Sag Harbor has just crowned Dr. Robert Hart as their Man of the Year! Dr. Hart is a successful, brilliant Doctor who seems to have it all.
A thriving practice, devoted Son Jonah, and the stereotypical second wife, Elizabeth. All is well with the world, and our fair Doctor is riding on cloud 9. That is until he notices Jonas friend Nick giving a little too much attention to his sweet Elizabeth. To make matters worse, Elizabeth is flirting back and dares to invite Nick to spend the summer in their guest house. Does it sound like a Lifetime movie, to you?
The story reads in two parts. Part one is Robert’s point of view. Robert is a man that, seems to have it all, but deep down is a shell of a man. The way he talks will remind you of an egomaniac. When he thinks the Wifey is getting it on with the houseguest Nick, his paranoia goes into overdrive. Let’s not forget that both Dr. Hart and Elizabeth left their spouses for each other after a torrid affair. After all, he should know all the signs of adultery.
As we dive deeper into the story, we meet the other players in part two. We begin to learn everyone’s secrets and how the web of deceit becomes entangled. Are these characters relatable? Not really. Are they likable? Dr. Hart is the guy you’ll love to hate. None of these characters make me want to root for them, but I keep reading because I wanted to know how the heck they all got out of this mess. Man of the Year is another infamous story of the affluent with too much time on their hands. Thank goodness these always make for indulgent reads.
For a debut novel, Caroline Louise Walker did a great job with character development. The story started slowly but thankfully picked up after the second half. The author used well-crafted character development for a debut novel.
I’m looking forward to future books by this author.
Thank you Netgalley and Galley Books for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
