Tips for Living

by Renee Shafransky

Overview

On the day Nora discovered that her husband, Hugh, had gotten another woman pregnant, she made a vow: I will come back to life no matter how long it takes…

It’s taken Nora three years. With the help of her best friend, she fled New York City for a small resort town, snagged a job as the advice columnist for the local paper, and is cautiously letting a new man into her life. But when Hugh and his perfect new family move into a house nearby, Nora backslides. Coping with jealousy, humiliation, and resentment again is as hard as she feared. It’s harder still when Hugh and his wife are shot to death in their home.

If only Nora could account for the night of the murders. Unfortunately, her memories have gone as dark as her fantasies of revenge. But Nora’s not the only one with a reason to kill—and as prime suspect in the crime, she’d better be able to prove it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781542048118
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	07/31/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	332
Sales rank:	1,039,526
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Renée Shafransky is a writer and psychotherapist. Her articles and essays have appeared in various publications including the Village Voice, Condé Nast Traveler, and the Southampton Review. She has written screenplays for major motion picture studios and teleplays for HBO and PBS, working with renowned directors such as Harold Ramis. Previously married to actor and writer Spalding Gray, Ms. Shafransky produced the acclaimed film of his monologue, Swimming to Cambodia, directed by Jonathan Demme. She currently practices as a psychotherapist in New York City and Sag Harbor, where she makes her home with her partner, Nick, and her dog, Hitchcock. Tips for Living is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

12/04/2017
Nora Glasser, the plucky narrator of Shafransky’s assured first novel, leaves New York City for the Long Island town of Pequod after her marriage to famous painter Hugh Walker ends bitterly. More than two years later, she’s established herself in the community, writing a humorous column, “Tips for Living,” for the local paper. Then Hugh and his new wife, Helene, purchase a lavish Pequod vacation home, forcing awkward encounters and reminding Nora of the humiliating divorce. When the cruel and manipulative Hugh and Helene are shot in their bed—in exactly the way Nora has fantasized about—she finds evidence she’s been sleepwalking and wonders whether she’s guilty. A rich supporting cast, including Nora’s prickly but supportive editor and the well-drawn Pequod residents, highlight real-world dilemmas, from care for elderly relatives to difficulties faced by year-rounders in a town overrun by wealthy weekenders. Readers will cheer Nora every step of the way as she strives to prove her innocence. Agent: Lucy Childs, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A clever debut suspense novel with…an intelligent and gutsy heroine deserving of her own series.” —Booklist

“Readers will cheer Nora…the plucky narrator of Shafransky’s assured first novel…every step of the way…” —Publishers Weekly

“An entertaining [debut]…The tale’s denouement is both nail-biting and action-packed…” —Kirkus Reviews

“This debut resort-town mystery will have readers rooting hard for Nora to find love and get her self-esteem back, even as she becomes the police force’s prime murder suspect and her town’s dirty secrets are revealed.” —Library Journal

“[Shafransky’s] characters are so real you would believe you know them.” —Blogcritics

“Tips for Living is a wild, roller-coaster ride of a story.” —Long and Short Reviews

“Well-rounded characters, a well-realized setting, and a sympathetic heroine worth cheering for makes Tips For Living a fun murder mystery romp that fans of the genre will most certainly enjoy.” —Authorlink

“This complex murder mystery is the perfect tableau for Shafransky, an accomplished writer and psychotherapist, to prove herself in the novel genre, and she delivers.” —Brooklyn Fans

“Like the author, Nora Glasser is funny, sunny, and smart…” —The Sag Harbor Express

“In Tips for Living, Renée Shafransky proves herself to be a terrific storyteller. In addition to perfect pacing and edge-of-the seat suspense, the story has a genuinely appealing narrator whose humor and smarts grabbed me from the start and never let me go. The minute I finished I wanted more!” —Nancy Star, bestselling author of Sisters One, Two, Three

“An immersive, pitch-perfect debut. Tips for Living is a must-read.” —A. J. Banner, Amazon and USA Today bestselling author

“A terrific and nuanced novel from an original new voice in suspense. Shafransky weaves an intriguing tale of mystery and murder with ease and genuine insight. You’ll absolutely love it. I sure did.” —Gregg Olsen, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Move over, Girl on a Train, and give up your seat to Nora Glasser, the fascinatingly complex wronged woman at the center of Tips for Living, Renée Shafransky’s rollicking good ride of a novel. The immensely talented Shafransky deftly balances a page-turning whodunit with the darker undertones of a story about class warfare in a picturesque New York seaside town where summer people and townies clash and attract. And nearly everyone seems capable of murder. All aboard. You’ll be sorry when this trip is over.” —Gloria Norris, author of KooKooLand

From the Publisher

2017-11-12
When an artist and his wife are shot dead in their bed, a sleepwalker fears she pulled the trigger.Nora Glasser and renowned painter Hugh Walker were lovers for 11 years before they decided to marry and have a child. Eighteen months and two failed fertility treatments later, Nora discovered that graduate student Helene Westing was carrying Hugh's baby and filed for divorce. To escape the paparazzi, Nora decamped to Long Island's north shore, where she got a job writing for the local paper. She's finally putting the past behind her when Hugh and Helene relocate to her new hometown of Pequod. The move sets Nora reeling, but she keeps her anger in check—or so she thinks. Then someone kills the couple. Not only does all evidence point to Nora, but unbeknownst to the police, she has a long history of armed somnambulism. Nora vows to solve the crime and prays that in doing so, she'll confirm her innocence. Nora's nighttime strolls are a clever complication, but the weapon-wielding angle, though convenient, feels contrived. A subplot involving the locals' antipathy for Pequod's wealthy summer residents (complete with newspaper columns and letters to the editor) is clumsily incorporated; the swoony romance that blossoms between Nora and her brooding boss is tonally jarring and unearned; and while the tale's denouement is both nail-biting and action-packed, the ending is too pat to fully satisfy.Shafransky's debut is an entertaining if flawed fusion of traditional mystery and psychological thriller.

Kirkus Reviews