Our Best Intentions: A Novel

Written by Vibhuti Jain

Narrated by Ulka Simone Mohanty

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick * NPR 1A Inaugural Book Club Pick * A 'Must-Read' by USA Today * Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize * Booklist Editor's Choice * CrimeReads' Best of the Year

A suspenseful drama about an immigrant family caught in a criminal investigation, perfect for readers of Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You.

“Our Best Intentions is a thoughtful, gripping suspense that shakes up definitions of family and identity in a beautiful and refreshing way!” —Kal Penn, actor and national bestselling author

During summer break one day, Angie, the teenage daughter of Indian immigrant Babur Singh, is walking home after swimming at the high school pool when she finds Henry McCleary, a white classmate from a wealthy family, stabbed and bleeding on the football field. The police immediately focus their investigation on Chiara Thompkins, a runaway Black girl who disappears after the stabbing and—it’s later discovered—wasn’t properly enrolled in the public high school.

The incident sends shock waves through the community and reveals jarring truths about the lengths to which families will go to protect themselves. Alternating between multiple perspectives, Our Best Intentions is a gripping story about a father and daughter re-examining their familial bonds and place in the community that explores how easily friendships, careers, communities, and individual lives can unravel when the toxicity of privilege and racial bias are exposed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Mar 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063278790

Vibhuti Jain

Vibhuti (“Vib”) Jain lives with her husband and daughter in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she works in international development finance. She began her career as a corporate lawyer in New York City. She holds degrees from Yale University and Harvard Law School. Our Best Intentions is her first novel.

Reviews for Our Best Intentions

[Jeanenne Robinson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Complex relationships
Prejudice and sexism
Economical differences and classism
Inside thoughts of at least three characters
Literary with crime story
Concerns of a single father
Mental illness

spoilers and TW/CW below:



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child abuse ( in flashbacks)
abandonment
stabbing
medical content