Brief

When a woman in Palm Beach is faced with a hurricane, injured friends, an unfaithful husband, and job woes, she copes in her own brutal way.

What We Liked

There's so much to love about this project. The writing is confident, detailed, and engaging. The main character, Judy, is a wonderfully original protagonist. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns that no one will see coming. The ending is satisfying and emotionally cathartic. This project feels like a classic thriller, but Judy's character is unique and refreshing. She breathes new life into the genre.

Film: This project has a distinct beginning, middle, and end that lends itself to a feature film. The pace is great for a slow-burn thriller. Judy is a dynamic character that would likely attract A-list actors interested in taking on the role.

TV: This book would be perfect as a miniseries in the same genre of "Big Little Lies." It's riveting and almost naturally falls into distinct episodes, as Judy struggles with one new issue after the other. The ending feels like a great end to a season. There's enough material to make more seasons and continue Judy's story, but it could also serve as a series finale for a one-season miniseries.

Key points: Great main character. Strong writing. Unexpected plot twists. Satisfying ending. Complex themes at play.

Synopsis

We meet Judy on a train during a hiking trip in Peru. She had initially been traveling with her brother, Frank, and his wife, Mary Lee, but when Mary Lee sustained an injury, they went home. Judy decided to press on alone. Judy strikes up a conversation with a man on the train named Sam. He’s traveling with a group of buddies, but they drank too much, so he’s trekking out alone today. The conversation fizzles out and Judy considers how much she’d like to get married, but how men never seem to pursue her.

Six years later, Judy hurries back to her home in Florida. She shares it with Sam and they’re throwing a dinner party that evening. Judy and Sam are married now, and their relationship began that day in Peru. For Judy, their meeting felt like a miracle. Sam had a miracle of his own. A veterinarian, he inadvertently discovered a breeding method that allowed him to create tiny cats. The cats were rare and sold for thousands of dollars, which made Sam quite a wealthy man.

The dinner party is a lovely affair that ends as a storm sets in. Just after Judy and Sam go to bed,, Margarida, one of the older women who was at the party, calls them. She tells them there are police cars near Joe and Eileen’s house, another couple who attended the party, and she’s worried. Sam and Judy go to check and realize that their friends are injured. The police tell them that a lightning strike toppled a tree and trapped them underneath it. They’re alive, but it’s unclear how serious their injuries are. Sam and Judy help provide information and then, rattled, go to bed.

The next day, Sam and Judy visit Eileen and Joe. They’re injured — Joe more so than Eileen — but they should recover. Marilyn, the couple’s daughter, threatens to send them to another hospital closer to her in Boston. Eileen pleads with Judy not to let her do it and Judy agrees to contact their lawyer.

Judy, who is a physical therapist, checks with her boss and begins physical therapy with Eileen. Judy’s work with Eileen becomes a routine. Joe still recovers, and Marilyn is rude and nasty to Judy, but Judy tries to ignore her.

Things take a dark turn when Joe catches an infection and is not expected to recover. He could be kept on life support, but his brain will never really be the same. Eileen decides to take him off life support and begin the hospice process. Marilyn is furious with her mother and doesn’t agree with the choice, but Joe is moved to hospice and isn’t expected to survive the week.

At home, Sam and Judy prepare for a possible hurricane. Sam is perpetually prepared, so Judy isn’t too worried. Her mother, who she has a complicated relationship with, says she’ll be passing through town in order to drive somewhere safe from the storm. Judy reluctantly agrees to meet her parents for breakfast the next morning.

Sam mentions to Judy that he wants to quit his job and sail the world, and he wants Judy and their cat to come too. Judy swiftly shuts the idea down. She doesn’t like boats, and it just isn’t realistic. Sam accepts this answer and goes out by himself for dinner.

In the morning, Judy meets her parents for breakfast. It’s a tense time, but she makes it through. The storm gets worse and Judy and Sam decide the house may not be safe enough. Meanwhile, Joe is still alive in hospice. There isn’t anywhere for Marilyn to stay, so Eileen asks if she can join Judy. Judy, Sam, Margarida, and Eileen head to Sam’s office at Pocket Pets, where the building should be strong enough to keep them safe.

The storm is far worse than anyone anticipated, but the group stays safe at the office. Marilyn frustrates everyone by repeatedly blowing the emergency generator. When it’s finally safe to leave, Marilyn discovers that Joe and Eileen’s house has been terribly damaged in the storm. She still has nowhere to go, so Judy and Sam invite her to stay with them. Eileen is also going to stay at their house, since she’s being discharged and now has nowhere to go. Joe remains alive but in a dire state. Though Joe hasn’t died yet, his family has already come to town anticipating his funeral. Judy, Eileen, and Margarida scramble to find them places to stay.

The days drag on and on and still Marilyn and her brother Ted stay with Sam and Judy because still Joe survives in a comatose state. Judy begins getting incredibly frustrated with them. She also pities Joe. When she sees him in the hospital, she has an unexpected urge and she kills Joe. It’s relatively peaceful and Judy knows she’s putting Joe out of his misery, but she also knows she can’t tell anyone the truth. Eileen learns of Joe’s death and begins making funeral plans.

After the funeral, the guests finally leave Sam and Judy’s home. Marilyn has an autopsy done on Joe, and Judy secretly feels nervous that something will be discovered about what she did. Guilt begins to bother her and she struggles with nightmares. One day at work, while sleep deprived, she makes a mistake that causes a patient to fall and sustain an injury. Judy is suspended from her job and told she’ll likely be fired as well as sued.

Judy picks her friend Terry up from the airport. Terry is coming to stay for a month and Judy hopes it’ll take her mind off all the stress she’s been under lately. Unfortunately, Terry’s visit doesn’t do that and Judy realizes that she and Terry don’t have much in common anymore. Sam and Judy’s relationship is a bit strained by the turmoil Judy has been going through, but it isn’t until Judy witnesses Sam and Terry having sex with each other that she realizes how terrible things are.

Judy leaves and drives to her parents’ cabin in Maine. She takes Jack, the cat, and tells Sam that she doesn’t want to see him. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do. While she’s there and finally finding some peace, Eileen calls with the news that Margarida has died. Though she was old and had a peaceful death, the news devastates Judy.

Sam surprises Judy by coming to the cabin even though she asked him not to. She deals with work issues before meeting with him. She forfeits her Florida PT license but won’t be financially impacted and can still practice in other states. After clearing things up, she agrees to go fishing with Sam.

Sam comes back for dinner. Things go okay for a while until Sam begins getting demanding and aggressive. He reveals that he lied about getting tested after sleeping with Terry, he lied about calling Terry, and he seems proud of his deceptions. Suddenly, Sam begins choking on a fish bone. Judy watches as he dies and does nothing to help him, even though she knows she could probably save his life.

In the end, Judy buys herself a new home. She’s left a millionaire after Sam’s death, and a woman with a new lease on life.

About The Author

Originally from Bangor, Maine, Johanna Constance Hunt earned a bachelor’s in zoology from the University of Maine, Orono, and a master’s in public health from Yale. Hunt currently lives in Maine with her two cats.