Elizabeth Evans

As Good As Dead

Selected praise for As Good As Dead

“With crystalline detail, Evans draws obsessive and seductive characters that make a passel of trouble for themselves—and for each other…Simply superb.” —Ann Cummins, author of Yellowcake

“Evans writes with the mesmerizing art of Scheherazade during her one thousand and one nights.” —Robb Forman Dew, author of Being Polite to Hitler

“A compulsively page-turning novel. Blackmail! Back-stabbing! You will be as good as sleepless until you turn the last page.” —Julie Schumacher, author of Dear Committee Members

"This intelligent and literary psychological novel creatively explores what happens when secrets, betrayal, and trust issues arise in a friendship and in a marriage." —Library Journal

"Evans expertly captures the psychology of females who were both friends and rivals on every level, from writing to men. A suspenseful atmosphere and insightful writing are at the heart of this well-crafted novel." —Booklist

Welcome

Welcome to the website of Elizabeth Evans

Elizabeth Evans's latest novel, As Good As Dead, is now available in stores and online via IndieBound, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Evans's previous books include the novels Rowing in Eden (HarperCollins), Carter Clay (HarperCollins), and The Blue Hour (Algonquin), and the short story collections Suicide's Girlfriend (HarperCollins) and Locomotion (New Rivers). For links to each book, please visit the Works tab above.

About As Good As Dead

At the highly competitive Iowa Writers’ Workshop, small-town Charlotte is thrilled and confounded by charismatic and sophisticated Esmé. One moment Esmé is Charlotte’s best friend; the next, Esmé shuns her. After a tumultuous weekend, Charlotte’s insecurities and her resentment toward Esmé’s bewildering behavior reach a fever pitch. Charlotte betrays Esmé, unwittingly unleashing a cascade of future calamities.

Twenty years later, Charlotte is a successful novelist, enjoying a quiet life with her beloved husband. When a much-changed Esmé shows up on her doorstep, Charlotte must revisit the past she grieved over, and believed buried. Though Charlotte yearns to redeem the old friendship and her transgression, she is wary, and rightly so. Esmé makes no mention of Charlotte’s old betrayal, but her dinner invitation leads to a “request” that forces Charlotte to make an agonizing decision.

As Good As Dead performs an exquisitely tuned psychological high-wire act as it explores the dangers that lie in wait when trust is poisoned by secrets and fears.