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A review by danubooks
One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A crisis management expert needs to use her skills to salvage her own reputation.
If you have said the wrong thing on a hot mic, been caught in a compromising position, or just fallen victim to a vicious rumor, then Arden Ward is the person to whom you should turn. She is a public relations professional whose expertise is in tamping down bad press and ramping up the positive spin. Arden never suspected that she would find herself being let go when the wife of her firm’s most important client accuses her of having an affair with the husband Arden knows that there is no truth to the claim, and her boss knows it too….but money talks, and the client represents a lot of it for the firm. To cushion the blow, Arden’s boss offers her the chance to do one last job in return for a healthy commission and a good recommendation from him. Arden is more than clever enough to know that if she says no to the assignment she will also be ensuring that she gets a lousy recommendation, so she reluctantly agrees. Her new client turns out to be Cordelia Bannister, the wife of a man who has just been acquitted in a fatal hit and run accident. While Ned, the husband, was in fact found not guilty of driving while intoxicated and of vehicular manslaughter for the death of the skateboarder who died when hit by the car Ned was driving, public opinion is still running high against Ned, Cordelia and their two young children. Cordelia wants their lives to go back to normal, and to quiet those saying that Ned was drunk at the time of the accident and that he got off scot free because he is a wealthy and very successful real estate executive. She also suspects that Ned is hiding something from her, but isn’t sure what it is. Arden meets with Cordelia, and then with Ned (who isn’t so sure that he needs someone like Arden) to discuss what can be done to erase the moniker, “The Parking Garage Killer” and make the hashtag #skated disappear from social media. Arden gets a strange feeling from the pair, thinking perhaps there is more wrong with the marriage than just the rough period they’ve just endured. She sets to work and is starting to make some progress when the unimaginable happens. Ned’s attorney Nyomi Chang is critically injured in a hit and run when she is on her way to meet Ned (and just after leaving a meeting with Arden). The prosecuting attorney, still furious that she failed to get a conviction against Ned, is convinced that he is behind Nyomi’s accident as well. Is even Arden good enough to salvage the Bannisters’ reputation after this latest wrinkle? What exactly is going on behind closed doors with Ned and Cordelia? The couple seems to be harboring secrets both from one another and from Arden. If Arden can pull this off, she may be able to salvage her career….but her life as well as her livelihood may now hang in the balance, because someone seems to want to destroy Ned Bannister at all costs.
One Wrong Word gives the reader a taste of what it must feel like when the truth of a situation doesn’t really matter because the public has decided on a different narrative. Arden is a sympathetic character, if a bit naive given her chosen occupation. Cordelia and Ned make for an interesting if slippery pair, and it was hard to decide if they were innocent but wronged or if one or both of them know more about what happened on the night of the accident than they are telling. With a furious prosecutor determined to see justice done and members of the wealthy and influential circle in which the Bannisters socialize having connections to the night in question, there is no shortage of suspects or of motives. Expect some plot twists and don’t trust anyone….finding out who done it (and why) will keep you busy right up until the last pages of the book. A fun read, all in all. Fans of Hank Phillippi Ryan’s previous books will likely enjoy this addition to her roster as well, and readers of Kate White, Allison Brennan and B. A Paris should give it a try. Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group/Forge Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of One Wrong Word in exchange for my honest review.
If you have said the wrong thing on a hot mic, been caught in a compromising position, or just fallen victim to a vicious rumor, then Arden Ward is the person to whom you should turn. She is a public relations professional whose expertise is in tamping down bad press and ramping up the positive spin. Arden never suspected that she would find herself being let go when the wife of her firm’s most important client accuses her of having an affair with the husband Arden knows that there is no truth to the claim, and her boss knows it too….but money talks, and the client represents a lot of it for the firm. To cushion the blow, Arden’s boss offers her the chance to do one last job in return for a healthy commission and a good recommendation from him. Arden is more than clever enough to know that if she says no to the assignment she will also be ensuring that she gets a lousy recommendation, so she reluctantly agrees. Her new client turns out to be Cordelia Bannister, the wife of a man who has just been acquitted in a fatal hit and run accident. While Ned, the husband, was in fact found not guilty of driving while intoxicated and of vehicular manslaughter for the death of the skateboarder who died when hit by the car Ned was driving, public opinion is still running high against Ned, Cordelia and their two young children. Cordelia wants their lives to go back to normal, and to quiet those saying that Ned was drunk at the time of the accident and that he got off scot free because he is a wealthy and very successful real estate executive. She also suspects that Ned is hiding something from her, but isn’t sure what it is. Arden meets with Cordelia, and then with Ned (who isn’t so sure that he needs someone like Arden) to discuss what can be done to erase the moniker, “The Parking Garage Killer” and make the hashtag #skated disappear from social media. Arden gets a strange feeling from the pair, thinking perhaps there is more wrong with the marriage than just the rough period they’ve just endured. She sets to work and is starting to make some progress when the unimaginable happens. Ned’s attorney Nyomi Chang is critically injured in a hit and run when she is on her way to meet Ned (and just after leaving a meeting with Arden). The prosecuting attorney, still furious that she failed to get a conviction against Ned, is convinced that he is behind Nyomi’s accident as well. Is even Arden good enough to salvage the Bannisters’ reputation after this latest wrinkle? What exactly is going on behind closed doors with Ned and Cordelia? The couple seems to be harboring secrets both from one another and from Arden. If Arden can pull this off, she may be able to salvage her career….but her life as well as her livelihood may now hang in the balance, because someone seems to want to destroy Ned Bannister at all costs.
One Wrong Word gives the reader a taste of what it must feel like when the truth of a situation doesn’t really matter because the public has decided on a different narrative. Arden is a sympathetic character, if a bit naive given her chosen occupation. Cordelia and Ned make for an interesting if slippery pair, and it was hard to decide if they were innocent but wronged or if one or both of them know more about what happened on the night of the accident than they are telling. With a furious prosecutor determined to see justice done and members of the wealthy and influential circle in which the Bannisters socialize having connections to the night in question, there is no shortage of suspects or of motives. Expect some plot twists and don’t trust anyone….finding out who done it (and why) will keep you busy right up until the last pages of the book. A fun read, all in all. Fans of Hank Phillippi Ryan’s previous books will likely enjoy this addition to her roster as well, and readers of Kate White, Allison Brennan and B. A Paris should give it a try. Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group/Forge Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of One Wrong Word in exchange for my honest review.