The Wives of Hawthorne Lane

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane by Stephanie DeCarolis
9/16/25; 368 pages
Ballantine/Bantam

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane by Stephanie DeCarolis is a highly recommended domestic drama with plenty of "Desperate Housewives" overtones that shows the deceptive side of residents in an upscale neighborhood as the plot leads up to a murder investigation. 

The novel starts with the body being found on Halloween night and  Detective Frank Olsen investigating. After this opening, there are chapters jump back in time following actions leading up to the murder with some chapters following the murder investigation and some following a couple who don't live on Hawthorne Lane.

Residents of Hawthorne Lane include:
Mark and Hannah Wilson have just moved to Hawthorne Lane. We know Hannah has a secret she's afraid to tell Mark. 
Colin and Georgina Pembrook have two teenagers, Sebastian and Christina. Georgina is the reigning Queen Bee of the neighborhood and plans all the neighborhood events.
Audrey Warrington works for a large publisher and is married to Seth, an author. She's having an affair.
Libby Corbin and her husband Bill are separated and he is seeing another woman. She owns a florist shop and has a teenage son, Lucas.
The chapters following Maggie and her abusive boyfriend Dean will eventually tie into the residents of Hawthorne Lane.

The writing is very good and the plot moves quickly. There is plenty of suspense, secrets, and twists. All the characters are well developed, have secrets, and are dealing with big issues. The narrative unfolds through the point-of-view of each character 

The biggest drawback to reading it is all the domestic abuse. It was too much for me. The final denouement makes up for some of it, along with the information DeCarolis includes after the novel. If you can handle the domestic violence, it is a well written novel. Thanks to Ballantine/Bantam for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.