With a new adaptation of The War of the Roses landing this August, there’s no better time to revisit the deliciously dark, absurdly toxic world of marital breakdowns filled with secrets sharp enough to draw blood. The original novel by Warren Adler is infamous for its sharp wit, ruthless emotional warfare, and the extremes a bitter divorce can go. If you’re bracing for the film and craving more stories with elegant dysfunction, suspense, relationship breakdowns, this list is for you!

The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose

Sarah Morgan once defended her husband in a high-profile murder trial. Now, years later, she’s divorcing a different man… just as new evidence reopens that original case. When his mistress vanishes, Sarah is in the spotlight again except this time, her alibi isn’t ironclad. The Perfect Divorce is courtroom drama meets domestic noir, with biting commentary on love, betrayal, and the danger of keeping score.

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The Art of Scandal by Regina Black

Rachel Abbott thought the biggest betrayal would be her husband’s accidental sext to another woman. But when your soon-to-be-ex is a mayor with White House dreams, divorce gets complicated. With hush money on the table and a hot young artist stoking flames she thought were long dead, Rachel finds herself torn between reinvention and reputation.

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The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

A Nantucket wedding, a drowned guest, and enough secrets to fill the gift registry. The Perfect Couple is the definition of coastal chaos. As the police investigate, long-buried truths bubble to the surface. Think Big Little Lies with monogrammed robes and murder. Perfect for readers who like their domestic drama rich, pretty, and one wrong look from an utter catastrophe.

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The Names by Florence Knapp

What if a single name could splinter your entire life? In The Names, a mother hesitates at the registry and three alternate realities unravel from that single moment. Over three decades, we witness the ripple effects of a controlling partner, a quiet rebellion, and the power of a mother’s love. For fans of narrative reinvention and character-driven suspense, this novel stuns with emotional depth and sliding-door drama.

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Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Marriage is a performance. In Groff’s dazzling novel, the second act is the one that bites. Fates and Furiesfollows Lotto and Mathilde, a glamorous couple whose love story turns razor-sharp halfway through. What starts as literary romance morphs into something much darker and more compelling.

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To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai

Simi Chopra’s life is in shambles, so naturally the next logical step is to pull off a diamond heist at a high-society wedding. With a falsely accused best friend, a too-charming stranger, and a ragtag team of lovable misfits, Simi dives into a glamorous, high-stakes caper where the real steal might just be her heart.

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The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

A missing baby. A panicked couple. A dinner party they should’ve never left for. The Couple Next Door is a masterclass in spiraling tension. There’s a point when neighbors become suspects, secrets become motives, and trust is the first thing to disappear.

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My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

When 15-year-old Vanessa begins a relationship with her much older English teacher, she believes it’s love, not abuse. But in the wake of #MeToo, a former classmate’s allegations force Vanessa to reexamine everything she thought she knew about her past, her consent, and herself. Told in chilling dual timelines, My Dark Vanessa is a gut-punch of a novel that explores manipulation, memory, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive.

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What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim

A stranger’s body shows up in the Kims’ backyard with a letter addressed to their missing mother and suddenly, this fractured family is forced to confront decades of secrets. Alternating between Sunny Kim’s lonely life in 1970s Los Angeles and her children’s unraveling reality in 1999, this emotional mystery explores generational trauma, identity, and the quiet devastations families carry in silence.

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My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

They look like the perfect suburban couple. But while some couples share Spotify playlists and dinner recipes, these two bond over kidnapping and murder. My Lovely Wife is a wickedly clever thriller about the games we play to keep love alive even if it means killing for it.

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