Maribelle’s Shadow, Susannah Marren, author
In the interest of transparency, I received this book to review from Meryl Moss Media, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I would like it, but living in the Palm Beach area, I thought I would give it a try. I actually not only liked the book, I loved it. It was set in the perfect place for the rich and famous to play in and to betray each other. Rather than being a fluffy book about the spoiled and pretentious, it exposed the warts and scars that the shallow and greedy gathered, in their pursuit of wealth and acclaim.
People dream about being a part of life in Palm Beach, even as temporary visitors. Tourists will stroll down Worth Avenue which is a world that fulfills fantasies. They pretend that they belong there and are a part of it. The stores are definitely not for the hoi polloi, though, as the prices are beyond the reach of the average citizen. Designers of every stripe are featured in the shops. The restaurants cater to the rich and famous who tip the maître d’ before even sitting down, not only to get a table, but to get one that is suitable for their station in life. The entitled and super successful inhabit the country clubs and the homes. While this picture that is painted might seem idyllic and free from worry or scorn to the outsider, you can be sure the residents harbor their own secrets, lies and nightmares, but they keep them carefully hidden from view.
Brought up in this rarefied atmosphere, they are taught to protect their image. They are careful not to disturb the appearance of peace and harmony. Is this idealized image of Palm Beach the real thing, or is it the Palm Beach of our imagination, the Palm Beach carefully constructed by those who live there? This author has undressed Palm Beach and its residents so that their warts and foibles are visible, and the underbelly of the landscape of Palm Beach is exposed, with all of its weaknesses and strengths laid bare. She has used the fictional Barrows family as the vehicle to define the entitled and their lives.
Maribelle, Caroline and Raleigh Barrows are sisters. Maribelle is the eldest and Raleigh the youngest by ten years. She is the most sensitive and Caroline is the most driven. Maribelle is the Editor of the “PB Confidential”, a magazine she has made more successful, and her husband Samuel Walker was CFO of the family business. Maribelle and Samuel were sweethearts when they lived in Kesgrave, located in the panhandle of Florida, on the Gulf Coast.
Caroline is very much involved with the Barrows business. She loves her Palm Beach life with all of its frivolity and perks. She hopes to become the next CFO. Her husband Travis Sears is the CEO of the family business. He was best friends with Samuel, both having grown up in Kesgrave and both having attended the same schools. When tragedy strikes, he still claims ignorance when it comes to Samuel’s secrets.
Raleigh and her husband Alex, are both struggling, but fairly successful artists, she of portraits and he of more classical art. All of the women are well-trained by their mother, Lucinda, who since the death of their father Reed, is now married to Walter. Reed had his own private life while Lucinda was wrapped up with the business. Walter, on the other hand, is kind of arm candy, a decorative display piece to chaperone her, but he has no real influence in the story. Lucinda has trained all of her daughters well to play their roles in Palm Beach as prima donnas representing the rich and famous. They have all come a long way from the panhandle, and would not like their history to get around. They must keep up appearances to be fully accepted in the rarified atmosphere of Palm Beach. They are aware of the friends they must make, the causes to support, the clothes they need, the dinners they must attend and the way they must behave in public. They are truly the picture of entitled women, who are interested in their image, are always aware that the fall from the ladder and grace will be treacherous.
All goes well for the Barrows family and business until Samuel dies in a boating accident. He was very handsome, alarmingly charismatic and so beloved by many, including his mother-in-law, that his flaws had been overlooked. Now they were bright and shiny, like a new penny, and they became the bane of Maribelle’s existence as the family brought in Julian, a forensic accountant to investigate Samuel’s behavior before he died. Maribelle knew her husband had been unfaithful, but she was blinded by her love for him. Now she wondered who his last mistress was and what happened to the millions of dollars that were missing from the family business? Would she be responsible for his debts? Who knew what he had been doing? Was it his best friend Travis who knew his secrets? Who was the real Samuel Walker, and what were his secrets? He had been the CFO of the Barrows family business, managing the money that kept them all in high society.
Each of the characters was a bit larger than life, a bit like a caricature of a real person, but each was so well defined that you might be able to actually visualize them as they entered each scene. All of the characters, major and minor, seem to have a secret that they are keeping from each other and the world. Each of them yearns for something they do not have, some to climb even higher in Palm Beach society and some to leave it altogether and have a quieter, less competitive, but more contented life or someone or something that is forbidden.
Enter Julian, a forensic accountant hired to investigate the shenanigans of Samuel, brought in by Aunt Bryant, Lucinda’s sister and the godmother of Maribelle. He too has his secrets, but as he uncovers Samuel’s deception, he too has a confession to make, though not of the same corrupt nature. As the fog clears, many decisions are made, some in haste, some more thoughtfully, but all alter the lives of the Barrows.
When the novel ended, and the family situation resolved in a way I approved of, I had some overriding questions to consider. Do we ever really know anyone, what motivates disloyalty, is forgiveness possible in extreme cases of infidelity, are we all vulnerable and capable of insincerity, are any of us above the throes of temptation? Can we be true to our ideals regardless of what we are offered, or will we all betray our values in order to achieve our goals?