Comfort of Lies (Meyers)

Book Reviews
An absorbing tale about lies and their emotional fallout in the lives of three women. Meyers creates psychologically complex protagonists by imbuing them with contradictions. This combination of positive and negative traits renders the characters all the more intriguing, for we are never quite sure what they will do until the end.
Winnipeg Free Press


An affair between bright young student Tia and Nathan, a charismatic married sociology professor, ends when Tia becomes pregnant. After urging her to get rid of the baby, Nathan tells his wife, Juliette, about the affair and never sees Tia again. Tia has a daughter and then gives her up for adoption to workaholic pathologist Caroline and her husband, Peter, who dotes on the child. Five years later, Juliette intercepts a letter from Tia that starts, “Dear Nathan, This is our daughter.” Inside is a photo of the girl, Savannah, and a promise to “help her get in touch” with Nathan in the future. Her trust in Nathan strained once more, Juliette goes in search of Caroline, who regrets neglecting Savannah. There’s a lot of regret here: Nathan regrets the affair; Tia regrets giving up her baby. And in the middle of all the regret, there’s a convoluted power struggle over little Savannah. Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughter) alternates between the perspectives of the three sympathetic women, giving access to their thoughts but short shrift to Nathan, the focal point of at least two of them. There’s much quiet family turmoil on display but not enough drama.
Publishers Weekly


One child given up for adoption ultimately brings together not only the birth mother, Tia, and the adoptive mother, Caroline, but also Juliette, the wife of the man who walked away from his affair upon learning of the pregnancy.... Verdict: In her successful outing after The Murderer's Daughters, Meyers enriches her character development with class and career differences, as well as by settings involving far differing neighborhoods of Boston. Readers who enjoyed Kim Edwards's The Memory Keeper's Daughter or Jeanette Halen's Matters of Chance will feel right at home in the anxious pages of Meyers' captivating novel. —Keddy Ann Outlaw, formerly with Harris Co. P.L., Houston
Library Journal


An affair changes the lives of three women in the second novel by the author of The Murderer's Daughters. Meyers has crafted an absorbing and layered drama that explores the complexities of infidelity, forgiveness, and family.
Booklist


Although the reader may find some of the choices made by the characters hard to understand, this is still a believable tale, and the characters crackle with both intelligence and wit. Meyers' women resonate as strong, complicated and conflicted, and the writing flows effortlessly in this sweet yet sassy novel about love, women and motherhood.
Kirkus Reviews