Emma and Leo are perfect for each other. Their young daughter Ruby is precious to them and life seems perfect until Emma receives some devastating health news. As a famous marine biologist, Emma is well-known and as her illness progresses, Leo, who writes obituaries for a living, decides he needs to prepare for her possible death by writing his wife's life story. Unfortunately, Leo discovers that Emma is not Emma after all; in fact, her name is false, her background is a lie and there is another man that he knows nothing about. Will Leo's pursuit of the truth destroy everything they have together?
Interesting premise, how well do you know your "soul mate?" Can secrets destroy a family? Is the cost of finding the truth worth the price? Good character development and the settings are described so that the reader can easily visualize each place. Enjoyable.

This book has an interesting premise of an obituary writer (I'm surprised there are so many of them) having to write a stock obituary for his wife because she has been ill with cancer and was semi-famous. As he writes the obituary he uncovers secrets and realizes much of what she has told him has been a lie. The book starts with a slow burn when you have no idea what the secrets are, but they aren't that hard to uncover and they are both less scary and more terrible than you anticipate. People can be very cruel and there is both a lot of cruelty and a fair amount of guilt in this book. It is a quick read and will leave you sad for missed opportunities.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication.

Unfortunately, I stopped reading at about 15%. I was bogged down by some of the storytelling - chapter lengths were inconsistent and drug the story along for me. I also noticed some trigger warnings of cancer and marital secrets, and while I love a good thriller, the combo along with the husband as an obituary writer (and a lot of focus on that craft) made this too anxiety-producing for me to continue. I think it was wrong book, wrong time. I have not read anything else by this author.

Emma’s carefully constructed life as a wife, mother and marine biologist is a lie. Her husband has no idea what she’s hiding, and he probably would have remained in the dark if Emma hadn’t become so ill. As an obituary writer, Leo helps quell his anxiety about his wife’s health by researching her life, writing about her. He imagined he might come up with a tidbit or two of information about her he didn’t know; instead he discovers everything he thought he knew about his wife was a lie, even her name is not her own. Emma must now reveal the truth about her past, hoping that she can convince her husband that she is the woman he fell in love with. A domestic thriller for the intelligent, discerning reader