The Children: A Novel - Softcover

"A profound meditation on the burden of expectation, familial ties that bind, and the explosive nature of buried secrets." ―Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train

"[A] deeply satisfying novel about how unknowable people can be." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The Children is populated by comically quirky characters reminiscent of Anne Tyler at her best." ―Ann Hood, author of The Obituary Writer

"I loved this crumbling lakeside home, the family cracked at its foundation, and the strange intruders chipping away at everyone's peace of mind. Ann Leary's compelling tale is satisfyingly layered with unreliable witnesses and betrayals large and small; in which the worst harm may not be caused by an unknown stranger." ―Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

"[Leary's] characters are a delightful blend of strong personalities, all with their own little touch of delicious evil, and her darkly comic send-ups of New England wealth, nouveau riche, and Internet culture should keep readers absorbed until the final, most shocking secrets are revealed." ―Publishers Weekly

"A witty, touching, unputdownable novel." ―Good Housekeeping

"A fast-paced, darkly funny novel." ―Popsugar

"A read-in-one-sitting romp, Leary’s wry and searing satire of affluence and elitism comically yet steadily builds to a sobering and malevolent finale." ―Booklist

"No one does the unreliable female narrator like Ann Leary. . . . A cautionary fairy tale about what happens when you think you’re irrelevantly above it all." ―Lit Hub

"Leary has a gift for creating compelling, layered characters, and the structure and pacing of this novel are remarkable." ―Dallas-Fort Worth Star Telegram

"Ann Leary’s latest novel, The Children, delivers the same page-turning story telling and complexity of characters as her last book, The Good House. . . . As always, Leary makes dysfunction, pathology and even tragedy completely compelling." ―The Huffington Post

"Great fun." ―People

"As in The Good House, the details in Leary’s characters are bright." ―The New York Times Book Review

"Leary commands every scene with the poise of a practiced storyteller who has mastered the timing required to craft narrative tension, punctuated throughout by precise and intentional reveals." ―Ploughshares