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Under the Influence: A Novel Audiobook
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The New York Times bestselling author of Labor Day and After Her returns with a poignant story about the true meaning—and the true price—of friendship.
Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet taking portraits of school children and working for a caterer. Recovering from her addiction, she spends lonely evenings checking out profiles on an online dating site. Weekend visits with her son are awkward. He’s drifting away from her, fast.
When she meets Ava and Swift Havilland, the vulnerable Helen is instantly enchanted. Wealthy, connected philanthropists, they have their own charity devoted to rescuing dogs. Their home is filled with fabulous friends, edgy art, and dazzling parties.
Then Helen meets Elliott, a kind, quiet accountant who offers loyalty and love with none of her newfound friends’ fireworks. To Swift and Ava, he’s boring. But even worse than that, he’s unimpressed by them.
As Helen increasingly falls under the Havillands’ influence—running errands, doing random chores, questioning her relationship with Elliott—Ava and Swift hold out the most seductive gift: their influence and help to regain custody of her son. But the debt Helen owes them is about to come due.
Ollie witnesses an accident involving Swift, his grown son, and the daughter of the Havillands’ housekeeper. With her young son’s future in the balance, Helen must choose between the truth and the friends who have given her everything.
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“Maynard allows her readers to experience the disappointments, temptations and the hope of redemption experienced by a woman who doesn’t know herself…Under the Influence isn’t a fast-paced read, but instead unfolds slowly and steadily, with unexpected twists, allowing Maynard to explore what it means to be under the influence of other people and how to take control of your own identity and destiny.”
— RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
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“Maynard’s latest is illuminating and mesmerizing, highlighting not only differing definitions of friendship but the shades of gray between right and wrong and the lengths to which some will go to protect their self-interest.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A story about the pull of consuming friendships, of seeking to escape into the lives of others, of possession and illusion…Utterly captivating.”
— Megan Abbott, Edgar Award–winning author -
“The reader be absorbed by this utterly beguiling, compulsively readable yarn.”
— Booklist -
“Maynard’s expert narration and plotting plant the seeds for the explosive events at the end of her tale.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Not all authors are good narrators of their own work, but Joyce Maynard shows here that she has not only a pleasant voice but also an understanding of how to use it to create effects. Her careful writing doesn’t leave us in doubt about who is speaking, so Maynard can focus on moving us through the story of narrator Helen’s friendship with Ava and her billionaire husband, Swift.”
— AudioFile
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About Joyce Maynard
Joyce Maynard is the author of twelve previous novels and five books of nonfiction, as well as the syndicated column, “Domestic Affairs.” Her bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into sixteen languages. Her novels To Die For and Labor Day were both adapted for film.