The Practice Of Deceit: A Novel

In this razor-sharp novel of marriage and divorce gone awry, Elizabeth Benedict navigates the turbulent waters of love, power, and vengeance with biting wit and penetrating insight.

When the Manhattan psychotherapist Eric Lavender meets the sexy, stylish lawyer Colleen O'Brien Golden, his bachelor life suddenly loses its long-standing appeal. Soon he moves to Scarsdale to join Colleen and finds a life of domestic bliss as a husband and father with a new baby and an adorable stepdaughter. But Eric's suburban oasis is threatened when a legal conflict of interest with Colleen turns up disturbing evidence of a hidden past. |

"The story practically spills into your lap as you turn the pages...A lot of wicked fun." --Alan Cheuse, NPR's "All Things Considered"

"Entertaining...clever." --Deirdre Donahue USA Today

"Intelligently written and briskly plotted update on the femme fatale story makes an absorbing beach read." Publishers Weekly

"It's smart entertainment by a very smart writer--the best kind of summer reading." --Janice P. Nimura Newsday

"the stunning new break-out thriller" -- New Mystery Reader