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However it’s taken me this long to decide to read it. It’s the story of a young woman called Chrissie - she’s in her late 20s and works as a businesswoman in Chicago, for her father’s company. We meet her in the first chapter as she’s deciding whether to work late and risk her mother’s ire and stress, or close down the computer and quit.
It’s clear that Chrissie’s mother Gloria is quite controlling and obsessive about time. She had an accident many years earlier; it’s not clear exactly what it involved, but she uses it to her advantage when she wants sympathy or affection. She also keeps taking drugs - many of them mentioned by name although I had no clue what they were. Every month, Chrissie’s father goes away for four days, and every time he returns, Chrissie’s mother puts on an elaborate meal, to which Chrissie is invited along with her father’s brother Harry. Not that Gloria does any cooking: she employs a young woman called Greta who is her housekeeper and cook.
It’s clear from the blurb about the book - and from the way the first chapter is written - that something terrible is going to happen to Chrissie’s father. Sure enough, the phone call comes, from someone the family has never heard of. It’s the beginning of the unravelling of a lot of secrets and betrayals.
The basic story is an interesting one, exploring reasons why someone might be unfaithful, contrasting different kinds of families. There are some unexpected scenes; I was surprised at the revelation that someone called Lily was not who Chrissie was expecting - and again when it became clear that Lily is someone extra special. Her character is beautifully developed, I felt. Her story and her growing relationship with Christine are some of the best parts of the book.
However, I almost gave up reading this after the second chapter as it was so full of crudeness and vulgarity. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the book - or with Uncle Harry, who is devoted to his niece, and who helps a lot of people. He feels somewhat worthless for various reasons, but his internal dialogue about other women interrupts the flow of the book, and made me feel almost nauseous at times.
There are also far too many details of intimacies that occur in the second part of the book when two people (unsurprisingly) decide to get together. I had to skim several pages of this, as well as further sordid thoughts from Uncle Harry. It felt as if the book was quite anti-men, as if the author thought them all obsessed, all the time, with either sex or high-finance business issues.
It’s a pity because most of the women are well drawn. Gloria is a caricature of a bitter, selfish woman, but Chrissie is likeable, and the women she meets are also delightful. I’m not sure I quite believed in the ‘romance’ that happens, which seems to be almost entirely physical with no real friendship. But the other family relationships that develop are very nicely done.
It’s not a book I’ll be reading again, and I can’t recommend it, due to the excessive crudeness and unnecessary thoughts from the men. It’s also over-wordy in places, and there are some odd uses of punctuation (or lack of it) which suggests that it was neither edited nor proof-read.
But I’m pleased that I kept going and finished the story, as I don’t like abandoning books. It did end in a positive and encouraging way for several of the characters. It's still free for the Kindle, and there are apparently many more books in this series but I'm not planning on acquiring any of them.
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