Livia is turning 40, and she wants to have a party. A big party, that all her friends and family can come to. With a big tent in the backyard and caterers and special music. It would be her day, and everyone she loved would be there to celebrate. Despite the years that she and Adam struggled financially, trying to raise two young kids while they were barely out of school themselves, Livia had put away a little money each month just to get to this point, where she could have a big party.
It’s not as selfish as it sounds. When she was still a teenager and found out she was pregnant, her parents refused to attend her wedding or help support her and Adam in any way. They had a small ceremony and then went on with their lives. Now, Marnie and Josh are grown, she and Adam are still happily married, and they’re financially secure. Now, Livia can celebrate with her friends and family the way she wants to.
Except for Marnie. Marnie is studying in Hong Kong, and Livia doesn’t want her to have to make that long journey back home just for one night. Plus, there’s the secret. She knows a secret that Marnie’s been keeping, one that will devastate Adam and ruin their close father-daughter bond. Livia knows that she’ll have to tell Adam at some point, but she wants to wait until after the party to change things between them forever.
Meanwhile, Adam himself has a secret. He’s been talking to Marnie about her coming back to surprise Livia for the party. But when those plans come crashing down, he’s not sure when or how to tell Livia his secret. He wants her to have this night, the one she’d been dreaming of for over 20 years, but he has to figure out how to carry his heavy secret until the end.
B.A. Paris is back with The Dilemma, the story of a family celebrating their lives and loves, while fate hangs in the balance, waiting to change these lives in unknown ways. Thriller writer Paris is known for past successes such as Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown, and The Dilemma is takes secrets in a new direction.
Told in the alternating perspectives of Adam and Livia, this story of family love and unfortunate decisions is a powerful look at the weight of secret keeping from those you care about most. But I’ll be honest here: this is not my favorite of her novels. As someone who is more than a little familiar with anxious over-thinking, this novel felt like a really long neurotic episode that could have easily been resolved for either of these characters by having a conversation with the other. It wouldn’t be an easy talk, or a pleasant one, but it was only the secrets these characters carried that moved the story forward at all. Personally, I prefer a story with a little more meat on its bones. But that being said, Paris is a compelling writer, and there are redeeming qualities to this novel (strong characters, a loving family) that kept me reading all the way to the end.
Egalleys for The Dilemma were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.