Margo Miyake had A Plan (to put it mildly). Having grown up in a family that was both personally and financially unstable but gave her a too-fleeting glimpse at suburban stability (until the bank foreclosed), Margo has been downright determined to reclaim that life for her own family-to-be, to do it the right way and not be deterred.

So when her husband, Ian, left his high-powered (and high-paying) law practice to do good work as a lawyer at the EPA, Margo made sure that they could keep saving money by upgrading her own career --- from the journalism job she loved at the Washington Post to a less stimulating but far more lucrative position at a public relations firm specializing in luxury lifestyle brands. After she was made VP in her mid-30s, Margo decided that it was high time for them to put down roots and have a baby. So she convinced Ian to sell their beloved but decidedly un-suburban row house, rent a generic one-bedroom to save money, and start their house-hunting journey in earnest.

"Despite its darker moments, this is a thoroughly entertaining romp of a domestic thriller. Kashino more than closes the deal in her riveting debut."

However, Margo's plan did not include this part dragging on for a year and a half, as offer after offer got rejected. Nor did it include her failure to get pregnant. But just as Ian is making noise about pressing pause on the stressful real estate search to improve their odds of conceiving, Margo hears a rumor about a house that hasn't gone on the market --- yet.

Margo knows from countless apocryphal stories that the best --- perhaps only --- way to get what might be called a "deal" in the red-hot DC housing market is to arrange for a sale before a house goes on the market. And once she sees it (via a surreptitious drive-by that devolves into a little light trespassing), she knows that this is the house she's been waiting for. It's in the most desirable suburb of Bethesda, and as she soon learns, it's been impeccably remodeled in a style virtually inextricable from her own.

When Margo --- through a variety of crafty means --- arranges to meet the owners, a married gay couple with a little girl, she hits it off with them immediately. Could it be that her plan is finally coming to fruition? Not so fast.

What starts off as a somewhat satirical sendup of the adrenaline-fueled search for the perfect home quickly takes a turn, as readers gradually discover the depths to which Margo will sink to realize her dream. Narrated in her memorably self-deluded first-person voice, BEST OFFER WINS is remarkable for the ways in which Margo can be completely unlikable yet also gain readers' respect because she's astonishingly good at what she does. Even though the narrative loses momentum about midway through, Margo demonstrates the skills that once made her a top-notch journalist. And soon enough, the novel is rocketing toward its shocking conclusion.

Despite its darker moments, this is a thoroughly entertaining romp of a domestic thriller. Kashino more than closes the deal in her riveting debut.