What We Found Instead

A moving and compulsively readable novel about two very different women and the unlikely bond they forge in the wreckage of one man’s betrayal.

Maggie feels behind for thirty-five—still unsure about her career path, still living with roommates and struggling through a never-ending PhD—but at least she’s certain about her relationship with her boyfriend, Karl. That is until she hears the voicemail on Karls phone from some woman named Eve, who’s using words Maggie can’t process—like “baby,” “love,” and “tonight.” In an instant, Maggie’s trust in Karl unravels, but she doesn’t know the whole truth—and only one person can help her find it: Eve.

Eve didn’t flee New York and the stress of running her hand-crafted furniture business just to be dragged into someone else’s drama. She likes the quiet rhythm of her Northern Ontario lake life: her dog, her cozy home, her dependable routines—and Karl, at least on the weekends when he’s not working in Toronto. So when a stranger presses for a meeting, Eve is wary. She doesn’t like her earnestness, her probing questions, her expectation of solidarity. And she certainly doesn’t like the news Maggie delivers: Karl is her boyfriend, too.

Maggie and Eve’s tense encounter upends both of their lives. They expect to never see each other again, but instead they’re thrown back together—forced to face their resentments and insecurities head-on, pushed into vulnerability with the one person whose very existence caused their heartbreak.

What We Found Instead is a captivating and insightful look at complex relationships and a love letter to female friendship, asking us to consider questions about love, loyalty, and what we owe to ourselves and to others.