Very Slowly All at Once, Lauren Schott (Review by Kristin Kurek)

This book is absolutely propulsive! I simply couldn’t stop reading and have disrespected my bedtime in the process.

Mack and Hailey Evans are chasing the middle-class dream. They have promising careers, beautiful children, and a new lake-front house in an upper-class neighborhood. However, some career and financial trouble put their dreams in jeopardy. Mysterious checks start arriving, and Mack and Hailey cash them to ease their financial stress. But, nothing is free. Demands begin to filter in requiring their debt to be repaid by completing illegal and immoral tasks.

Lauren Schott has infused each page of this novel with unease. Their financial troubles mount. Their careers become tenuous. Their house is crumbling beneath their feet. And, their marriage is on the rocks. This book is also an examination of morality and how far humans will go when pushed to their emotional limits. Will Mack and Hailey turn on each other? Will they commit unspeakable acts to save their family?

I found this book to be simply un-put-down-able. I could feel my heartrate increasing as the tension wound tighter and tighter. Both characters are morally grey, but as desperation tightens its grip, they are pushed to new levels. I especially loved the evolution of Mack and Hailey’s marriage throughout the rising tension of the book. A person can easily turn on the person that knows them the best. What an apt exploration of the lifecycle of a relationship! I found myself both disgusted with and deeply rooting for the characters. While in extraordinary circumstances, they were forced to confront that dark seed of desperation that lives inside of each of us. Would any one of us behave any differently?

Lauren Schott has provided a book that can be read in one or two sittings but will be remembered long after the final page. You should read this book if you love high-tension fiction and can become so lost in a book long into the night!