A Good Morning America Buzz Pick * NPR 1A Inaugural Book Club Pick * A 'Must-Read' by USA Today * Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize * Booklist Editor's Choice * CrimeReads' Best of the Year A suspenseful drama about an immigrant family caught in a criminal investigation, perfect for readers of Celeste Ng's  Everything I Never Told You . “ Our Best Intentions is a thoughtful, gripping suspense that shakes up definitions of family and identity in a beautiful and refreshing way!” —Kal Penn, actor and national bestselling author During summer break one day, Angie, the teenage daughter of Indian immigrant Babur Singh, is walking home after swimming at the high school pool when she finds Henry McCleary, a white classmate from a wealthy family, stabbed and bleeding on the football field. The police immediately focus their investigation on Chiara Thompkins, a runaway Black girl who disappears after the stabbing and—it’s later discovered—wasn’t properly enrolled in the public high school. The incident sends shock waves through the community and reveals jarring truths about the lengths to which families will go to protect themselves. Alternating between multiple perspectives, Our Best Intentions is a gripping story about a father and daughter re-examining their familial bonds and place in the community that explores how easily friendships, careers, communities, and individual lives can unravel when the toxicity of privilege and racial bias are exposed. “Vibhuti Jain’s debut novel is marked by crime and prejudice, building to a story of human nature at its most vulnerable and manipulative…. Jain excels at developing multidimensional characters and an atmosphere of intrigue while also calling attention to the complicated web of class and race dynamics.” - BookPage “[A] raw, unapologetic look at the way marginalized groups are mistreated and misjudged.” - Culturess “Fans of Celeste Ng will instantly connect with this subtly funny thriller about a wealthy suburban community struggling in the aftermath of a crime that exposes the town’s deeply buried issues of privilege and bias.” - The Hollywood Reporter “Coming-of-age drama meets suburban thriller…a powerful, story-driven exploration of some of today’s most pressing social issues.” - Kirkus Reviews “Jain’s riveting debut centers on a stabbing at a high school…. Jain excels at revealing each character’s motivations and fears, and at how easily the truth can be distorted. This page-turner will stay with readers.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Our Best Intentions  realistically shows the endemic discrimination in the justice system.” - Buzzfeed “As readers, we are so often given feel-good stories of people surmounting the odds, of justice being wrangled back into the hands of those who deserve it. Instead of that, in a novel that will leave you aching—and thinking—Jain asks us to consider what a world might look like if justice really were for everyone, and any one of us could just 'happen' to be in the right place at the right time.” - New York Times “Vibhuti Jain has crafted a powerful story of an Indian father and daughter entangled in a calamitous event that ripples through their wealthy suburb. In having to face their moral obligations and even their complicity, the pair see their community with new eyes, as they grapple with the racial biases and class disparities that are foundational to their hometown. But father and daughter finally see each other too, and their wary yet hopeful love for each other is the beating heart of this moving, remarkable novel.”  - Kirthana Ramisetti, author of Dava Shastri's Last Day "With subtlety, humor and piercing insight, Vibhuti Jain creates a propulsive page-turner that will touch your heart. This is a gorgeous and complex exploration of race, immigration and class wrapped up in a thrilling story you won't be able to put down. A must-read!" - Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee "Vibhuti Jain’s gripping debut novel,  Our Best Intentions , about a working class Indian American father and daughter who get entangled in a criminal investigation of a brutal assault on a privileged white teenager in their wealthy suburban town, is both thought-provoking and riveting. Jain brilliantly captures the teenage angst and parent-child tensions, while also tackling issues of race and belonging with empathy and grace. The characters are so real they will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book.”  - Elyssa Friedland, author of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel and The Most Likely Club “ Our Best Intentions is a thoughtful, gripping suspense that shakes up definitions of family and identity in a beautiful and refreshing way! This is a must-read for its characters, representation, layered story, and most wonderfully—Jain's gripping writing. It's the kind of story that makes you want more.”  - Kal Penn, actor and nationally bestselling author of Y