Isabel's Bed

Isabel's Bed by Elinor Lipman (1995) 385 pages

Harriet Mahoney is blindsided when her live-in boyfriend of 12 years asks her to move out so that another woman can move in to their apartment. Nursing her wounds, Harriet finds both a new job and a new (temporary) home when she is chosen to ghostwrite Isabel Krug's autobiography. Harriet moves into Isabel's fabulous home along the Massachusetts coast. Isabel is renowned as the huge-breasted mistress whose lover was shot to death when he and Isabel were caught in bed by his wife. The story gets stranger and stranger the more Harriet learns about it. When Nan, the wife-murderess, is released from an institution once she is deemed capable, she comes into their lives, wanting to write her own story. Nan's son, a soap opera star, figures in as well. Isabel's husband, Costas Dimantopoulos, is another unexpected character.

I often wondered where this story was heading, but enjoyed the unexpected turns as Harriet, out of her element, handles her new role, and a possible new love interest.