An affair. A marriage. Accidental encounters. A secret spying mission masquerading as research. This is the rich ground from which The Darren Effect springs, carrying readers through the complexities, tragedies, and unanticipated triumphs of love and loss.

The Darren Effect is a miraculous novel, in which characters coalesce and crisscross in awkward, surprising, and hilarious ways. Damaged by grief and circumstance, Heather, Isabella, and Darren offer each other heartbreak, love, and redemption at a time when all previous points of reference have vanished.

Creelman’s writing snaps with wit. Spinning a cunning plot, she upends reader’s expectations in a devastatingly funny novel that entertains with ticklish tenderness and keen perception.

“Creelman is a sophisticated writer in both form and content. Her prose is taut, clear and precise, and she is acutely observant. Details matter because she makes them matter. … It has been a while since I have read a book that captures the nuances of domestic dysfunction as well as this one does, yet manages to end with such fierce hope.”
– National Post

“A remarkably self-assured first novel.”
– Quill & Quire

“Libby Creelman peoples her novel with fascinating varieties of injured souls. A tender, surprising, moving read.”
“Intimate and arch, pepper-hot and coolly comic. … Creelman’s characters are convincing, damaged, insightful, odd, compassionate, and ever so slightly morally ashew — in other words, utterly compelling and true to life. You will love this novel.”