Quick Synopsis

After two women swap identities, they find themselves caught in an even bigger crime—a murder case.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi.

Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price.

Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she’s married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move.

Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth—and she may have found the best way in.

Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek.

Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.

Book Review

I really enjoyed Ashley Elston’s previous novel, First Lie Wins. While I did not think it was brilliant, it had a strong plot and was super entertaining. I had high hopes that Anatomy of an Alibi would also be great. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met.

Camille Bayliss is certain her husband, Ben, is hiding something, but his constant surveillance prevents her from gathering proof. Meanwhile, Aubrey Price is also searching for answers, believing Ben was involved in the tragedy that upended her life 10 years ago. When the two women meet, they devise a dangerous plan to swap places for 12 hours to find the answers they both seek. But the next day Camille finds Ben murdered, and only one of the women has an air-tight alibi.

Anatomy of an Alibi initially grabbed my attention but as it progressed, I cared less and less about finishing the story. A big part of my growing disinterest was the fact that we knew the mystery nearly from the start. So the novel changed from a thriller (touted by the synopsis) to a whodunit; that is, readers know what happened during the entirety of the book. Consequently, the payoff for reading Anatomy of an Alibi is much smaller than if Elston slowly revealed the mystery over the book’s course. A main motivating factor for me to finish any book is to find out what happens (so long as I am invested in the story). But Elston took that away with the narrative’s structure and left me wanting.

In addition, Camille and Audrey are flat, nondescript characters for whom I could not cheer. Each felt like they were essentially placeholders to move the plot forward and not real individuals with personalities. As a result, it was difficult for me to be invested in the protagonists, and thus, engaged in the narrative, despite the lack of intrigue.

Anatomy of an Alibi grew progressively worse as more and more characters are introduced, none of them full developed or actually likable (except for Hank). So many characters are presented that I can see readers having trouble keeping track of the people and how they interconnect. On top of that, the relationships between characters arise from nowhere, and once again, feel like they are simply instruments in the plot. As the narrative incorporates this plethora of people, subplots and twists are revealed. Many of these are unnecessary and convoluted and never receive real resolution.

Overall, Anatomy of an Alibi ends up being a messy, complicated story that fails to deliver intrigue, thrills, or strong characters. Many characters arcs and their motivations are left unresolved, while readers are left unsatisfied. There does seem like a contingent of readers loved this novel. But I would not particularly recommend it, especially over First Lie Wins. I will think twice when deciding whether to pick up Ashley Elston’s next book.