Shop with your exclusive business pricing
Buy used:
$6.89
FREE delivery July 18 - 23. Details
Used: Like New | Details
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
In stock
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Best Intentions: A Novel Hardcover – August 15, 2017

4.4 out of 5 stars 59 ratings

Best Intentions is that rare novel that grows more gripping and emotionally rich with every turn of the page.” ―Carla Buckley

Marti Trailor―social worker on hold, mother of three, wife of a successful obstetrician, daughter of a Congressman―is ready to go back to work. She’s thrilled when the perfect opportunity falls in her lap. The catch? The job is at her husband's hospital and he seems not to share her enthusiasm. Undeterred, she takes the position counseling vulnerable young women as they prepare to give birth.

Marti quickly begins to feel like she is making a difference in the lives of her clients. Soon, though, she finds herself caught up in the dark side of the medical center―with its long hours, overworked doctors and entrenched practices. When she witnesses something she can't unsee, Marti, who has always done her best to keep a low-profile, finds herself thrust under a dangerous spotlight with all of Richmond, Virginia watching.

In her captivating domestic suspense novel
Best Intentions, Erika Raskin weaves together high stakes hospital politics, the pressures of family life, and the consequences of trying to do the right thing, particularly in a city with a history as fraught as Richmond's.

The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Marti Trailor is smart, funny, wonderfully self-effacing, and brave. She’s the mother every woman wishes she could be. And, somehow, she’s being tried for murder… Best Intentions is a glorious, well written page turner!”―Martha Woodroof, author of Small Blessings

“Erika Raskin’s razor-sharp, deeply moving novel of domestic suspense, shifting back and forth in time and featuring fully realized, flesh-and-blood characters, kept me guessing right up to the last chapter.” ―A.J. Banner, international bestselling author of
The Good Neighbor

“A story about race, privilege, and one woman’s determination to protect those who can’t protect themselves, even at the risk of losing everything she most loves. Erika Raskin kept me guessing and entranced until the very end.”―Carla Buckley, author of
The Deepest Secret

"Raskin’s new novel confronts its relatable heroine with an impossible dilemma, then turns up the heat as she fights for everything she holds dear. For a novel juicy enough to keep you up well past your bedtime,
Best Intentions cleaves admirably to its strong social conscience."―Sophie Littlefield, author of A Bad Day for Sorry

About the Author

Erika Raskin’s debut novel Close was nominated for a Teen Choice Book of the Year award. Her works has appeared on public radio and a number of different publications such as The Washington Post, Salon, and Washingtonian Magazine. She was a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and a panelist at the Virginia Festival of the Book.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 15, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250101220
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250101228
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.84 x 0.99 x 8.58 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 59 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Erika Raskin
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Erika grew up to the sound of typewriter music. Her mother, bestselling novelist Barbara Raskin, was a rollicking story-teller who could turn reports of mundane trips to the 7-Eleven into high drama. And while Erika's dad, Marcus, was an author of non-fiction he taught her to make up back-stories of unsuspecting passers-by. She learned at an early age to collect details, catalog interesting behaviors, and then offer compelling rationales for everything from hairstyles to close-talking.

She pretty much had no choice but to join the family business. (It was a fortuitous career choice, though, because she is able to write what she worries about. Which is, um, a lot.)

Her most recent novel, 'Allegiance,' explores a grandmother's desire to protect her family as the country lurches towards fascism. The central question it asks is: how far is too far? 'Best Intentions' is about a hospital social worker navigating a new job, family life, and institutionalized medical malpractice. She ends up on trial. 'Close' is about family therapy--on TV. What could possibly go wrong with that? She's authored essays for print and radio, articles and short stories. Her fiction has been recognized by the Reynolds Price competition, Glimmertrain, the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Commission on the Arts.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
59 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and well-written, with clever language and relatable characters. They appreciate the insightful observations throughout the story.

11 customers mention "Readability"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and enjoyable, describing it as a must-read with a compelling story.

"...I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a suspenseful, witty pageturner with political and medical themes and some refreshing social..." Read more

"An excellent tale: a whodunit plus insightful observations and realistic characters...." Read more

"...Raskin's use of language is clever and a joy to read. Funny while at the same time pointing the reader to think about issues...." Read more

"I throughly enjoyed this book ...." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting its clever use of language and vivid descriptions, with one customer mentioning it makes readers laugh and cry.

"The story line was gripping from the very begining. Raskin's use of language is clever and a joy to read...." Read more

"...Raskin skillfully unfolds the story of an endearing, funny social worker mother of three who is married to the sort of person you’ve run into and..." Read more

"...Raskin's turn of phrase, imaginative but simple and accessible, allows the reader to focus on the characters...." Read more

"...escape but, when this finally occurred, the ending was logical, plausible, and satisfying." Read more

5 customers mention "Character development"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, finding them relatable.

"I throughly enjoyed this book . The characters were very true to real life and I was instantly taken with the lead character Marti Trailor and her..." Read more

"...of phrase, imaginative but simple and accessible, allows the reader to focus on the characters. Those are in turn fully fleshed out and compelling...." Read more

"I found this book to be a page-turner. Very real characters, with a protagonist I always liked and totally believed...." Read more

"An excellent tale: a whodunit plus insightful observations and realistic characters...." Read more

3 customers mention "Commentary style"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the commentary style of the book, with its insightful observations and thought-provoking social content, including political and medical themes.

