Excerpt from Mercury by Margot Livesey, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

The next day I phoned Claudia to plan Viv's birthday party. I was writing "potato salad" when she suggested we invite Hilary and Diane.

"We're not asking Merrie," I said.

"But this is Viv's party."

Talking about his first wife, Steve once said, "She began every sentence with 'but.' " Even as she urged the invitation, I understood that Claudia shared my reservations about Mercury and his owner. If only I had stood firm, my story would end here.

From the book: Mercury by Margot Livesey. Copyright © 2016 by Margot Livesey. Reprinted courtesy of Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.