“Every marriage has its secrets.” This prophetic line opens HER LAST AFFAIR, John Searles’ unnerving new novel. Here, he takes us on a journey involving a small cast of characters, each of whom are lamenting a love lost and how their lives will converge in surprising and tragic ways.

Each chapter is narrated from the point of view of one of these individuals. First we meet Skyla, an elderly widow from upstate New York who recently lost her husband, Hollis. A retired nurse, she is now legally blind and lives on the same property where they used to run a drive-in movie theater. Oddly enough, right next to her home is an identical cottage that she is renting out for extra income. It is at this point that Teddy Cornwell comes into her life.

"The finale takes a sharp turn into a much darker place, and the ending is a satisfying one. I was not familiar with John Searles' work before, but he has won me over and found himself a faithful new reader."

Originally from the UK but raised in Florida, Teddy is interested in the cottage and instantly hits it off with Skyla, who would enjoy having a charming male tenant around to keep her company. He moves in, and the two develop a cordial relationship. Skyla talks about her marriage to Hollis, which included a longtime affair. Teddy indicates that he is no longer married but still carries a torch for his old girlfriend, Linelle, whom he met when they both worked at Walt Disney World as teens. It is this kind of talk that makes him want to look her up on social media and possibly reconnect.

Searles deftly jumps from character to character once they are verbally introduced by someone. For instance, we get a look inside Linelle’s life with her husband --- a scene of a marriage in trouble and a woman about to turn 50 who was just fired from her job and looking for something new. In another scene, Teddy tells Skyla about Jeremy, his friend from New York City who might visit at some point and could even be a future tenant if he ever moves out.

We then dive into Jeremy’s life as a peripheral friend of Teddy living in Florida and later in Providence, where he works with a quirky girl named Maryanne in a department store. They have a rather special bond. In present-day NYC, Jeremy has anger management issues that cause the violent breakdown of his relationship with Tiffany. He has dreams of becoming a great American novelist, but has to settle for work as a columnist for various print and online publications.

As a food critic, Jeremy has the opportunity to review a restaurant back in Providence and decides to look up Maryanne. Surprisingly he finds her. She agrees to be his date at the restaurant, and the two former misfits begin to reconnect as they talk about everything that has transpired since they last saw each other. The only problem is that Jeremy is still extremely self-conscious about his appearance, which is a lifelong woe, not to mention those lingering anger management issues.

All of these characters will meet in the final third of the novel, and it will be explosive. There is also a completely unexpected twist that is absolutely brilliant. The finale takes a sharp turn into a much darker place, and the ending is a satisfying one. I was not familiar with John Searles' work before, but he has won me over and found himself a faithful new reader.