A Palm Beach Scandal: A Novel

by Susannah Marren

Overview

"An engrossing novel...a perfect example of doing the wrong thing for all of the right reasons." - The Authors Show

From Susannah Marren, author of A Palm Beach Wife, comes her next book set in the exclusive, glamorous world of Palm Beach. Marren follows two sisters as one offers the ultimate selfless act to the other, proving the very meaning of family, in this novel of artifice and intrigue.

Veronica and Simon Cutler and their dazzling adult daughters, Elodie and Aubrey, strike an enviable pose, the ultimate Palm Beach family. In a town where social aspirations, wealth and charm prevail, they are transcendent. While the sisters are polar opposites, they are fiercely loyal to each other. When Elodie receives the shocking news that she is no longer able to conceive a baby, she turns to Aubrey.

Aubrey, a free spirit, isn’t interested in marriage or children, yet when her sister asks her to carry her child, she can’t say no, despite her mother’s warnings. And then one stupefying secret, meant to be buried forever, is unearthed and no one in the Cutler clan is able to turn back. As the family is shaken to their core, Aubrey and Elodie must realize their places in the world and the lives they want to lead.

In the midst of the unforgiving opulence of Palm Beach, A Palm Beach Scandal is a story for our times, a captivating tale of discovery, sisterhood, and love for others where you least expect it.

"A great novel which explores some great themes: family, loyalty, what we will do for each other and what is right to ask of each other." - The Girly Book Club

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250228086
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Series:	Palm Beach Novels , #2
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,090,525
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 5.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Susannah Marren is the author of Between the Tides and A Palm Beach Wife and the pseudonym for Susan Shapiro Barash, who has written over a dozen nonfiction books, including Tripping the Prom Queen, Toxic Friends, and You’re Grounded Forever, But First Let’s Go Shopping. For over twenty years she has taught gender studies at Marymount Manhattan College and has guest taught creative nonfiction at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

"For readers who appreciate modern and sensitively written stories about family, especially sisters." - Library Journal

"The mystery and intrigue will keep readers holding on until the shocking ending they won’t see coming." — Publishers Weekly

"Marren is a masterful interpreter of hidden feelings and the ramifications of keeping secrets." —-BookTrib

“[A] fast-paced first novel.” —The New York Post

“This contemporary novel…is lovingly tinged with the myth of the selkie…some engaging characters and vivid settings indicate Marren’s promise.”—Booklist

“A page-turning, commanding novel.”—Holly Peterson, New York Times bestselling author of The Manny and The Idea of Him

“On the surface, Lainie Smith Morris is completely content with her life in a wealthy suburb of New York City, but her picture-perfect world is shattered by betrayal. Susannah Marren's Between the Tides explores the intricacies of marriage, family, and friendship.” —Popsugar

“The novel is moody and despairing, the writing poetic and abstract, the women cleareyed yet complacent…With characters as unreliable as these, everything is left in question.” —Kirkus Review

From the Publisher

08/01/2020

After Elodie miscarries again and is told that another attempt at becoming pregnant isn't wise, her husband presses her to ask her younger unmarried sister, Aubrey, rather than a nonfamily surrogate, to carry their baby. Elodie feels that it is too much to ask of her and is shocked but ecstatic when Aubrey agrees. However, they expected their esteemed Palm Beach parents to approve and are surprised and confused when they don't seem keen on the idea. The sisters soon find out why and have to deal with unexpected knowledge in addition to the stress of the pregnancy. Marren's second "Palm Beach" book (after A Palm Beach Wife) proves that you can't judge a book by its title. Readers expecting a fun, scandalous, and frothy beach read won't find it within these pages. Instead, this is a serious novel about a family that is tested by the past and the present. VERDICT For readers who appreciate modern and sensitively written stories about family, especially sisters. It also won't hurt if readers enjoy lots of designer brand mentions.—Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY

Library Journal