Donna Freitas's Her One Regret explores what one of her characters calls "the last taboo of motherhood." At once a rocket-paced crime tale of suspense and a thoughtful examination of cultural dictates about motherhood, this novel of women's lives and relationships excels as both entertainment and a call to difficult but necessary conversations.
On a gorgeous, early fall afternoon, Lucy loads groceries alongside her nine-month-old daughter, Emma. Then begins Part I: Lucy has vanished; Emma is found, alone, crying, but perfectly fine, in the parking lot. The small Rhode Island community is horrified, united in a search for the missing mother. But then it is revealed that Lucy had recently confided in her best friend, Michelle, that she regretted having Emma. She had fantasized about staging her own disappearance. The community and the nation erupt in harsh judgment.
The rest of Freitas's narrative jumps between the lives of four local women. Michelle is devastated by her best friend's disappearance, in love with her own role as mother, but galvanized to defend her friend. Diana, a retired detective, is drawn to Lucy's case and its similarities to other vanished women. And then there is Julia, whose baby is the same age as Emma. Julia sees herself in Lucy, shares the fantasy of escape, and now watches as the world condemns her parallel self. Her desperation feels like an emergency no one around her will acknowledge.
Freitas (Consent) relates these lives, and quiet--or in Lucy's case, suddenly very public--struggles with nuance and compassion. Her One Regret is purposefully thought-provoking and a riveting mystery--a masterpiece of duality, not soon forgotten. --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia