I have got to stop picking up books because the advance publicity compares it to something else I liked. In this case the comparison was to The Couple Next Door, which I did read and review a while back, but I saw that title and was thinking of another book entirely. (I did have the same exact complaint about Man of the Year as I did about The Couple Next door once I figured out which book that actually was, so maybe what I need to do is start glancing back at my own notes to see which books are actually being compared.)
Man of the Year by Caroline Louise Walker sounded like a book I'd enjoy, with its description of a too-perfect-to-be-true doctor and his downward spiral. The first half of the book really dragged for me. Robert Hart is respected, and envied, and wealthy. Wealthy enough that his charitable contributions bought him that award mentioned in the book's title. People envy his boat and his career and the historic widow's walk on the roof of his house... but things aren't as they seem.
I don't have to like a character to enjoy reading about him, but there has to be something to keep me turning pages. In this case, it was my refusal to give up on many books before the end. About halfway through the pace picked up and the plot started to twist. Then it just kept twisted and turning until an end that I don't think many readers are going to see coming.
Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an ARC. This post contains affiliate links.
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