“All happy friends are alike, but unhappy friends are unhappy in awful ways.” Author Kelly Killoren Bensimon gives her modern-day spin on the opening line of Leo Tolstoy’s ANNA KARENINA in her first novel about four fabulous friends living out their dreams (or trying to) during one sweltering New York City summer. But trying to carve out a fabulous life means something much different than it did in your 20s, when sneaking into a glamourous after-party and staying out until dawn meant you were living the dream. It’s something quite different in your 40s, as Lucy Brockton and her three closest friends --- Billy, Sarah and Lotta --- are discovering.

Lucy Danner came to New York City as a young woman to jumpstart her modeling career. After a chance meeting with famed artist Titus Brockton on the plane, the course of Lucy’s love life was set. Not long after, she and Titus marry and settle into their version of domestic life: “The artist and his glamorous model bride. We traveled and went to openings and galas. He talked to me about his work. I inspired him.” And so their lives went, for a number of years. But recently, Lucy has noticed a palpable change: “We drifted apart in the way a house shifts over the years, in such small measure that you don’t see it until the foundation is cracked.” Her greatest fear is about to be realized: “I’m close to becoming a woman who goes to lunch and fills the rest of the time with upkeep. I’ve seen women fall into this and not find their way out. I want that to terrify me. The thing that scares me is, it doesn’t.” Titus is about to have his first art exhibit in four years, and the pressure is getting to both of them. Life with an artist is never easy, but it’s especially trying when the artist is under great pressure to perform --- to prove himself worthy of his previous accolades.

"With her firsthand knowledge of this world, along with her capable co-writer, Teresa DiFalco, Bensimon makes A DANGEROUS AGE an electrifying read."

Lucy is trying to be supportive while also attempting to keep her writing career afloat. She is given the coveted assignment of writing a profile on the famed but reclusive blogger Odin for a high-end magazine. No one knows Odin’s identity, what she looks like, where she came from, or where she lives, but everyone reads her blog religiously --- at least everyone who’s anyone in New York City. Who is this mysterious scribe who seems to know all of the glitterati’s secrets? Lucy intends to find out. Adding to all of this, she has started getting mysterious texts from a stranger. At first she thought the person had the wrong number, but as they increase in frequency and immediacy, the texter is not mistaken and seems intent on wooing Lucy. And with his curious and inquisitive missives, he’s succeeding. 

Lucy’s friend, Sarah, seems to have it all: Five-foot-nine and gorgeous, she has a wonderful and supportive fiancé named Brian and an Upper East Side private school upbringing. But she wants more. Sarah is in the final round of auditions for a reality show about former private school girls and their fabulous lives in the city. She has been knocking herself (and her friends) out trying to show the producers how fantastic her life is. Will this finally bring her the happiness she craves?

Billy is a talented and creative chef who is trying to make a name for herself in a crowded market. In addition to catering exquisite dinners for her friends, she recently has been throwing exclusive secret supper club dinners for those who can afford real culinary adventures. But despite these occasions, Billy is struggling to afford life in the big city.

Lotta is the voracious gallery doyenne who never met an after-party she didn’t like. But lately, she has been partying too much, drinking in excess, and hanging out too much with unsavory types doing unsavory things. Her friends worry that she’s about to crash and burn. Lucy and the gang are reminded on a daily basis that the difference between life in their 20s and life now is that “None of us has a net.”

Kelly Killoren Bensimon has created an inviting summer read for fans of Candace Bushnell’s SEX AND THE CITY and LIPSTICK JUNGLE, and Lauren Weisberger’s THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and CHASING HARRY WINSTON. And Bensimon knows well the world she writes about --- starting out as a model, then transitioning to writing and editing magazines, as well as appearing on a couple of seasons of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New York City.” She knows the designers, the trendsetters and the scene-makers --- and all that goes into making the glamorous New York City world of her first novel. With her firsthand knowledge of this world, along with her capable co-writer, Teresa DiFalco, Bensimon makes A DANGEROUS AGE an electrifying read.