An Unexpected Guest by Anne Korkeakivi

Clare Moorhouse lives with her husband, Edward, in Paris where he is the deputy head of the British Embassy. Clare is tasked with preparing a last-minute dinner party for someone who could be instrumental in appointing Edward as the new ambassador to Ireland.  The reader follows Clare around Paris on this day as she shops for food for the party and gets her home ready for the big night.  Clare also gets an unexpected visit from her teenage son, Jamie, who is in trouble at boarding school.  To make her day even more stressful, her past--including a secret she's kept from her husband--comes to the forefront on this day.  Will Clare succeed in creating the perfect evening?  An Unexpected Guest is a thoughtful novel about marriage and motherhood that provides an inside view of the life of a diplomat's wife.