Regina Moore and Karen Jackson: lifelong best friends living the high life. They both face marital discord at the same time, and each woman faces starting over anew with the truth of who they really are.

Behind Closed Doors starts off with the fantasy life both women live: beautiful homes, good jobs, and adoring husbands. One husband steadily slips into a gambling addiction and tests his wife’s sincerity; the other decides to lose his fidelity and sleeps with his wife’s longtime friend. Both women are shocked and hurt and, since both tragedies occur relatively close together, the normal support structure isn’t there. Each woman has to dig deep within herself to make it out of the hole life has dug and thrown her into.

I thought I had this book all figured out before reading it. As I read, I found everything I thought I would - however, Roby includes enough twists and turns in her story to make it a delight, painting each woman as strong in her own right. Many women appear to be strong because they have the illusional appearances of such strength. Strip those things away, and everyone will really know what type of people they really are. Both woman have those things stripped away, and their support structure is revealed as not all that supportive. With these true tests of character, each woman shows the world how strong she is.

Behind Closed Doors is an excellent read not only for fans of Kimberla Lawson Roby, who I’m sure are eager to add this to their collection, but for fans of chic-lit and women’s fiction in general.