Publishing year: 2011
Elin Hiderbrand is one of my favourite authors and a safe bet when you start a book. I have enjoyed all of this author’s books which I have read to date.
On this occasion we get to meet Meredith Delinn, a millionairess, who is going through a bad patch. Her husband has been condemned to a very long sentence after he was found guilty of fraud. Now she feels like a pariah, and what is worse, she and her son Leo are being investigated in connection with Freddy’s Ponzi scheme. Meredith feels lonely as everybody in New York has turned their backs to her, so she reaches out to her friend Connie for help.
Connie has always been Meredith’s best friend, but they haven’t talked for three years because of a row they had, in which Meredith insulted Connie’s late husband Wolf and Connie called Freddie a swindler. After reading about Meredith and Connie, it is clear that Connie has been the better friend, being there for Meredith and trying to keep the friendship going, but we get the feeling that Meredith felt superior to Connie because of the status and money she had. Now Meredith needs her friend, and when she phones her, Connie is on her way to Nantucket, where she has a house. When Meredith asks for her help, Connie invites her to come along.
Connie also has problems. She feels very lonely since her husband Wolff died of brain cancer two years and a half ago, and after a misunderstanding during the funeral her sister Ashlyn hasn’t talked to her even though Connie tries to phone her and sends cards and gifts for birthdays and Christmases. I don’t know what happened between Connie and Ashlyn; I imagine that it must have been something serious, because no one stops contact with their mother for just a silly thing. Her loneliness makes Connie agree to have Meredith as a guest despite the fact that the press are hounding her and she is being investigated by the FBI. We also learn that Meredith dated Connie’s brother, Toby, when they were in high school. Toby broke Meredith’s heart, but it seems that even though many years have passed, Meredith still has a soft spot for him and asks Connie after her brother when they are together.
The beginning of this book shows how interesting it is going to be to read about these two women, their conflicts, and their friendship. I think the time together will be good for them to understand each other, and I think they might even help one another with their own affairs.
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