Lauren North garnered some well-deserved praise with THE PERFECT SON, her debut novel. The protagonist of ONE STEP BEHIND, her newly published sophomore title, is quite different from the tragic figure who readers followed in her first book, but is no less recognizable in this perfectly paced, multilayered story that begs to be read in one sitting.

Jenna Lawson, an emergency room physician, is one of the novel’s primary narrators. She is married to Stuart, the owner of a successful construction business, and they have two children: Christie, a somewhat precocious youngster approaching the cusp of adolescence, and Archie, who often seems lost in the shuffle.

"There is quite a bit to ONE STEP BEHIND, more than you might expect in this kind of thriller. As a result, it’s just the book you need to transition from this strange summer to an uncertain autumn."

Jenna is having trouble balancing her vocational and parental duties, and it is not because Stuart fails to keep his share of the home fires burning. His 50-50 share is in fact a bit larger than Jenna’s. A good deal of the problem is due to a stalker who has entered her life. Not content to watch her from afar, the guy leaves creepy presents for her at her doorstep and sends her emails that indicate he has some knowledge of her personal life. The police investigate but seem to function like Achilles when confronted by Zeno’s tortoise.

During a particularly harried day at the hospital, a man who has come up short in an encounter with a bus is brought to the ER. Jenna is horrified to discover that the patient is her stalker.

The other narrator is Sophie, a personal trainer who is in an extremely controlling relationship, personally and professionally, with a fellow named Nick. It turns out that she is the older sister of Jenna’s stalker, Matthew. Much of Sophie’s narrative is given over to her childhood and her relationship with Matthew. There is a bit of a tease here --- a tragedy that took place in their youth and is breadcrumbed throughout the novel almost to the conclusion --- that contributes to the general tone of unease that permeates ONE STEP BEHIND from beginning to end.

There are a few mysteries that whirl around the plot, a couple of which are evident and one or two of which are not. Relationships and alliances change unexpectedly but realistically, so what appears to be obvious in one chapter becomes somewhat uncertain in the next, and vice versa. It’s a pattern that continues up to the book’s last sentence and beyond.

Jenna is a raisin of anxiety throughout the story. While the spark of it is the fear of her stalker, the kindling is her unrealistic expectations that she has for herself. She wants to excel as a parent and a doctor, with both sides of the equation suffering. The vignettes where she experiences the silent (and not-so-silent) disapproval of some other mothers are handled in a subtle but effective manner, as are her occasional missteps at the hospital, not to mention a couple of unexpected betrayals she encounters.

There is quite a bit to ONE STEP BEHIND, more than you might expect in this kind of thriller. As a result, it’s just the book you need to transition from this strange summer to an uncertain autumn.