The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Jean Hanff Korelitz takes her time developing this complex family drama, beginning before Salo and Johanna, the parents of her main characters, have even met and shifting back and forth in time to explain the dynamics between Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally, triplets born in the early days of IVF.
A childhood of togetherness leads the three siblings to try to go their own separate ways as teenagers despite the many entanglements that bind them. Struggling to maintain a happy facade after Salo’s infidelity, Johanna Oppenheimer arranges for a surrogate to deliver her fourth child from her remaining frozen embryo, then desperately tries to convince her children to bond with their sister Phoebe, the latecomer, and their biological quadruplet.
The Latecomer is a mesmerizing story that details the ways resentments build, secrets compound, lies unravel, and rifts grow and heal. The novel sets the stage for a dramatic confrontation and delivers it. But that’s by no means the end of the story in this modern family drama.
At over sixteen hours, the audio version of the The Latecomer is a great distraction on a long car ride for fans of richly detailed stories that show characters dealing with problems with no easy solutions.
Jean Hanf Koreliz is the bestselling author of two of my favorite psychological suspense novels, the 2021 The Plot and its 2024 follow-up The Sequel. While it was hard to put down the more fast paced, plot-based psychological suspense novels The Plot and The Sequel, I can tell that the characters in The Latecomer, and their messy and relatable real-world issues will remain with me for much longer.
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