Twenty-seven-year-old Vera MacDonald is a driven woman who is the director of sales for a fashion company in Manhattan. She is single and meets a man named Tom Newburn, who is 10 years her senior, on an exclusive dating app. He, too, is very successful and runs a logistics tech start-up. He claims to be separated, sharing visitation of his daughter with his pregnant, soon-to-be ex-wife, Odilie.

"Awash in red herrings and clues, secrets and lies, A SMALL AFFAIR is a satisfying read from an author whose work I hope to see more of in the years to come."

Vera and Tom go on three dates before she breaks up with him. Soon after, Tom and Odilie are found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Their deaths are ruled a murder-suicide, but a note from Tom is found saying that Vera’s rejection of him led to his shocking actions.

When this information is released to the media, Vera gets fired from her dream job. She’s forced to move in with her mother, a self-centered “holistic hippie,” and hide out for a year as the press has turned everyone against her. Vera has no female friends; she’s convinced they’re jealous of her beauty and success. The only person she feels she can truly talk to and fully trusts is her longtime roommate, Quinn. When she receives an invitation from Odilie’s sister, Page, to attend a memorial service for Odilie, Quinn encourages her to go with him.

The memorial is traumatic for Vera, but she’s surprised by how the immediate family embraces her. They’re from Michigan and not really accepted by Odilie’s friends, who make them feel like outsiders. It isn’t long before Vera suspects that there’s more to Tom and Odilie’s deaths than meets the eye. She’s determined to find out the truth and get her life back on track.

Vera’s story goes back and forth from “a year ago” to “the present.” The action is compelling and interesting. The narrative is presented in three sections --- Vera, Odilie and Tom --- each with a different point of view and time frame. Flora Collins writes with confidence; while her characters may not be likable, they’re fascinating, and readers will find themselves compelled to follow their every move.

Awash in red herrings and clues, secrets and lies, A SMALL AFFAIR is a satisfying read from an author whose work I hope to see more of in the years to come.