"An excellent tale: a whodunit plus insightful observations and realistic characters...." Read more

"...anyone interested in a suspenseful, witty pageturner with political and medical themes and some refreshing social commentary...." Read more

"...Funny while at the same time pointing the reader to think about issues. Once I started reading it, I could not stop. A must read!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2018
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read in years. Couldn’t put it down and had to read through the night.

    From the first paragraph I knew I was going to relish every word of this story that alternates between a gripping psychological and a puzzling whodunnit.

    Raskin skillfully unfolds the story of an endearing, funny social worker mother of three who is married to the sort of person you’ve run into and would happily slap upside the head. Each sentence seems crafted with care - and reading along, I suddenly tripped over a phrase that didn’t make sense. Huh. Did the editor miss this one or am I just sleepy from not being able to put down this book?

    The answer is, stay tuned, “dance partner.”

    I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a suspenseful, witty pageturner with political and medical themes and some refreshing social commentary. Best Intentions would make a great choice for a book club or for becoming a movie.

    My only regret is that Raskin has so far published only one other novel, which I also loved. I wouldn’t mind a bookshelf with a bunch more.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017
    Format: Hardcover
    Lately I've read a lot of "thrillers", which I'm starting to realize generally means frequent wild, careening plot surprises, with shocking twist endings. And while I've really enjoyed those kinds of books – don't get me wrong – Best Intentions was a different kind of novel – more suspense, mystery, and courtroom drama than thriller per se. Our heroine, Marti Trailor, clearly and candidly lays out her predicament right from the opening prologue: she's been accused of murder, and she's about to stand trial.

    Marti is vivacious, believably emotional, strong but not excessively so at the outset, and very likable, but every character – likable or not – is also very well-defined and fleshed out, even right down to Marti's three young (pre-middle school) children. The writing is accessible and smooth; I never noticed a single choppy or awkward sentence take me out of the story. I'm afraid that I don't know much about working in a hospital (the main setting besides Marti's family's home), or the field of social work (Marti's profession), but it certainly feels authentic and well-researched. Remarkably, author Erika Raskin manages to weave in a cornucopia of subplots and themes without muddying the narrative or making the plot too busy – including infidelity, divorce, race, class, poverty, power, sibling and parental relationships, true friendship, professional politics, the criminal justice system, and finally, the many opportunities and ways there are to start over – along with the foundational issues of marriage dynamics (and how work demands vs. expectations affect them), moral and ethical quandaries, and maintaining the integrity of one's personal and professional boundaries.

    Throughout the book, the characters evolve and adapt as as one would expect, the dialog is of that idealistically realistic variety that is such a pleasure to read, and it's perfectly paced, without feeling dull or rushed in any parts. Right from the beginning, Marti backs up and begins telling us, in brief flashbacks, about the sequence of events that culminated in the current state of affairs described in the prologue, when all the proverbial shit has hit the fan. Marti's flashbacks become more and more frequent, until around the book's midpoint when we catch up to the timeframe of the prologue, and thereafter move forward in "real" time. Since the readers' understanding of the nature of the crime for which Marti is being tried doesn't happen until halfway through the book – before then, we don't even know who it is that was murdered – it may sound alarming that there is so much setup or background before we get to the heart, or "meat" of the drama. But that's not at all how it feels; the events that came before the crime are, in their way, just as cataclysmic as any single moment. Raskin skillfully builds tension and a sense of nervous apprehension in her reader; rather than being constantly shocked with new twists and turns, we are brought to a slow boil of suspense and apprehension, arriving at full comprehension of the truth not through literary gymnastics, but through observation, investigation, and intelligence, just as Marti also had to, while still being somewhat taken along for a ride by forces unseen.

    3.5 stars.

    I received an advance uncorrected proof of this book at no cost courtesy of the publisher, St. Martin's Press, via Goodreads Giveaway.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Erika Raskin's social work thriller surprises and delights. It's a strong book club candidate, especially for groups interested in discussing social and political issues. The technique the writer uses, one in which she teases us with glimpses of the characters' future, strengthens the sense for suspense and is one of the reasons I stayed up until 2 am to finish it the other night. Raskin's turn of phrase, imaginative but simple and accessible, allows the reader to focus on the characters. Those are in turn fully fleshed out and compelling. I greatly enjoyed the novel and recommend it to anyone without reservation.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    I throughly enjoyed this book . The characters were very true to real life and I was instantly taken with the lead character Marti Trailor and her children. Having lived through the experience myself as the wife of a medical resident I can say that the depiction of life as a hospital resident was very accurate.

    I enjoyed the second half of the book and was sure that Marti was innocent but enjoyed the plot line of finding out who the guilty party was.

    I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an easy read that has excellent substance.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The plot was good. But this felt more like a first draft than the finished product. It was set in Richmond, VA and the author tried to get as many “Richmond “ things mentioned in the story that it seemed a bit over the top.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2018
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    An excellent tale: a whodunit plus insightful observations and realistic characters. So many whodunits resolve in ways that are predictable or strained or implausible. This one avoided all those pitfalls: I was kept guessing how our heroine would escape but, when this finally occurred, the ending was logical, plausible, and satisfying.