My Review…

Let me count the reasons I LOVED this novel…

1. Gothic feel with a mansion that is an integral part of the story.
2. Mounting tension as the pages turn.
3. Creepy narrator who converses with the house.
4. The witty, yet dark and disturbing humor.

Told from the point of view of Elizabeth (Betty) Stash, who is not the golden, favorite child of her mother.  The beloved child is her sister, Gloria, who basks in all her goodness. Betty believes that her sister “makes everything sound like a story from Beatrice Potter.”

Betty begins plotting a scheme to take the family mansion, called “Pipits” back after her late mother leaves it to her favored sister, Gloria.  After all, Betty is emotionally attached to the estate and its abundant gardens.  She speaks to it, and it greets her.  Tension mounts as Betty’s obsession with taking what is rightfully hers (in her mind anyway) spins out of control. We now are treated to the heinous plot she has concocted and can only hold our breath until the end.

Atmospheric, wickedly funny and insanely creepy! Can you tell I absolutely enjoyed this twisted tale? This one will stay with me for a while!

5 STARS!

 

Book Description…

An exploration of domestic derangement, as sinister as Daphne Du Maurier’s classic Rebecca, that plumbs the depths of sibling rivalry with wit and menace.

Oh, to be a Beloved—one of those lucky people for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Everything falls into their laps without effort: happiness, beauty, good fortune, allure.

Betty Stash is not a Beloved—but her little sister, the delightful Gloria, is. She’s the one with the golden curls and sunny disposition and captivating smile, the one whose best friend used to be Betty’s, the one whose husband should have been Betty’s. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Gloria inherits the family manse—a vast, gorgeous pile of ancient stone, imposing timbers, and lush gardens—that was never meant to be hers.

Losing what Betty considers her rightful inheritance is the final indignity. As she single-mindedly pursues her plan to see the estate returned to her in all its glory, her determined and increasingly unhinged behavior—aided by poisonous mushrooms, talking walls, and a phantom dog—escalates to the point of no return. The Beloveds will have you wondering if there’s a length to which an envious sister won’t go.