Author: Kristin Miller
Publication Information: Ballantine Books. 2021. 288 pages.
ISBN: 1524799521 / 978-1524799526
Book Source: I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.
Opening Sentence: "Pain is the first thing I remember."
Favorite Quote: "If you're going to be two-faced, at least make sure one of them is pretty."
A small gated community of the rich and famous in the hills of San Francisco is home to the trophy wives. Brooke Davies is the newest wife to join this community. She is a mystery writer married to a man 22 years her senior. She lives in a world of mansions and private jets for her husband Jack is that kind of rich. Erin Kent is a news anchor married to a plastic surgeon and is on a quest to keep her marriage. Georgia St. Clare is the Black Widow, for she has outlived two husbands and is now on number three. Although nothing was ever proved, many believe that she had a hand in the deaths of her first two husbands.
These are the secrets these three women come to know about each other. As you might suspect, there are many more they choose not to share. The fact that the book tells the story from the perspective of these women causes some of their secrets to be slowly revealed and in a way that they come forth to the reader before being revealed to the other characters. That is fun in allowing the reader to be a voyeur to this situation and to watch the drama unfold.
This book is unbelievable - the plot and the characters. There are no consequences for the abuse and the murders that takes place in this book. From the ending of the book, it is clear that there are not likely to be any consequences. In a serious book, I might wish for some balance. However, this story is so over the top that it is possible to completely let go of reality and go along for what proves to be a fun almost comical ride. I don't know that this is the intent of the book, but it works for me.
The ending is a twist that I, for one, do not see coming. Again, in a book I might follow as a serious story, I might not excuse all the things that happen. In this one, it is one more convoluted twist that makes up the farce of this book.
Although I have never watched a Desperate/Real Housewives show (nor do I think I ever could), I imagine this book creates the same environment. After having read it, I am wondering what led me to choose to read it. A Desperate/Real Housewives vibe is definitely not my TV or reading genre of choice. I suppose I expected a book that developed some depth into the characters and the relationships - marriage and friendship. This completely does not but ends up an entertaining, fast-paced ride to follow.
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