Isabel’s Bed by Elinor Lipman

Lipman delights her fans with gentle satire, witty dialogue, and characters who are hilariously blind to their own faults. Struggling writer Harriet Mahoney’s dull life takes a turn when she is hired to ghostwrite the autobiography of Isabel Krug, the “other woman” in a sensational murder case. Ensconced in Isabel’s bohemian Cape Cod household, Harriet gets unasked-for lessons on the art of writing and the art of attracting men. 1995, F Lipman, 386 pp.