was responsible for her mother’s death. After her husband leaves for another woman, Natalie accompanies her famous stepsister, Isabel Walker (aka “The Happiness Guru”) on a retreat to the Cayman Islands. There, a late-night collision triggers Natalie’s long-buried trauma and a heightened sense of guilt.
Upon returning home to Boston, Natalie tries to settle back into her life as a food photographer and single mother to a teenage daughter—but then, one day, an anonymous email arrives about the Cayman accident that suggests foul play. In her search for the truth, Natalie must deal with a mix of fear, confusion, and suspects. With the help of Isabel and an attractive journalist, she uncovers a trail of deceit that begins on that deserted Caribbean road, circles back home, and ends in the most unexpected of places.

About The Author

Nicole Bokat is the author of the novels Redeeming Eve and What Matters Most. Redeeming Eve was nominated for both the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction. She’s also published The Novels of Margaret Drabble: This Freudian Family Nexus. She received her PhD from New York University and has taught at NYU, Hunter College, and The New School. Her essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, Parents magazine, The Forward, and at More.com. She lives with her husband in New Jersey and has two grown sons.

Product Details

  • Publisher: She Writes Press (May 18, 2021)
  • Length: 280 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781647420581

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