TheHappinessThief: A Novel

(Paperback)

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"Evocatively written and ferociously paced...a puzzle-box wrapped in a paranoia tale that rivets while exploring the complexities of grief, the anxieties of modem life, and the lasting harm of childhood trauma...an anxious read that domestic suspense fans will be tempted to devour in a single sitting."
Mystery Scene Magazine

Forty-one-year-old Natalie Greene lost her mom and her childhood memories in a car crash two decades ago. What remains is a haunting feeling that she was responsible for her mothers death. After her husband leaves for another woman, Natalie accompanies her famous stepsister, Isabel Walker (aka The Happiness Guru) on a retreat to the Cayman Islands. There, a late-night collision triggers Natalies long-buried trauma and a heightened sense of guilt.

Upon returning home to Boston, Natalie tries to settle back into her life as a food photographer and single mother to a teenage daughterbut then, one day, an anonymous email arrives about the Cayman accident that suggests foul play. In her search for the truth, Natalie must deal with a mix of fear, confusion, and suspects. With the help of Isabel and an attractive journalist, she uncovers a trail of deceit that begins on that deserted Caribbean road, circles back home, and ends in the most unexpected of places.

Reviews

2021 INDIES Foreword Finalist, Thriller & Suspense (Adult Fiction)

"Bokat is an evocative wordsmith . . . she has crafted a sympathetic heroine as her main character. . . . A compulsively readable mystery and character study."

Kirkus Reviews

"So, so smart, and as downright dangerous a read as the edge of a razor, Bokat's book is a masterful study of memory, family, and the lies that derail us. Don't even dare to think you'll get any sleep once you start reading."

--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times best-selling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You

"Nicole Bokat has the rare and precious gift of being both a master storyteller and an elegant poet. Each and every sentence dazzles in this intelligent and fiery tale about family, loss, and what it means to be feel happy, whole."

--Judy Batalion, author of The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos and White Walls

"The Happiness Thief is a beautifully written, heart-thundering page-turner. I tore through it, desperate to discover answers. The novel's characters are as rich and complex as you and I."

--Aspen Matis, #1 Amazon best-selling author of Your Blue Is Not My Blue and Girl in the Woods

"Sharp, quick-witted, with twists you can't foresee, Bokat's smart new thriller is like a cyanide pill wrapped in chocolate truffle--dangerous but irresistible. The Happiness Thief will swallow you whole."

--Tess Callahan, author of April and Oliver

"Evocatively written and ferociously paced, Bokat's latest is a puzzle-box wrapped in a paranoia tale that rivets while exploring the complexities of grief, the anxieties of modem life, and the lasting harm of childhood trauma. Ulterior motives and shocking reveals abound, making for an anxious read that domestic suspense fans will be tempted to devour in a single sitting."

Mystery Scene Magazine

Author Bio

Nicole Bokat is the author of the novels Redeeming Eve and What Matters Most. Redeeming Eve was nominated for both the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction. Shes also published The Novels of Margaret Drabble: This Freudian Family Nexus. She received her PhD from New York University and has taught at NYU, Hunter College, and The New School. Her essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, Parents magazine, The Forward, and at More.com. She lives with her husband in New Jersey and has two grown sons.