“SISTERS SHOULDN’T BE PLAYING THESE GAMES”
- Book: Maribelle’s Shadow
- Location: Palm Beach
- Author: Susannah Marren
A new to me author and, if I am totally honest, not a genre of book I would pick up off the shelf and buy for myself. However, aware of just how well the folks at Meryl Moss Media Group know me by now, when the review opportunity was offered, I knew I probably wouldn’t be disappointed. It was definitely worth the punt!
Even though I suspected, correctly as it turned out, some of the multitude of twists this storyline had to offer, there was still so much which eluded me, with events and revelations I most definitely never saw coming. At times I was almost ashamed to admit to being a woman. I had no idea there were so many manipulative, bitchy females out there. I must have led a very sheltered life!
Anyway, you have no idea what I am talking about, so let’s get down to the storyline…
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It is the start of the ‘high season’ in Palm Beach, so everyone who is anyone, is due in town anytime soon. For the Barrows women; matriarch and mother Lucinda, her best friend and godmother to her daughters Aunty Bryant, and three daughters Maribelle, Caroline and Raleigh, now is the time to prepare to be seen in all the right places, at only the very best gatherings, always dressed to impress and with the right man by your side; cue her three sons-in-law, Samuel, Travis and Alex. Lucinda’s first husband, father of her children and founder of the Barrows empire, Reed, passed away some years ago and now Lucinda is married to the equally distinguished and eminently suitable William.
Unfortunately, the family have to work harder than many to maintain their good name, authenticity and fine standing, as unlike so many of their wealthy counterparts, neither their fortune nor their status is inherited, or came naturally to them. Life for them began on the wrong side of the tracks, in the Florida Panhandle, something they try never to speak about or be reminded of. Lucinda has long since shaken the dirt poor dust from her shoes and conveniently side-lined the homegrown family members who still live there. Even their altruistic and philanthropic charitable activities, are carefully choreographed, so as to outwardly appear all-encompassing, but in reality, only truly benefitting those organisations or individuals which will visibly elevate the Barrows status and kudos amongst their select group of acquaintances.
Scratch the surface of this seemingly perfect family empire though and the cracks quickly begin to show, tap it gently and it starts to crumble in front of your eyes…
Samuel definitely looks and acts like the golden boy of the Barrows dynasty, although wife Maribelle knows differently, or at least she thinks she does! When Samuel very inconveniently and unexpectedly dies, her world is about to be rocked to its very core several times, as each new revelation about her wayward husband and duplicitous, self-centred family unfolds. Following her son-in-law’s death, Lucinda’s power play actions are inadvertently the catalyst which sets Maribelle on a course to rethink her entire life, something which she suspects, had already been happening subliminally for some considerable time. With the exit stakes becoming ever higher and more dangerous, Maribelle realises that there can be no going back, when both her mother and sisters openly express their disdain for and their wish to have, her distance herself from them, before their remaining reputations and aspirations are damaged irrevocably. In this female controlled family, loyalty needs to be unquestioning and unequivocal. You are very much either with them, or against them. There is no middle ground and they take no prisoners, not even one of their own!
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This fast-paced, multi-layered, yet easy to follow storyline, is narrated by each of the three sisters and told from their individual perspectives, in short, well-signposted chapters. As their carefully constructed images unravel and their aspirations are challenged, each sister realizes she must fend for herself and fight for not only what she longs for, but believes in. However, with the tension between our protagonists building to a bitter and almost certainly acrimonious crescendo, it becomes obvious that not everyone is going to escape unscathed by the experience.
Author Susannah Marren, explores in great detail the power of women to succeed, by fair means or foul. Lucinda has become an expert in allowing her male contemporaries to believe that they rule the roost and have absolute authority, when in fact they are being manipulated every step of the way, by the wiles of an even stronger and more ruthless woman. These are traits she has nurtured and propagated in her three daughters and their respective husbands, although she has recently had cause to become disappointed with one or more of them, a scenario which cannot be allowed to continue and must be punished most severely.
Whilst each of the cast is well defined, fleshed-out and easy to visualise, intrinsically, everything about them is superficial and insincere, with none of them having any true depth of character. Any genuine feelings are always supressed under a thin outer veneer of entitlement, bravado and one-upmanship, with life being a constant struggle to achieve top ranking status and then to maintain that position, no matter whose shoulders you need to stand on to attain such lofty heights, or which reputations you need to trample underfoot and destroy along the way. Definitely not characters I could either invest in, relate to, or empathise with. And as for any of them stooping so low as to crack a smile or interact in a positive way with their children, other than by showering them with possessions and contrived ‘play dates’ and parties, that simply wasn’t going to happen, thus making for a continually tense and claustrophobic atmosphere, where everyone seemed to be treading on eggshells, in an effort to fit into the required mould as a Barrows protegee.
I really don’t think that Palm Beach would be my kind of place, not because I feel that any of the residents or other visitors would be any better than me, even though they may consider themselves to be far superior. But simply because of all the posturing, posing and incessant name dropping, which would really get on my nerves, as it is so overtly superficial, false and affected. That aside, the author did a great job of making me feel as though I was actually there and part of the unfolding saga, with some wonderfully detailed and descriptive narrative and dialogue, setting the scene and offering a great sense of time and place. What more could this dedicated ‘armchair traveller’ ask for?
I marked this one down to four stars, for no other reason than that the constant top-to-toe listing of every designer name and brand label, whenever someone walked into a space or joined a gathering, became rather tiresome after a while. However, I am certain that for any dedicated fashionistas that will be a problem you will love to have. You will be in your element and definitely not disappointed.
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