The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

The Lola Quartet is a complicated story that shows that seemingly innocuous events can have disastrous consequences.  Or, to repeat a common cliché - the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  All the main characters might mean well, but there is a point where their actions change from helping others to helping themselves, a point where they cross too far over the line to return to what they once were.

The main character, Gavin, is a newspaper reporter.  However, his story begins when he reaches a crisis - he discovers that ten years earlier, his high school girlfriend might have had a daughter by him.  After that, his world starts to fall apart as he tries to find out what happened to Anna and her daughter, Chloe.  The pursuit will lead him back to where he grew up in Florida, where he finds out what happened to his friends who played in a quartet with him back in his high school days.  What he discovers will change all of their lives, including his own.

Like other books I've read by Ms. Mandel, the story leapfrogs easily between the past and present, slowly revealing bit by bit the interwoven lies and crimes that lead the characters to an irrevocable and final decision.  The prose is beautiful and effortless to read, and carried me right along from start to finish.  It is a fascinating story, and well worth the read - I'd definitely recommend it to fans of literary thrillers.