Indiscretion by Charles Dubow

Posted on by Heather

Indiscretion by Charles Dubow
Published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins
Review copy received at SIBA and for a TLC Book Tour

Harry and Madeline Winslow have the perfect life – they’ve been blessed with money, talent, and beauty, have the best group of friends, a handsome young son, and a wonderful marriage. One weekend at their second home in the Hamptons, they meet Claire, a young twenty-something who is dating an acquaintance of theirs, and are charmed by her instantly. Maddy and Claire become friends, but soon Claire’s relationship to their family threatens to destroy everything Harry and Maddy have held so dear.

This book has received some major buzz, and when I first heard about it at SIBA I was immediately interested. I’m here to tell you that this thing is unputdownable. It’s the kind of book that grips you and won’t let you go until you have raced through to the final page. It’s actually very difficult for me to review – I just want to tell you to stop reading my thoughts and pick up the book instead. But I’ll go ahead and give you just a little more insight as to what exactly made Indiscretion so fantastic for me.

First of all, the characters practically jump off the page. I felt like I was a part of this world, a part of Harry and Maddy’s orbit, and I wanted to spend as much time with them as I possibly could. I was so charmed by the two of them, and could completely understand why Claire felt a deep desire to be a part of their world. And Walter – Maddy’s best friend, the guy who narrates the book and tells the reader this story – well, his character is genius to me. It was voyeuristic and strange in the best possible way to have this guy tell me the story of his best friends and how their lives unraveled in such a disastrous way.

There is this horrible ominous feeling throughout the entire book that is just incredible. You know something is going to go terribly wrong, these people can’t possibly have a happy ending, yet you just don’t know what’s coming or when. There was a point at which it all became crystal clear to me and I had to put the book down and take a few deep breaths before picking it back up and reading what I predicted would happen but hoped wouldn’t – like a car crash, I couldn’t look away but desperately wanted to.

I don’t know what else to say. I loved Indiscretion so much and I do think you should pick it up. I honestly do see it being a Gone Girl type of read that has tons of hype, everyone reads it, but people either love or hate it. I’m definitely interested to see what some other people think but I, for one, thought Indiscretion was excellent.

Published by Heather

12 thoughts on “Indiscretion by Charles Dubow”

  2. You are right, the writing is compelling and all the while, there is a huge black cloud hovering in the distance but you don’t know exactly the form it will take. This will probably be one of my top reads of the year, based on how I absolutely COULD NOT stop reading it.

  3. I felt the same way! I loved the book.I also knew something was coming and had to stop and start again. It was so electric. I can’t believe how real this book felt. My favorite so far of 2013.

  4. I started off not liking it, and being mad at Harry, but as the book went on, the feelings I felt were more complex, and I ended up really loving it. I also felt like I knew what might happen, and when it did, the book took on new heights of intrigue and sadness for me. I kind of thought that Walter was a little creepy, especially towards the end, which I can’t really discuss without spoilers. I listened on audio, and loved it. I didn’t think I would, but I surprised myself.

  6. A lot of the moms of kids from my son’s hockey team have been asking about recommendations for books like GONE GIRL. Sounds like this would be a fantastic recommendation for them!

    Thanks for being on the tour. I’m featuring your review on TLC’s Facebook page today.

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