Jodi Bishop needs a break. She’s the breadwinner in her family; her mother, Audrey, has Parkinson’s disease; and her older sister, Tracy, is too flighty to count on. Her husband Harrison’s first novel was a success, but he’s having trouble finishing his second, and resents having to care for their two young children when realtor Jodi has to work weekends showing houses or spend time with her parents. Her cantankerous father, Vic, denies that he needs help caring for her mother, but he is 79 and their home is large. What they need, obviously, is a housekeeper --- one that Vic will accept.

"Jodi is a very likable and relatable character, and the novel delivers on its promise to wrap things up satisfactorily, but not without many juicy twists along the way."

Enter Elyse Woodley. She’s an energetic, kind and fit 62-year-old with glowing references. Her father agrees to a trial run with Elyse and is soon won over by freshly baked brownies, sheer competence and maybe a little flirting. Elyse seems too good to be true, and Jodi can’t believe their luck at first. “In the end, I have only myself to blame. I’m the one who let her in.”

We know early on that this housekeeper is not what she seems. The question is how she will be unmasked and (we increasingly hope) punished. Even with Elyse firmly ensconced in her parents’ household, the pressure on Jodi’s marriage doesn’t let up. She is suspicious of the young, adoring woman Wren, who signs up for Harrison’s summer fiction workshop. Harrison runs hot and cold with Jodi, and she worries that their fights are scaring their children.

Jodi remembers her own fear as a child hearing her parents’ loud arguments. Tracy --- tall, thin and pretty --- was the favorite, and every interaction she has with her parents reminds her of that fact. Her dad always has a comment about Jodi’s weight, and her mother (when she can still talk) calls her Tracy. Even with Elyse in place, she’s getting no relief from the pressures in her life. So when handsome divorcee Roger engages her services to find a high-end condo, she is only too susceptible to his charms.

Perhaps the most interesting relationship in this novel is the one between Jodi and Tracy. Tracy is 45 and still living off a generous allowance from their wealthy father. Even though she’s the favorite, she is loathe to visit her ailing mother. As the situation with her parents and the housekeeper escalates, she pesters Jodi to safeguard not their health, but the wealth that she expects to inherit. Despite all of this, Jodi loves her sister. She loves her dad, too, even though he shows no love for her.

There are a lot of balls in the air, and I couldn’t wait to see how and where they landed. Jodi is a very likable and relatable character, and the novel delivers on its promise to wrap things up satisfactorily, but not without many juicy twists along the way.