Careful What You Wish For: A Novel of Suspense

From the New York Times bestselling author of There Was an Old Woman comes a novel about a professional organizer with a deadly problem she may not be able to clean up.

“Thrilling and
suspenseful.... I laughed more than I expected to, related to quotidian
elements like overpacked closets, and let myself be carried along on this
nightmare of a trip…. Emily…is a friend we would all want to keep—messes
included.”—Jamie Lee Curtis, Time

Emily Harlow is a professional organizer who helps people declutter their lives; she’s married to man who can’t drive past a yard sale without stopping. He’s filled their basement, attic, and garage with his finds, and she’d love nothing better than to toss out all of it. He says he’s a collector. Emily knows better—he’s a hoarder. The larger his “collection” becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married.

Luckily, Emily’s got two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn’t know existed, and a young wife whose husband won’t allow her stuff into their house. Emily’s initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when, after too much wine, the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses.

But the next day Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Careful what you wish for, the old adage says. Now Emily might lose her freedom, her marriage . . . and possibly her life.

“Outstanding...May be the first domestic thriller to weave in Marie Kondo’s decluttering theory about discarding things that don’t spark joy...Appealing characters and some suspenseful detective work help elevate this in-depth look at people’s emotional attachment to things. After being a finalist five times, Ephron may finally win the Mary Higgins Clark Award for this one.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Outstanding...May be the first domestic thriller to weave in Marie Kondo’s decluttering theory about discarding things that don’t spark joy...After being a finalist five times, Ephron may finally win the Mary Higgins Clark Award for this one.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Clever...Ephron’s tidy approach to stowing clues, arousing suspicions, keeping the chaos of the climax under control, then tying up loose ends makes her a professional organizer of this type of entertainment. In a word—neat.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Hallie Ephron has crafted a timely, twisty tale that had me grinning at the opening line and wide-eyed at the conclusion. Cleverly plotted and cast with compelling characters, Careful What You Wish For is the perfect summer book club pick!” - New York Times Bestselling Author Wendy Corsi Staub

“Hallie Ephron’s Careful What You Wish For is a cautionary tale for the spark joy moment—a tidy nightmare of a story that won’t be contained. A compulsive page-turner that sparks anxiety.” - Lori Rader-Day Edgar® Award-nominated author of Under a Dark Sky

“Hallie Ephron has crafted a timely, twisty tale that had me grinning at the opening line and wide-eyed at the conclusion. Cleverly plotted and cast with compelling characters, Careful What You Wish For is the perfect summer book club pick!” - New York Times Bestselling Author Wendy Corsi Staub

“[A] thoroughly enjoyable twist on the classic murder mystery.” - Christian Science Monitor