Grace Sachs is a successful therapist who believes that all women have the power to avoid disastrous relationships if only they would trust their instincts – a theory she is about to share with the world in her first book, titled You Should Have Known.

Happily married to the kindly paediatric oncologist Jonathan, and mother to pre-teen son Henry, Grace is living the perfect life in New York City until a mother at Henry’s elite private school is murdered on the same day Jonathan disappears. Grace is certain the two events aren’t connected, but a police investigation reveals several shocking revelations which will force her to question everything she knew about herself, her family and her beloved husband.

As Grace’s world crumbles around her, she finds herself haunted by her own words: “You should have known”.

American author Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel has been touted as a gripping psychological thriller, but for me it missed the mark. The plot is, at times, terribly predictable, although figuring out motives is more difficult, with the clues revealed haphazardly throughout the book.

Grace is a difficult character to connect with emotionally. Her theory is incredibly patronising – yet she clearly views her own relationship through rose-coloured glasses. She is a hypocritical woman, and particularly frustrating is her constant lament about the exclusivity of New York’s social circles, even as she partakes in the snobbish, judgmental behaviour she supposedly despises.

Korelitz’s use of formal language helps to emulate the pretentious mannerisms of her well-heeled characters, but it does little to capture or hold the reader’s attention, making You Should Have Known an often painfully slow reading experience.

You Should Have Known, by Jean Hanff Korelitz, is published by Faber and Faber, $29.99.