The Ex: A Novel

By: Alafair Burke

ASIN: B0176WEOLU

Narrator: Xe Sands

Publisher: HarperAudio

Publication Date: 1/26/2016

Format: Audio

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

In this breakout standalone thriller in the tradition of Gillian Flynn, William Landay and Paula Hawkins, a lawyer agrees to help an old boyfriend who has been accused of murder-but begins to suspect that she is the one being manipulated.

Widower Jack Harris has resisted the dating scene since the shooting of his wife by a fifteen-year-old boy three years ago. An early morning run along the Hudson River changes that when he spots a woman who eerily but thrillingly echoes his past. Eager to help Jack find love again, his best friend posts a "Missed Moment" item online and days later, a woman responds...

Olivia Randall is one of New York City's best criminal defense lawyers. When she gets the phone call informing her that her former fiancée, Jack Harris, has been arrested for a triple homicide there is no doubt in her mind as to his innocence. The only question is who would go to such great lengths to frame him - and why?

For Olivia, representing Jack is a way to make up for past regrets, and the hurt she caused him, but as the evidence against him mounts, she is forced to confront her doubts. The man she knew could not have done this. But what if she never really knew him.

Review to follow.

Buy the Book

EW Karin Slaughter and Alafair Burke talk The Ex and Making a Murderer -- exclusive by Isabella Biedenharn Jan 25, 2016 Entertainment Weekly

In Alafair Burke’s thriller The Ex (out Jan. 26), criminal defense attorney Olivia Randall gets a request from a teenage girl she never saw coming. The girl is the daughter of Olivia’s ex-fiancé from 20 years ago, writer Jack Harris. Jack’s been arrested for a mass shooting, but he’s the nicest guy Olivia’s ever known, so she’s positive he couldn’t have done it. But as the case gets stranger and new evidence springs up, Olivia’s firm convictions are tested.

Karin Slaughter and Burke, both best-selling authors, sat down to discuss The Ex, unlikeable characters, and writing about events that can hit uncomfortably close to home (like mass shootings). And after the Q&A, check out an exclusive excerpt from The Ex. Read More

Advanced Praise

"Alafair Burke is one of the finest young crime writers working today." — Dennis Lehane

"I’ve been a fan of Alafair Burke from the very beginning and, ten books in, she just keeps surprising me." — Michael Connelly

“With an all-too-real mass shooting in a richly-observed Manhattan as its springboard, The Ex is an expertly crafted, intricately woven novel that is as emotionally complex as it is riveting.” –Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia and Where They Found Her

THE EX is “intriguing, suspenseful, compelling, insightful, surprising, and thoroughly satisfying. A great read.” –Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and The Accident

“A major talent.”—Harlan Coben

About the Author

Alafair Burke is the author of “two power house series” (Sun-Sentinel) that have earned her a reputation for creating strong, believable, and eminently likable female characters, such as NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher and Portland Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid. Alafair’s novels grow out of her experience as a prosecutor in America’s police precincts and criminal courtrooms, and have been featured by The Today Show, People Magazine, The New York Times, MSNBC, The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Entertainment Weekly, Alafair “is a terrific web spinner” who “knows when and how to drop clues to keep readers at her mercy.”

A graduate of Stanford Law School and a former Deputy District Attorney in Portland, Oregon, Alafair is now a Professor of Law at Hofstra Law School, where she teaches criminal law and procedure. Her novels have been praised by some of the world’s most respected crime writers, including Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Nelson DeMille, Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Scottoline, and Lisa Unger. Read More