A Pretty Woman tale turns toxic and deadly in this provocative thriller of sex, obsession, and murder from Robyn Harding, the “master of domestic suspense” (Kathleen Barber) and the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Swap and Her Pretty Face. Natalie, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills when a friend makes a suggestion: Why not go online and find a sugar daddy—a wealthy, older man who will pay her for dates and even give her a monthly allowance? Lots of girls do it, Nat learns. All that’s required is to look pretty and hang on his every word. Sexual favors are optional. Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving. So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder. Emotionally powerful and packed with page-turning suspense, The Arrangement delves into the sordid, all-too-real world of shadowy relationships between wealthy, powerful men and the young women who are caught in their web.
The Arrangement: A Novel by Robyn Harding
Publication Date: July 30, 2019
Pages: 352
Add on: Goodreads
Buy the Book: Amazon
Rating: ★★★
Source: From the Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
Publisher: Gallery / Scout Press / Simon & SchusterREVIEW
Robyn Harding’s The Arrangement throws you headfirst into the messy life of Natalie, a broke art student barely scraping by in New York. When a friend nudges her toward sugar dating, Natalie meets Gabe, a wealthy, much older lawyer whose charm masks some seriously dark baggage. What starts as a calculated exchange of money for companionship quickly spirals into obsession, blurred boundaries, and violence. The story morphs from gritty city drama into a full-on domestic thriller before you even see it coming.
Natalie is desperate and a little naïve, making choices that are easy to judge but hard not to understand. Gabe, for his part, is magnetic and sinister, a man who knows exactly how to get what he wants. Their relationship is a collision of power, money, and longing, and Harding uses this dynamic to probe questions about agency, morality, family, and what people will do to survive.
Harding has a reputation for domestic suspense, and she doesn’t disappoint here. Her writing is brisk and to the point, no wasted words, no lingering on flowery descriptions. The tension stays high, the chapters fly by, and you’re always itching to see what happens next.
The characters are a little thin, especially Gabe, and the heavy use of narration and flashbacks might not be for everyone. But if you’re in the mood for a fast, addictive read that doesn’t flinch from the darker corners of modern relationships, The Arrangement delivers. It’s a timely, provocative thriller that’ll leave you thinking long after you put it down.
