Anatomy of an Alibi
- Judith D Collins
- Jan 13
- 7 min read
By: Ashley Elston
Narrators: MacLeod Andrews, Saskia Maarleveld, Amanda Stribling, Dan Bittner Penguin Audio
ISBN: 9780593834459
Publisher: Viking Penguin
Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: 01/13/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FIRST LIE WINS
A tense, feverish thriller about two women’s lives that are forever intertwined when a murder threatens to expose them both.
“Elston expertly unravels a web of secrets and lies. You won’t be able to put this excellent thriller down until the final shocking page.” —Megan Miranda
Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price.
Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she’s married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move.
Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth—and she may have found the best way in.
Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek.
Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.
My Review
From the gripping and expertly crafted First Lie Wins, Ashley Elston returns with her eighth novel, an electrifying thriller, ANATOMY OF AN ALIBI with a pulse-pounding narrative that plunges readers into a web of high-stakes deception spiraling into a chilling murder investigation.
Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Louisiana, this tale unfolds between two enigmatic women, one of whom is left to grapple with the shocking reality of her dead husband. As the layers of their intertwined lives peel away, only one of them holds a fragile alibi that could unravel everything.
With an intense identity swap at the heart of the story, Elston skillfully ensnares readers from the very first page, drawing them into a suspenseful journey filled with unexpected twists and heart-stopping revelations. Each turn of the plot heightens the tension, slowly revealing dark secrets that will keep you perched on the edge of your seat, eagerly devouring the pages late into the night.
About...
A 12-Hour Identity Swap:
~Camille is the wealthy daughter of a prominent Louisiana family, married to a high-powered lawyer, Ben Bayliss. She suspects Ben has "dirty secrets" but cannot investigate because he tracks her every move.
~Aubrey is a bartender living in a "house full of criminals" who believes Ben holds the truth about a traumatic event from a decade ago (specifically a hit-and-run that killed her parents, for which she suspects the wrong person was jailed).
The Plan:
The two women hatch a plan: Aubrey will impersonate Camille for 12 hours, mimicking her digital footprint and public presence, while Camille secretly spies on Ben to find proof of his "dirty secrets."
A Murder and No Alibi
~The morning after their swap, Ben is found murdered.
~Because they were pretending to be each other, their alibis are compromised.
~Only one woman truly has an airtight alibi for the time of the murder, leading to a desperate race to find the real killer before one of them is arrested.
Now there is an alibi crisis. Because of their secret swap, the women's public movements do not match their actual identities. While the plan was designed to provide an alibi for their investigations, it complicates their defense when they become suspects in a murder.
The author skillfully uses multiple POV and different timelines to unravel how Ben's current secrets are connected to the crime from ten years ago that haunted Aubrey. As they try to find the killer, it becomes clear that both women have hidden motivations, and one false step could expose them both to the law or the killer.
My thoughts...
In this twisty tale, two Louisiana women living in two very different worlds—one rich, one poor—swap identities at exactly the wrong moment.
We also have a hit-and-run connection from ten years earlier that killed Aubrey's parents. Who was the driver? And there is Ben's law partner, Hank, who suspects Ben may have been corrupt.
Since being orphaned at 16, Aubrey has fended for herself and come to depend on her four roommates. Despite their criminal backgrounds, they have become her surrogate family and closest friends. This starkly contrasts her life with the extreme wealth and privilege of Camille Bayliss.
These roommates add to the novel's large cast of characters, contributing to the "web of secrets and lies" as the investigation into Ben Bayliss's murder unfolds. Their presence reinforces the theme of "morally gray" characters whose questionable pasts collide with present-day events.
The connection between Ben Bayliss’s murder and the decade-old hit-and-run that killed Aubrey Price’s parents is a web of corruption and long-held twisted family secrets.
Ten years ago, Aubrey’s parents were killed by a drunk driver. While a man was convicted and jailed for the crime, he recently surfaced with claims of new evidence that would clear his name.
Ben Bayliss, a high-powered attorney tainted by corruption, was intricately woven into the fabric of the original cover-up. Aubrey, with a keen intuition, suspects that he harbors the elusive truth about the fateful night in question—a truth that could unravel the mystery and expose the dark undercurrents of deceit. This conviction drives her to agree to the risky identity swap, a daring move designed to infiltrate Ben's hidden files in search of indisputable proof.
