‘Soulmates’ Will Have Readers Second Guessing Their Yoga Class [REVIEW]

Dana doesn’t know why her marriage to Ethan ended, or why he was murdered, but she needs to find out in Jessica Grose’s Soulmates. (Photo by Brian Auer, Flickr)

When a divorcee discovers that her ex-husband is dead, she realizes that she hasn’t completely let go of the past. Distraught, she begins investigating what happened to him. But will she get the answers she needs? Find out in Jessica Grose’s Soulmates. 

William Morrow

Two years ago, Ethan left Dana for his yoga instructor, Amaya, only leaving a note behind in his wake. Blindsided, Dana didn’t know if she would ever be able to move on. After all, it isn’t every day your college sweetheart takes up with someone who can bend herself like a pretzel and spouts spirutal mumbo jumbo at every opportunity. But as time passed, Dana dove into her work at the law firm and began living life on her own terms. In fact, she’d almost come to believe that she had finally moved past the emotional baggage she’d been toting around since the divorce.

Then one day on the way to work, Dana passes a newsstand and stops dead in her tracks. There on the front page of the New York Post is a picture of her husband. She’d recognize those eyes anywhere. But when she reads the headline, it sends her reeling. It reads, “Nama-Slay: Yoga Couple Found Dead in New Mexico Cave.” She purchases the paper and rushes to her office to read the article and suddenly all the walls she’d thrown up to protect her heart come crashing down as she discovers that the man she once loved is implicated in a murder-suicide, and that Ethan is at fault. Suddenly, she’s left wondering how the man she thought she knew so well could do something so out of character? Had she even known Ethan at all? Or had he hoodwinked her the entire time? Unable to let the case go, she begins her own investigation, and suddenly she is caught up in a whodunit that is as zany and compelling as it is sardonic and evocative.

One of the things that I love about this story is that Grose is brilliant at characterization. Dana is intense, flawed, and riding the fine line between normalcy and obsession. Ethan is introspective, even if he’s trying to center himself. Meanwhile, Amaya is one of those over-the-top New Age women who nearly seems to come from another planet, and is as disparate from Dana as is humanly possible. Then there are the auxiliary characters, like Dana’s sister Beth, a graduate student who loves her sibling and is as protective as she is nurturing. All in all, these are characters we can identify with and who are so engaging we can’t help but keep turning pages until we get to the very end.

Grose’s sense of timing is also flawless. The story doesn’t get preachy, even though it is evident she did a lot of research into cult and religious leaders. But it does take a close look at why people are so willing to look for meaning when their lives feel desolate, and it makes for an riveting read. After devouring Soulmates, you’ll never look at gurus or your yoga class the same way again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Grose
(Photo by Judith Ebenstein)

Jessica Grose is a writer and editor. She was previously senior editor at Slate and an editor at Jezebel. She is currently editor in chief of the e-mail newsletter LennyLenny.

Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Glamour, Marie Claire, and Spin, and on Salon, among many other publications. She frequently writes about women’s issues, family, culture, and even grizzly bears.

LinkedIn named her among its Next Wave top professionals 35 and under in 2016. Her debut novel, Sad Desk Salad, was released in 2012. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughters.

Visit Jessica’s home on the Web at JessicaGrose.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter. You may also subscribe to her newsletter or contact her via e-mail at jess.grose.contact@gmail.com.

SOULMATES
By Jessica Grose
320 pgs. William Morrow. $14.99

You may purchase Soulmates at one of these fine online retailers: HarperCollins, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Soulmates is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.

Soulmates Giveaway

Congratulations to Julie Green who just won a copy of Jessica Grose’s Soulmates. Although this giveaway has ended, stay tuned for more opportunities to win great prizes.