Poisoned Lives

Abstract

Anna Edwacer has been arrested for poisoning her neighbors, including several children, at a block party. Her husband, a one-star general, is battling for their marriage, while Anna seems to be outshining him for the first time in their lives. The crime gripping the nation is nothing short of a miracle for documentary filmmaker, Ryan. He’s landed the exclusive of a lifetime: access to Anna while she awaits trial, and he’s sold his true-crime project to Netflix. As his star rises, his partner Claire wants to share his joy, but she’s just scaled back her therapy practice to get serious about her own desires to start a family, and this feels like another roadblock that threatens to tear apart their fragile relationship. Plus, for better or worse, Ryan has hired Jessa, Claire’s best friend, to play Anna in his re-enactment scenes, and Jessa has a secret that threatens to blow up his whole project, and his own secrets are beginning to be more burdensome than he realizes. Meanwhile, Jessa’s research into playing Anna will lead her to answers about her own past that she has long sought answers for. This is a novel about a hub, Anna’s crime, around which a wheel of lives turn, and ultimately change. It’s a novel about how one action, even of a stranger, can be a catalyst for infinite possibility. It illustrates the interconnectedness of life. At its core, this is a story about marriage, innocence, guilt and redemption, and mostly about women. It’s about how women can draw strength from one another and how independence can be defined by a single act, or by finding one another.