Deconstructed by Liz Talley: When Cricket overhears two women talking about her husband with another woman, she doesn’t 
necessarily believe it. When it’s confirmed via text messages, she sets out on a mission to catch him in the act. One of her employees, Ruby, offers to help her find answers. The two start trying to be their own private investigators of the scandal. When Cricket gets attacked by the other woman’s dog, they regroup to find a professional to help.
With the help of Ruby’s cousins Griff and Juke, Cricket starts to find answers, but then she finds that the issues go way further than the adultery. Using their ragtag group of friends, they try to find out the full truth of what they are dealing with and the best way to help Cricket. Along the way Cricket gets closer with Griff while Ruby tries to decide between a ghost of her past or the new guy who she thinks is out of her league. You’ll never see the twists and turns coming!
Cricket starts off by being the perfect housewife, but her world is thrown for a loop when she finds out about Scott cheating. Instead of leaving it be, she decides that she wants answers. She almost cracks multiple times throughout the investigation, but she stands her ground when it matters for herself and her daughter. By the end of the book, she has become a new person who finds her voice and accepts herself. She learns who her true friends are and meets other new friends along the way.
Ruby has a chip on her shoulder from the beginning because of family issues in her past. She never relied on anyone or truly had any friends until her friendship blossomed with Cricket. When she finds herself stuck between two men, she analyzes everything they do to help her decide what she wants for her future. When she takes the time to confront her demons and focus on bettering herself, she knows the path she wants to take.
Overall, there wasn’t a lot of romance in the book itself, but you can definitely see it simmering in the background. I truly hope we get a follow up that shows how the characters are doing after the events. By the end of it, you root for Cricket and Ruby and want only the best for them and their friends.
Book Info:
Publication: February 1, 2022 | Montlake |
An exhilarating novel about fast friends and fashionable revenge by Liz Talley, the USA Today bestselling author of Adulting.
Antique-store owner Cricket Crosby’s life is turned upside down when she discovers that the rumors of her husband’s affair aren’t just leisurely southern gossip. Her plan: hire an investigator; find an attorney; enlist the help of her new assistant, Ruby; and make her husband pay.
Ruby knows how quickly everything changes. After a dicey past, she’s determined to forge a new future by working for Cricket and reinventing herself as a designer, deconstructing vintage haute couture. If anybody can help mend a few tears in Cricket’s life, she can.
But turns out Cricket’s life isn’t just a little torn. It’s wrinkled, stained, and falling apart at the seams. With Ruby and her ragtag relatives—a soused PI and a hunky tow truck driver—Cricket is sleuthing her way to the truth, no matter how dangerous it gets.
Sure, Cricket’s life isn’t what she imagined. But she’s embracing change and figuring out what she really wants. And that’s kind of fabulous.
