The book description leads one to believe there's no sense guessing what's what. Exactly! What seems to be one thing is another. We start to pick sides and have opinions, make judgements and wait for the inevitable to happen. But! Much better for the reader to just let the book flow along and not waste their time thinking they see the clear story here. I had done just that and was waiting for Vanessa (first wife) to stumble over her own petty destruction of her life into her embarrassing end. Richard seemed almost too good to be true, and then there's poor naive Emma. I found myself fearing for Emma's safety at every turn. Very enjoyable read and I look forward to more of the same from this author.