The Practice of Deceit

We know almost from the outset of his story that Eric Lavender's marriage is in trouble. He is, after all, telling that story from a holding cell in the Scarsdale Police Department, and it's a complaint from Eric's wife that's landed him there. But only a few weeks earlier Eric had been obliviously happy in his three-and-a-half-year marriage to Colleen, a divorce attorney known to her colleagues--if not her husband--as a barracuda when it comes to extracting blood from her clients' exes. Colleen's opening shot in a battle Eric had only dimly been aware was brewing is the police report she's filed alleging that Eric sexually molested his stepdaughter, Colleen's four-year-old from a previous relationship. Sitting on the hard bench in his cell with time on his hands, Eric begins to explain how things fell apart for him, a tale whose roots go back to the day he met Colleen. Four years earlier, still recovering from the emotional trauma of being abandoned by her husband while she was pregnant, Colleen boldly took the lead in wooing and winning Eric. In less than a year he'd left behind his apartment and his psychotherapy practice in New York and moved into her Scarsdale home, where he set about talking the community's pampered scions through their relatively uninteresting problems. The trouble in their marriage starts when the wife of one of Eric's patients hires Colleen as a divorce lawyer. Colleen's hostile behavior when confronted with the problem of this conflict of interest--she and Eric are now ranged on either side of a domestic dispute--prompts Eric to take a closer look at the enigmatic woman he's married to. He gradually uncovers evidence that suggests she has been less than truthful to him about her background. The story of Eric's relationship with Colleen becomes mesmerizing as he slowly peels back the layers of his wife's perfidy, discovering as he does that he hardly knows her, that he cannot trust the woman who, chillingly, is now, as he's telling the story, acting as sole parent to their daughters. Elizabeth Benedict's The Practice of Deceit is one of those rare books one is loath to see the end of. Smoothly written and well plotted, the book manages to be both quiet and suspenseful. I would have preferred that the final chapter of the book not be epistolary in form, and there is one action taken by the protagonist that continues to confuse me (his call to a client while in prison), but these are minor quibbles about a very good book. Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

I loved this book! The story is intriguing and the characters are well written. Ms. Benedict's protaginist is a male (Eric Lavender), yet very believable. She truly captures Eric's bachelorhood and then his transition to fatherhood (how does she do it?). Colleen Golden, Eric's wife, is frightening. If you like an intense, fast read, get this book!

This is the best novel I've read in ages and I read lots of them. It's smart, witty, and fast-paced. A psychological thriller that asks the question, "What are ordinary folks supposed to do when confronted with pure evil?" I read the book straight through. Elizabeth Benedict is a sylish and agile writer. Judith Hillman Paterson author of "Sweet Mystery: A Book of Remembering"

Six years ago, out in California, Eric Lavender was despondent over the death of his father. By chance he meets Colleen O'Brien and her baby girl, Zoe. Once back home in New York, they quickly become a couple, and he moves out to suburbs to be with them. Colleen finds out she is pregnant, and Eric hesitantly asks her to marry him. Their married life is idyllic and typically crazed; both having careers, and raising two little girls. Eric is a renowned psychologist, who recently made headlines in a police rescue operation. Colleen is a high-powered divorce attorney. A major conflict erupts in their lives, when Eric takes on a new patient whose wife has thrown him out of the house and has demanded a divorce. Eric finds out that Colleen is representing her. Colleen refuses to listen to Eric's reasons that she has to drop the case as well. Eric is taken aback to learn of his wife's reputation and starts to research her background more thoroughly. Once Colleen discovers that Eric is investigating her past, she drops a bombshell accusation on him and has him arrested. His sister Pru and her life partner Bea come to his rescue. Eric writes the entire novel in the first person, in essence a letter to his wife. His quirky sense of humor is on display by the chapter headlines. The Practice of Deceit is a well-written story of love, deception, family, and redemption.

Definitely a "couldn't put it down," with wonderful characters. Eric, the unsuspecting and deeply sympathetic psychotherapist protagonist, is particularly memorable, and I continue to think about him and the book long after finishing it. And Coleen, the lawyer-predator wife is fascinating and sympathetic in her own way--I found myself admiring her organizational skills and high functioning at the same time one is chilled by her horrific behavior. A complex, smart, thoughtful (and ultimately poignant) book drenched with psychological and social insight. Read it just to find out how they live in the beautiful houses of Scarsdale.