Excerpt from Let's Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Pushing her hair out of her face, she turned back to the image on the computer's screen. Her daughter looked fed, and healthy, her cheeks ruddy and her eyes clear. Her feet had shoes on them, and over a black dress that Nancy had bought her, she had remembered to put on a coat.

She thought, Well, at least she's staying warm, then picked up the phone to call Cate.

Now, shutting the laptop, Nancy takes another infernal gulp of coffee and redirects her attention toward the television. The commercials have ended; the hosts are back. They are joined by a guest, a political reporter from the Washington Post. With the volume still on mute, Nancy watches the conversation unfold, her breath caught in her throat. Then, finally, it happens. The screen cuts to the same video that Nancy has spent the last hour staring at: Greta the Destroyer; Greta with champagne; Greta, now broadcast live for 4.5 million people to see.

"Goddamn it," she says.

The sun tears through clouds in the sky above New York.

Nancy turns off the television and throws its controller on the floor.

"Cate," she says. "I've got to go."

"Where are you going?"

"Downtown. I need to talk to my son."

"Why?"

"Because I have to tell him he's flying to Paris."

Excerpted from Let's Not Do That Again by Grant Ginder. Copyright © 2022 by Grant Ginder. Excerpted by permission of Henry Holt and Company. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.