The harrowing hit-and-run incident serves as the pivotal catalyst for the entire narrative, igniting a chain reaction of events. Both Camille and Aubrey, employing their newfound identities, delve deep into Ben's murky world, sifting through documents and secrets that lie buried beneath layers of legal jargon and treachery. Unbeknownst to them, their pursuit of answers not only leads them closer to the chilling truth but also unwittingly entangles them in the sinister web of Ben's murder investigation, setting the stage for a gripping confrontation with danger and deception.
Told masterfully from alternating POVs: Aurbrey, Camille, Ben, and Hank, you do not know whom to trust in the dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.
Key themes and messages include:
~The Corruption of Power and Money
~The Psychology of the Alibi
~The Weight of Buried Secrets
~Justice vs. Legalism:
~Survival through Deception
Elston is a pro, with her complex, multi-layered writing style that prioritizes suspense and high-stakes psychological drama.
~Dual Timelines
~Multiple Perspectives
~Fast Pacing
~Layered Revelation
The sharp writing and redirection create constant doubt about who can be trusted with unreliable narrators with hidden motives. There is social commentary about how wealth and power manipulate the justice system and protect those with high status.
A central theme is the psychological impact of lying, questioning the boundaries between protection and self-destruction—the psychology of deception.
The takeaway of ANATOMY OF AN ALIBI is that the truth is rarely simple, and the structures meant to protect us—like family, wealth, and the justice system—can be the very things used to conceal deep-seated corruption.
The title serves as both a literal description of the plot and a deeper metaphor for the structural deconstruction of truth within the novel. Another knock-out HIT by the author!
Recs...
If you enjoyed the high-stakes identity swap and complex Southern setting of "Anatomy of an Alibi," these thrillers featuring secret lives, domestic deception, and legal intrigue are highly recommended for your 2026 reading list.
~The Storm by Rachel Hawkins
~It's Not Her by Mary Kubica
~Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden
~My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney
~The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead
Also, for fans of
~First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (her previous book)
~The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
~The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
~The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Many thanks to Penguin Viking and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 20, 2026
My Rating: 5 Stars
Praise
"Ashley Elston will blow readers away with this fast-paced, twisty story about family bonds and the things people will do to avenge their loved ones. With characters that are true to life and a propulsive storyline, once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down!"
—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
“In Anatomy of an Alibi, Ashley Elston expertly unravels a web of secrets and lies in a small southern town. You won’t know who to trust, and you won’t be able to put this excellent thriller down until the final shocking page.”
—Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls
“Anatomy of an Alibi is perfectly paced from the start, a taut and addictive puzzle about two women who need the same alibi after a husband turns up dead. You can feel the secrets simmering in this small southern town. This expertly-crafted thriller marks Ashley Elston as one of the best.”
—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push
“Anatomy of an Alibi is a twisty tale of two Louisiana women living in two very different worlds—one rich, one poor—who swap identities at exactly the wrong moment. Ashley Elston’s writing is completely addictive.”
—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
“Anatomy of an Alibi is a knockout. Ashley Elston masterfully unravels a story of swapped identities, buried secrets, and a murder that turns two women’s lives upside down. Tense, smart, and relentlessly suspenseful, this is the kind of thriller that grips you from the first page and doesn’t let go. Elston proves once again she’s a powerhouse in crime fiction.”
—Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Lies I Tell
“Two women from different worlds think they’re hatching the perfect plan, only to find themselves entangled in ways they never expected. Ashley Elston knows how to tighten the screws of suspense to keep us guessing and breathlessly turning the pages through every deft hairpin turn. She is at the top of her game in this masterfully plotted, smart, and twisty thriller about the secrets we keep from each other and the lies we tell ourselves.”
—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
“With next-level plotting, the story spins and twists with devilish elegance towards the perfect end.”
—Andrea Mara, international bestselling author of Someone in the Attic
About the Author
Ashley Elston is the author of #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick, First Lie Wins. First Lie Wins has been optioned for television by ABC Signature with Octavia Spencer and Krista Vernoff attached to the project. She is also the author of six YA books. Ashley lives in Louisiana with her husband and three sons.
