For better or worse, Joyce Maynard is best known for her memoir At Home in the World, which chronicled (among other things) a year-long love affair Maynard had with J.D Salinger when she was 18 and the reclusive Catcher in the Rye author was 53. It should be added, however, that Maynard has slowly but surely compiled an impressive body of fiction, including 2009's Labor Day, which was turned into a 2013 film starring Oscar winners Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet. 

Maynard's latest is the cleverly titled Under the Influence. Helen's marriage to Dwight, initially exciting, has fallen apart. Then one evening, a habit of drinking too much wine before bed has disastrous consequences: Helen loses custody of her beloved son, Ollie. Having kicked booze, Helen—a photographer who must also do catering service to make extra money—meets and falls under the influence of a glamorous, wealthy "magic couple" named Ava and Swift. They seem to be everything Helen wants to be—and more importantly, they offer to help Helen win back custody of Ollie. 

At times Maynard's characters are drawn a touch heavy-handed, so that readers are likely to see the looming problems in Helen's life long before she does. Nevertheless, Maynard deftly portrays Helen's sense of helplessness and vulnerability as events build to a disturbing climax. Under the Influence is ultimately an absorbing portrait of complex characters confronting real problems.

 

This article was originally published in the March 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

When Ava and Swift Havilland waltz into Helen's life, she's at a low point and is immediately drawn to their easy friendship and overflowing generosity. Instead of worrying about maintaining her sobriety or the mounting lawyer fees for the custody battle with her ex-husband, Helen becomes spellbound by the Havillands' mystique. Ava, confined to a wheelchair, begins relying on Helen for assistance with the couple's charity for dogs, and is in turn an eager confidante. Swift, with his eternal tan and bright, flawless teeth, is charming and larger than life. When Helen introduces her sullen seven-year-old son, Ollie, to Swift during one of her visitation weekends, Ollie is instantly captivated, and Helen envisions a future when she and her son are happily reunited. But all that glitters is not gold, and soon Helen must save herself and her son by turning on the friends who at first saved her. VERDICT Maynard (Labor Day; After Her) quietly portrays Helen's journey of self-discovery in a realistic, plausible way. Her story, though told with great foreboding, is less sinister in the final analysis, but readers will keep reading nonetheless. [See Prepub Alert, 8/24/15.]—Christine Perkins, Whatcom Cty. Lib. Syst., Bellingham, WA

In this, her ninth novel, Maynard depicts one woman's moral dilemma. Helen's first-person narrative details her adult life and how it spiraled out of control after the divorce from her ex-husband Dwight. Helen was devastated after a drinking bout and a DWI led to the loss of custody of her son, Ollie. While working at an art gallery and barely getting by in San Francisco, Helen meets Ava and Swift Havilland, wealthy philanthropists who take her under their wing as Ava agrees to pay Helen to take pictures of her art collection. Ava and Swift also treat Helen to dinners and give her a glimpse of their everyday privileged existence. And when Helen is at her lowest point with her son, who seems uninterested in spending time with her, Swift treats Ollie like a son, teaching him how to swim. Yet what begins as a seemingly altruistic friendship on the part of the Havillands turns into a quid pro quo when a disastrous accident involves Ollie and Helen, forcing them to tell the police the Havillands' versions of events or else become victims of their vicious threats. Maynard's (Labor Day) latest is illuminating and mesmerizing, highlighting not only differing definitions of friendship, but the shades of gray between right and wrong and the lengths to which some will go to protect their self-interest. (Feb.)