Tammy is another character with complex family ties. A beautiful actress and talented singer, she has an unsupportive family that drains her emotions. She cheats herself by running away from her past, hiding and hoping that change will be the eraser that wipes away sordid memories of her childhood. It will surprise no one that members from each of the two character groups will tangle with one another, but Dickey manages this aspect of the plot in ways both predictable and unpredictable. This reviewer declines to give away any more than that.
Dickey lays it on a smidgen too thick.
Like a skilled carpenter who drives home a nail with one swing, Dickey effortlessly chooses the right word or phrase to drive home the crucial points in his plot. The exchanges ring alarmingly true whether they involve two lovers, two friends, or two family members. Cheaters is more than just a good beach read for the summer. It's a solid, enjoyable, layered book that is a welcome addition to the growing body of fiction that studies and pokes fun at our relationships and how we handle them.