Shocked by a local murder involving the parents of two students, cafeteria worker June visits the victim's home, becomes a mother figure to the victim's orphaned daughter, and discovers a shocking truth that jeopardizes her own marriage. By the author of Pretty Is as Pretty Does. 30,000 first printing.

Twenty Questions: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Clement, Alison

United States

Atria

It seemed to June that she had the perfect marriage until the day Ronald Pruett was arrested for the murder of Vernay Hanks. Through her job at an elementary school, June knew both the victim's child and Pruett. Moreover, on the day of the murder, she had almost taken a ride from Pruett herself. This connection with the murder becomes an obsession - leading June into a deceitful and increasingly complicated relationship with the dead woman's brother and her child. Pretending to have been a friend of the victim, June inserts herself into their lives - and through this deception, soon discovers some disturbing things about her marriage and herself. Sharp and full of unsettling twists, Twenty Questions is a gripping story that speaks of violence and betrayal, feminism, and reinvention. Above all, it speaks of the human condition to resurrect itself, whatever the cost.

Washington Square Press

Lucy Fooshee has just married Bob Bybee, the second-richest farmer in the county if you don't count the Winklejohns -- and who'd want a name like Winklejohn, anyway? Add her enviable hubby to the local beauty queen titles she's won on account of her slim figure, full lips, and all-around good looks, and Lucy's the most envied young woman in Palmyra, Illinois. The most admired by men, too. Funny thing, though: now that she's married, no one even seems to notice anymore, and Lucy's feeling irritable. So when Billy Lee -- a stranger with no prospects -- comes to town and sees her in a whole new way, he upsets Lucy's applecart. Sure, she's got everything anyone in Palmyra could want, but maybe that's just not enough. With her striking humor and picture-perfect observations about life in a small town, Alison Clement tells the hilarious, lusty, and ultimately touching story of a fiercely independent woman trapped in the body of a small-town beauty queen.

Pretty Is As Pretty Does

Humor & Satire

Atria Books

Two weeks after marrying Bob Bybee, the son of the second richest farmer in Palmyra, Illinois, former beauty queen Lucy Fooshee finds herself unable to resist the new counterman at the local diner. Reprint.

Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Novel

Lucy Fooshee has just married Bob Bybee, the second-richest farmer in the county if you don't count the Winklejohns -- and who'd want a name like Winklejohn, anyway? Add her enviable hubby to the local beauty queen titles she's won on account of her slim figure, full lips, and all-around good looks, and Lucy's the most envied young woman in Palmyra, Illinois. The most admired by men, too. Funny thing, though: now that she's married, no one even seems to notice anymore, and Lucy's feeling irritable. So when Billy Lee -- a stranger with no prospects -- comes to town and sees her in a whole new way, he upsets Lucy's applecart. Sure, she's got everything anyone in Palmyra could want, but maybe that's just not enough.
With her striking humor and picture-perfect observations about life in a small town, Alison Clement tells the hilarious, lusty, and ultimately touching story of a fiercely independent woman trapped in the body of a small-town beauty queen.

Short Stories & Anthologies

MACADAM/CAGE.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Clement, Alison. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Clement, Alison

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Clement, Alison. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Twenty Questions: A Novel

Twenty Questions: A Novel

Pretty Is As Pretty Does

Pretty Is As Pretty Does: A Novel

Pretty Is As Pretty Does