A. R. Torre | A Fatal Affair

The Book: 

A Fatal Affair by A. R. Torre
Published June 20, 2023 by Thomas & Mercer
Date read: June 28, 2023

The Characters: 

Nora and her fiance Hugh
Hugh’s twin Trent
The detectives

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The Plot (from Goodreads):

Stars. Lovers. Liars. Killers. This is Hollywood, and everyone has a part to play in a shocking novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author A. R. Torre.

Actress Nora Kemp loves two men. One is Hugh Iverson, a philanthropic movie star who gives Nora security and respectability. The other is Hugh’s twin brother, Trent, a Hollywood bad boy who brings out Nora’s wild side. When Trent and an unidentified woman are found dead on the Iversons’ Beverly Hills property, more than Nora’s and Hugh’s reputations are at stake.

An investigation suggests murder-suicide. But there’s more to the crime than first meets the eye: suspicions of a serial killer with a bizarre motive, Hugh’s unnerved and cautious staff, and a missing mother and son. As two LA detectives sift through the deceptions of the innocent and the guilty—some living and some dead—solving the case becomes a cunning cat-and-mouse game.

Because in a city of illusions, the truth—no matter how dangerous—is so easy to hide.

How did A Fatal Affair end?

Click here for book spoilers for A Fatal Affair
Book spoilers ahead–if you haven’t yet read A Fatal Affair, I suggest you turn back now.

The Reveal:

Nora had been sleeping with both twins. Kerry, the dead woman, was involved in some kind of group that knew she was making her kid sick for attention (Munchausen by proxy). An unknown figure threatened her and said he would kill her if she didn’t stop, which is why she wiped all of her social media and didn’t want to go on the Disney trip. Her kid really was sick again, but the vigilante didn’t believe her.

Nora mentioned to the detectives that Hugh and Trent owned a cabin. The detectives tracked it down and found snuff films, evidence of one of the twins torturing women. They went to question Hugh, but he said he was actually Trent posing as Hugh.

Nora had been sleeping with both of them. Hugh had been acting as somewhat of a vigilante killer–tracking down mothers with Munchausen’s by proxy and killing them. Trent wasn’t involved in the murders, but would sometimes hide the bodies or stand in for Hugh if he needed to leave town.

Nora told the detectives that as a child, the twins’ mother would abuse Hugh endlessly and ignore Trent. When Hugh had to go to the doctor too many times, she would say he was Trent to avoid suspicion. The body in the morgue was the one with all the broken bones.

Hugh had apparently started a Muchausen’s By Proxy support group, which is what Kerry had joined.

The Ending:

The case was passed to the FBI to resolve.

Nora had killed Hugh. She caught him torturing Kerry and killed him to protect herself and Trent.

Nora and Trent got married in the epilogue.

The Review: 

I love AR Torre’s books, but the pacing of A Fatal Affair just felt off. It’s a short book, but I was surprised to find myself at 90% when nothing had really happened yet other than setup. I liked the Munchausen by Proxy theme, but wish that was explored more–both in Kerry’s storyline and in the past flashbacks. I REALLY wanted to know more about the twins’ childhood–there were some flashbacks to their childhood TV show, but not the ones I wanted!

The reveal didn’t surprise me (and reminded me of the “rules for writing a murder mystery” from Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone). The ending also felt very unfinished to me. I found myself thinking I still had to finish the book, only to remember it was over! Unfortunately, this isn’t one I recommend. Torre’s other books are incredible, though, so choose something else off her backlist!


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