Off the Deep End: A Thriller

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Jules Hart's life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenager plunge into the cold waters with her. She could only save one, and she saves the 'wrong' one. Ebner begins the book writing that Falwell's endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016 "helped deliver Trump the evangelical vote." There is zero factual evidence of this and it grossly overstates any influence Jerry Falwell Jr. had on Christians. He was not his father, and to try to claim that this was similar to his dad's Moral Majority helping Reagan win shows a horrible misinterpretation of history and inept Jerry Falwell Jr. If you've read any of Lucinda Berry's previous work it's no secret that she refuses to skirt around the darker issues in life and just nose dives straight into them, and Off The Deep End was no different. It was devastating, heart-wrenching and suspenseful in simultaneously the best and worst ways. As a result of losing her son Gabe in a tragic accident, Jules falls into an uncontrollable mental state. Ten months after Jules rescued Gabe's friend Isaac Greer from their car crash, he vanished without a trace. She still struggles to cope with the fact that she rescued another woman's child and not Gabe.

This book could have been so good, so much better if the adults were easy to tolerate. Jules might have even been someone who I could have developed actual sympathy for, if not for her gross behavior. Not something I really wanted to read about. Maybe things like this does happen, after all the author is a psychologist. It just seemed, out of place.The story is told from alternating POV’s of Amber Greer (Isaac’s mum) and Jules (Gabe’s mum). This style is great love it… not this book. My good friend GirlWithThePinkSkiMask has pointed out (and I agree) that these are the WRONG POVs for this novel - we should have at least heard from Isaac I mean at least once. Amber is a annoying and childish and boring - whining about Jules how she did this and she did that. 😤 Meanwhile there's a serial killer on the loose killing teenage boys. The MO fit's perfect into Isaacs disappearance. Out walking dog, cell phone found on the side of the road, and a perfectly wrapped box of the last clothes he was wearing discovered in a local park - like all the other victims but Amber can't and won't believe it. It's Jules, Jules, Jules and she is not willing to consider anything else and will stop at nothing to prove her point. Juliet "Jules" Hart, marriage and family counselor, is anxious just to get home that late afternoon. She's traveling the icy roads around Falcon Lake in southern Minnesota. Her two teenage passengers, son Gabe and neighbor Isaac, have their eyes glued to their phones and don't notice the deer leaping in front of their car. Jules slams on the brakes and the vehicle pivots madly off the road and into the freezing lake water. And what transpires here on out will be the basis for a very intricate and mind-numbing novel. I've seen Granda on the streaming documentary and he verbalizes what is written in the book about the Falwells--that he believes they used "Mafia-like" tactics and were "con artists" from the start. I don't agree with that analysis. They seem like a horny drunk non-religious "Christian" couple looking for a way to satisfy a wife with an incredible need for sex, then get upset when Granda pulls away after he gets a girlfriend.

Meanwhile Granda admits that he recorded phone calls with the Falwells without their knowledge. If he did this in Florida, a two-consent state, then he actually was more guilty than they were. At least Falwells could claim he was a knowledgeable participant in the videos being made. He also agrees that in later years he consented to them making videos having sex, so kind of hard for him to get mad at them when in truth he's the one that made illicit recordings. Off The Deep End was not one of my favorites. I was drawn in by the premise of the story, but soon had difficulty connecting with the characters. First things first, this was MUCH better than Under Her Care. This was closer to Lucinda Berry's previous bangers—Appetite for Innocence and Saving Noah. However, similar to UHC, I found myself wishing Jules to get in the car with Amber (Isaac's mom) and drive into the river again. They are both insufferable. Huh? Trying to claim that a pool boy's affair with a college university president's wife in 2012 helped get Trump elected in 2016? Ludicrous and zero proof beyond a typical liberal's stereotyping of the evangelical sheep blindly following a supposed leader. What they call in the book a "campaign stop" by Trump actually occurred almost four years before he ran for president, so they are spinning this in a biased manner to build a narrative that's false. Trump was at Liberty because he was a non-religious TV celebrity, not a politician, and would bring credibility to the campus.The Best of Friends gripped me from the stunning opening to the emotional, explosive ending. In this moving novel, Berry creates a beautifully crafted study of secrets and grief among a tight-knit group of friends and of how far a mother will go to discover the truth and protect her children.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and This Is How I Lied Jules obsession with Isaac. He willingly gave her his sperm to have a freaking baby? And during this standoff she's saying " their love is real and who cares about age when they are cosmic lovers and blah blah and Isaac calls her a creepy old crazy women cause she's 41 and his 15 The co-author goes on to claim that Granda's "youthful indiscretion" (a misnomer, like others in the book) "may also have played a not insignificant role in making a person like Trump president." The action never wavers, and the surprises are unending. Berry is writing at the top of her game.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

While some people love murder podcast, I love corrupt evangelicals podcasts, so I've listened to several featuring the story of the downfall of Jerry Falwell, Jr. and the toxic culture he fostered on the Liberty University campus. Also (if you made it to this point) Isaac visiting Jules was a ruse part of the plan for the school sh**ting. They got them in 4k at like walmart and whatever buying b*llets and stuff And then a bit later on all the summer fun and adventure become alive. Yes, it would have been so much better to read this one during the summer! He finally realizes that he will never be wealthy or one of them through his prostitution-like activities. He becomes upset, and decides that although he had a great time & great sex, feels used. He then plots his revenge for all the great sex he had while showing off for the husband. Let’s see, how does this end? Well, it’s a big surprise: Not great for anyone.

Jules Hart by her own admission has had a dreamy life one without tragedy and loss, that is until the night she loses control of her car and it plunges into the icy depths of the lake. In the car with her is her only child, 15 year old Gabe and the neighbours 15 year old son Issac.