Kristin Miller’s The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives takes readers into a prestigious gated community in San Francisco, where what’s inside the gated community may be more dangerous than what’s outside.

Georgia St. Clair has been dubbed the Black Widow after two of her husbands mysteriously died early in their marriage. Erin is the president of the homeowners association and will levy a fine against anyone who leaves their garage door open longer than five minutes. Brooke is the mistress turned bride buying the house next door to Georgia, a mystery writer battling a deadline. With Georgia’s third wedding around the corner, everyone is wondering- will the Black Widow strike again?

But inside these expansive homes where every throw pillow is an artful decision and every piece of art has an obscene price tag that’s secretly bragged about, things are not always as they seem.

Erin fears her beloved husband may be cheating, and is tired of enduring sexism at her job as a news anchor.

Brooke’s relationship isn’t what she thought it would be.

And Georgia? Well, Georgia can play anyone, manipulating them in the palm of her hand as easy as pie. Is she as happy as she seems with her latest fiancé, or is he a pawn in her master plan?

As the lives of these three women intersect, no one will be left unchanged.

I’m not normally one for suspense. I’m a total and complete scaredy cat, and I wear that badge proudly. But I absolutely love solving mysteries, and those two sides of myself are often in conflict. Trophy Wives struck just the right balance of suspenseful and whodunit, giving me secondhand adrenaline and being completely un-put-down-able without inducing nightmares in my over-thinking brain.

This twisty plot is so fun to untangle. It’ll be perfect for armchair detectives, and the breezy San Francisco setting makes it a fun beach read. Danger in the gated community is always intriguing, examining just how safe we can feel– and how money can’t quite buy security.

The three main characters are interesting and picking apart their motives and actions will leave you thinking about this book long after you close the cover. All three have a unique voice, making their first person narration believable and easy to follow. They’re presented frankly, warts and all, and at times they’re utterly unlikable. Despite or because of this, tearing your eyes away from their story is nearly impossible.

This twisty, suspenseful book is perfect for fans of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson.

The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives will be available July 20, 2021.

Thank you to LibraryThing, Random House, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this advanced copy so I could write my honest review!