With Friends Like These

Five former college roommates see the past rear its ugly head in Lee’s overfamiliar debut. Sara, Dina, Allie, Wesley, and Bee have gone in different directions in the two decades since they graduated from Harvard: some have achieved their dreams, while others—like narrator Sara, who aspired to be a fine art photographer but settled for a stale advertising career—never got them off the ground. The friends are bound, however, by the Circus, an elaborate “killing game” they play each year in which they hunt down and pretend to murder each other. On her way to discuss the latest round of the Circus, Sara sees what she believes to be an apparition of the crew’s friend Claudine, whose death has haunted her for decades. It turns out to be the first in a series of disturbing events, most of which occur after the announcement that the prize for this year’s Circus (courtesy of some wise investments on Wesley’s part) is nearly $1 million. Ignoring the warning signs, Sara decides to give her all to chasing the jackpot—with dangerous results. Lee weighs down her premise with predictable reveals and wonky pacing. This disappoints. Agents: Michelle Brower and Danya Kukafka, Trellis Literary. (Nov.)