Vibhuti ‘Vib’ Jain, who grew up in Guilford, will celebrate the publication of her debut novel, Our Best Intentions, on Thursday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. Find out more or register to attend at www.rjjulia.com/event/vibhuti-jain-our-best-intentions.

Jain lives with her husband in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she works in international development finance. She began her career as a corporate lawyer in New York City. She holds degrees from Yale University and Harvard Law School. Our Best Intentions is her first novel.

Part gripping suspense, part intimate family portrait, told from multiple perspectives, Our Best Intentions is about a working-class Indian American family caught in the middle of a criminal investigation that causes rifts in their community and forces the town to confront issues of race, class, and belonging.

In the novel, Babur “Bobby” Singh, a single parent and owner of fledging rideshare business, remains ever hopeful about ascending the ladder of American success. He lives in an affluent suburb of New York with his daughter Angie, an introverted teenager who is uncomfortable in her own skin unless she’s swimming.

During summer break, Angie is walking home after training at the high school pool when she finds Henry McCleary, a white classmate from a prominent family, stabbed and bleeding on the football field. The police immediately focus their investigation on Chiara Thompkins, a runaway Black girl who disappeared 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. As the town fractures, Angie must navigate conflicting narratives and wrestle with her own moral culpability. Meanwhile, Babur’s painstaking efforts to shield Angie and protect his hard-earned success distort his moral compass.

Jain’s debut offers a way into larger cultural conversations through unforgettable characterization and suspenseful storytelling.