A Small Indiscretion

A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison Summary: Fans of Everything I Never Told You and The Girl on the Train will devour this page-turning literary debut about a harrowing coming-of-age and a marriage under siege from O. Henry Prize winner Jan Ellison.   “An emotional thriller . . . Connoisseurs of domestic suspense will finish this book in a few breathless sittings.”—Kirkus Reviews   At nineteen, Annie Black abandons California for a London winter of drinking to oblivion and looking for love in the wrong places. Twenty years later, she is a happily married mother of three living in San Francisco. Then one morning, a photograph arrives in her mailbox, and an old obsession is awakened. After a return trip to London, Annie’s marriage falters, her store floods, and her son, Robbie, takes a night-time ride that nearly costs him his life. Now Annie must fight to save her family by untangling the mysteries of that reckless winter in Europe that drew an invisible map of her future. With the brilliant pacing and emotional precision that won Jan Ellison an O. Henry Prize for her first published story, A Small Indiscretion announces a major new voice in suspense fiction as it unfolds a story of denial, obsession, love, forgiveness—and one woman’s reckoning with her own fateful mistakes. Angie's Comments: A Small Indiscretion is told from Annie’s point of view, as a letter to her son (which she decides to never give him). It is interesting to see how Annie’s (foolish) choices 20 years ago impact her current life. Sometimes it was hard to see Annie make the choices she did – and I don’t understand much of her reasoning. And it turns out that Annie’s memory, which readers are relying on, is fallible. I wonder what else Annie didn’t tell us in the story… It is a slow-paced, and you can figure out most of the events before Annie revels them. However, I love how Jan Ellison writes. I recommend this book to people who like character studies and slow-paced plots.     Request this item