In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, The Change follows the lives of three women who go though midlife changes.
Nessa James is left all alone after her husband dies and her twins leave for college. Like her grandmother, Nessa has the sight – something that first showed itself when she was a child and then lay dormant for several decades until now. She begins to hear voices, voices of the dead and she also sees them.
Harriet Osborne’s marriage has failed and her successful advertisement carreer has imploded. Harriet retreats to her home and garden – she hasn’t left her property for months. The neighbours are upset by all the weeds in her overgrown garden – she has started experimenting with herbal medicine.
Jo Levinson is going through menopause, she’s going from one hot flash to the other and she’s filled with rage. She is let go from her job in the hotel industry because she assaulted a guest and decides she wants to open a women only gym in Mattauk.
The three women happen upon the body of a teenage girl. When a woman appears to claim the girl is her daughter they are not convinced. Nessa, who has taken the ghost of the girl home with her has noticed that the ghost doesn’t recognise the so-called daughter. Nessa, Harriet and Jo continue to investigate after the police have deemed the girl’s death due to an accidental overdose (overlooking she was found in a plastic bag) and say she’s a sex worker. Pretty soon after, they find out that this girl is not the only young girl who has been murdered in their idyllic oceanfront community.
I read this book a few years ago, and at that point it didn’t do it for me. This time it definitely did – I love the idea of three women, who are entering a new phase of their lives, all three very different from each other, teaming up to solve these henous crimes.
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 9: A book that features a character going through menopause
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
