Woman No. 17

“A juice box of suburban satire laced with Alfred Hitchcock” (The Washington Post)—a novel of art, motherhood, and the intensity of female friendships, set in the posh hills above Los Angeles, from the New York Times bestselling author of California
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • The Boston Globe • San Francisco Chronicle • New York Observer • Huffington Post • The Millions • Nylon • Vulture • Bustle

High in the Hollywood Hills, Lady Daniels has separated from her husband. She’s going to need help with their toddler son if she’s going to finish the memoir she can’t stand writing. From a Craigslist ad, she hires S, a magnetic young artist, to live in the guesthouse behind the pool, take care of Lady’s young son, and keep an eye on her older, teenage one. S performs her job beautifully and quickly draws the entire family into her orbit—but she isn’t exactly who she seems. As Lady and S grow closer, old secrets and new betrayals come to light, jeopardizing what they hold most dear.
 
Praise for Woman No. 17
 
“Woman No. 17 is propulsive and moving, and considers vital questions with empathy and sly intelligence. . . . A winning novel. ”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Lepucki’s exploration of personal relationships takes on an increasingly noirish tone: Much like Chekhov’s gun, a swimming pool introduced early in the book takes on the shadows of a floating body long before the reader realizes this might be a possibility.”—Elle
 
“Edan Lepucki’s Woman No. 17 is part family melodrama, part twisty self-reflection. . . . Very funny.”—GQ
 
“While Woman No. 17 does possess all the trappings of a frothy page-turner—stormy arguments, showy melodrama, and (oops!) an affair—there are some quiet, serious moments, too. It’s the intersection between the two that makes this read both scintillating and thought-provoking.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Genre: Literary Fiction

"Taut as a thriller (with plenty of sex and secrets), Woman No. 17 raises big questions about identity, art, ethics, parenthood, and more. In Edan Lepucki's hands, the philosophical is transformed into a page turner; I don't know how she does it." - Rumaan Alam

"In her arresting debut novel, Edan Lepucki conjures a lush, intricate, deeply disturbing vision of the future, then masterfully exploits its dramatic possibilities." - Jennifer Egan

"I firmly believe that Edan Lepucki is on the cusp of a long, strong career in American letters." - Ben Fountain

"Edan Lepucki shows herself to be a sharp-eyed chronicler of our modern world." - Celeste Ng

"Edan Lepucki tells her tale with preternatural clarity and total believability." - Robin Sloan

"Edan Lepucki is the very best kind of writer: simultaneously generous and precise. I am long been an admirer of her prose, but this book---this book, this massive, brilliant book---is a four alarm fire, the ambitious and rich introduction that a writer of her caliber deserves." - Emma Straub

"Edan Lepucki's first novel comes steeped in Southern California literary tradition.... One thinks of Steve Erickson or Cynthia Kadohata, or Carolyn See, whose 1987 novel Golden Days ends with the nuclear holocaust." - David L Ulin