05/01/2023
Cross-Smith’s lackluster latest (after Half-Blown Rose ) follows four lifelong friends as they reunite for a wedding and conspire to put a stop to abusive men. Wealthy Ada Plum’s younger sister is getting married in Goldie, their small hometown in an unnamed Southern state. For the occasion, Ada’s friend Kasey Fritz returns from New York City for the first time in 15 years, long after the tragic death of Kasey’s mother and abuse she endured from her drug-running stepfather, Roy Dupont. Though Kasey is engaged to a kind man in New York, she feels a tug toward her old beau Silas Castelow, who’s now a cop. Rounding out the friend group are Rosemary Kingston, who’s back from Seattle, harboring a dark secret about herself, and Caroline Foxberry, a baker who stayed in Goldie and has recently married Trey, a rich local man known for his bad manners. After Trey beats Caroline badly enough to put her in the hospital, the besties conspire to kill him. As the plot ramps up, the author develops a parallel story involving the summer of 2004, when the foursome talked about killing Roy to protect Kasey’s mother. Cross-Smith’s villains are cartoonishly evil—the men, plus Trey’s coddling mother—and though the friends’ motivations are understandable, the story nonetheless feels contrived. Readers will be disappointed. Agent: Kerry D'Agostino, Curtis Brown and Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (July)
2023-05-09
In 2004, Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey (who affectionately refer to themselves as RACK) are graduating from high school in a small Southern town. Each is mired in concerns for the future, first-time loves, and tumultuous family situations: Rosemarie and Kasey have plans to move away, while Ada and Caroline plan to stay in Goldie and open businesses together. Fifteen years later, the four are reunited in Goldie for the first time since then, as Kasey has finally returned home from New York for a wedding, which forces her to confront the reasons she left abruptly after her mother’s death in 2004 as well as her unresolved feelings for her first love even though she’s engaged to a man in New York. But her friends are keeping secrets of their own: Rosemarie is dealing with cancer and balancing her emotions for her two lovers; Ada’s mother is addicted to painkillers even as Ada is trying to hold on to her perfect marriage; and Caroline is in an abusive marriage with the son of the town’s richest family. The four women must relearn how to be honest and revive their unwavering support for each other when one of their own is gravely injured. Cross-Smith has crafted a dense story of devoted friendship against the backdrop of an overwhelming number of minor characters. The rotating third-person perspective combined with the amount of exposition makes it difficult for a compelling central story to rise to the surface, and once it finally does, the tension is too easily resolved, without the seriousness of violent events ever being fully recognized.
An unbalanced novel restlessly forces a happy ending.
"I can’t help devouring Leesa Cross-Smith’s prose like it's candy, with turns of phrase so unexpected and delightful, so uniquely her own, that I just want to chew and chew them. Filled with charming characters and beautiful details, Goodbye Earl makes murder as delicious as cherry pie."—Rufi Thorpe, author of The Knockout Queen and The Girls From Corona Del Mar Associated Press Good Housekeeping Goodbye Earl . . . is an ode to the sanctuary that is female friendship and all that it endures, and all the ways it makes your life better and your heart bigger."—Shondaland Booklist Parade.com BookReporter.com " —Atlanta Journal-Constitution BrooklynDigest.com PRAISE FOR LEESA CROSS-SMITH Half-Blown Rose is an utterly intoxicating story of love, betrayal, and loyalty.”Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising Half-Blown Rose , Leesa Cross-Smith has given us a brilliant, sexy, funny masterpiece. Reading her stunning prose is a full-blown experience. Within the deeply intimate worlds she conjures, she captures love, lust, and longing with such emotional intricacy and verve, I’m fairly certain I read this entire book with my hand pressed against my heart.” —Deesha Philyaw, author of National Book Award 2020 finalist The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author Half-Blown Rose is smart, intriguing, and pure delight.” —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control.”—Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things (on So We Can Glow)
Leesa Cross-Smith is a consummate storyteller.
New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay
Leesa Cross-Smith writes the way many people wish they could: ferociously, tenderly, and with a tremendous amount of heart.
New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead T Kristen Arnett
I can’t help devouring Leesa Cross-Smith’s prose like it's candy, with turns of phrase so unexpected and delightful, so uniquely her own, that I just want to chew and chew them. Filled with charming characters and beautiful details, Goodbye Earl makes murder as delicious as cherry pie.
author of The Knockout Queen and The Girls From Co Rufi Thorpe
This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control.
New York Times bestselling author of Luster Raven Leilani
This heartfelt audiobook about four friends who are seeking revenge is a must-listen. Kasey, smoothly voiced by Mela Lee, returns to her small town for the first time since high school. She's haunted by the truth of her mother's death. Ada, portrayed confidently by Erin Bennett, is now married with kids. Rosemarie, whose upspeak is delivered by Kamali Minter, is balancing an open relationship. Caroline, voiced softly by Sarah Beth Goer, just married the town's richest bachelor, Trey. When Trey's abusive behavior sends Caroline to the hospital, the other girls decide they've had enough of a justice system that protects privileged citizens while leaving women to suffer. Police interviews are voiced by Julian Thomas and Traci Odom. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
This heartfelt audiobook about four friends who are seeking revenge is a must-listen. Kasey, smoothly voiced by Mela Lee, returns to her small town for the first time since high school. She's haunted by the truth of her mother's death. Ada, portrayed confidently by Erin Bennett, is now married with kids. Rosemarie, whose upspeak is delivered by Kamali Minter, is balancing an open relationship. Caroline, voiced softly by Sarah Beth Goer, just married the town's richest bachelor, Trey. When Trey's abusive behavior sends Caroline to the hospital, the other girls decide they've had enough of a justice system that protects privileged citizens while leaving women to suffer. Police interviews are voiced by Julian Thomas and Traci Odom. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
