Publisher: Berkley
Published: March 17, 2020
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Source: E-ARC
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb:
Sharp Objects meets My Lovely Wife in this tightly drawn debut that peels back the layers of the most complicated of mother-daughter relationships...
For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold.
Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar.
After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes.
Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she's forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score.
Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling...
And she's waited such a long time for her mother to come home.
Review:
This has to be one the creepiest books I’ve read this year. Granted, we’re only so many days into the new year but still—THIS IS ONE THE CREEPIEST (and dare I say grossest?) BOOKS I’VE READ THIS YEAR. Sorry, but it bears repeating. At the end, I was left feeling majorly uncomfortable. If truth be told, the whole entire book make me feel that way.
Told in alternate POVs—Rose Gold and Patty—in past and present. We are told the story of Rose Gold in the aftermath of her mother going to prison for five years. Then the present and after prison in Patty’s own voice. Being stuck in these two characters was a doozy and as I mentioned before, a bit uncomfortable. But I was hooked. It reminded me of the Gypsy Blanchard case. When I saw the documentary to that, I got the same sick feeling I got while reading this.
I had to know all the secrets the book was bound to tell us—and the only way to do that was to keep reading. The story was interesting enough to keep my mind occupied the entire time. The lovely mother and daughter duo were unreliable ad they come—both had secrets and agendas only known to them. I didn’t know what else to think except for the fact that they were as unpleasant as they seemed.
In the end, the story held its own and kept my attention throughout. There were only a handful of times that I had to stop reading because some things were just a little too much for me. To some it might not be a big deal, but for me, it just made me feel gross inside. If you're looking for a thriller to read this year, let this one be put on the top of your list. It may have been a little predictable at times, but it was good read.
*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are subjective but my own.
Buy the book:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the author:
Stephanie Wrobel grew up in Chicago but has been living in the UK for the last three years with her husband and dog, Moose Barkwinkle. She has an MFA from Emerson College and has had short fiction published in Bellevue Literary Review. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a creative copywriter at various advertising agencies.
Darling Rose Gold (US & Canada)/The Recovery of Rose Gold (UK) is her first novel, coming March 17, 2020.
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