Kevin is a successful marketing entrepreneur living in Washington D.C. After living with his girlfriend Jordan for three years, he decides she is the one. Jordan; a successful music video producer, thinks she is blissfully happy with Kevin…until she meets Leslie. Leslie is everything that Jordan is looking for (even though she isn’t exactly looking.) Swept away by Leslie’s charm and beauty, Jordan faces the toughest decision she has ever had to make. Stay with her Mr. Wonderful and accept his marriage proposal, or follow her heart to Leslie?
Daphne is Jordan’s best friend, who is so hot and cold, we wonder why she remains in that role. Not until the end of the story do we have any insight on Daphne’s odd behavior. What does arise in the meantime is tension and denial for all.
Evan lives in New Orleans where he lives a double life: dating churchgoing Sandra by day and visiting gay men’s clubs by night. His son Stevie is the only thing that seems to keep him sane. Evan didn’t go the same route as Kevin (straight to the top by way of college) but he does alright as a concierge at a hotel.
Problems arise for Evan when he marries Sandra, only to discover that he prefers men, and feels he could never tell anyone about his secret life. We wonder when the secret will be exposed as Evan delves deeper and deeper into the world of gay sex, and eventually down a dark path from which there may be no return.
Add into the mix the spidey sense that twins have for each other and you get two brothers who used to be psychically connected and are now wondering how exactly to talk to each other at all. The Unsimple Truth is a wonderful depiction of love and confusion, along with sexual tension and doubt. The passion that Jordan and Leslie have rivals that of Evan and his one night stands, but seems to have staying power. Will Leslie leave her open marriage with an Italian millionaire to be with Jordan or will tragedy tear them apart? Will Evan come out of the closet before it’s too late? Is Kevin ever going to be happy again?
There are so many questions we need answers to, that the pages fly through our fingers as we hold our breath wondering: “What’s next?” J. Renee’ LaCour leads readers into a web of sex, love, lies and eventually painful resolution in THE UNSIMPLE TRUTH, an adventure that resonates long after the book is finished.
Reviewed by Keri English for Indie Reader