Review: The Widow of Wall Street

The Widow of Wall Street

by Randy Susan Meyers

Why did you choose this book? I’ve enjoyed other work by this author

When did you read this book? November 2017

Who should read this book? Readers of ‘ripped from the headlines’ fiction

Source: library ebook

My Rating: ✰✰✰✰  4 Stars

Here is a synopsis of The Widow of Wall Street from Goodreads

What’s real in a marriage built on sand and how do you abandon a man you’ve loved since the age of fifteen?

Phoebe sees the fire in Jake Pierce’s belly from the moment they meet as teenagers in Brooklyn. Eventually he creates a financial dynasty and she trusts him without hesitation—unaware his hunger for success hides a dark talent for deception.

When Phoebe learns—along with the rest of the world—that her husband’s triumphs are the result of an elaborate Ponzi scheme her world unravels. Lies underpin her life and marriage. As Jake’s crime is uncovered, the world obsesses about Phoebe. Did she know her life was fabricated by fraud? Did she partner with her husband in hustling billions from pensioners, charities, and CEOs? Was she his accomplice in stealing from their family and neighbors?

Debate rages as to whether love and loyalty blinded her to his crimes or if she chose to live in denial. While Jake is trapped in the web of his own deceit, Phoebe is faced with an unbearable choice. Her children refuse to see her if she remains at their father’s side, but abandoning Jake, a man she’s known since childhood, feels cruel and impossible.

From Brooklyn to Greenwich to Manhattan, from penthouse to prison, with tragic consequences rippling well beyond Wall Street, The Widow of Wall Street exposes a woman struggling to redefine her life and marriage as everything she thought she knew crumbles around her.

My Review

I’ve read and enjoyed other books by Randy Susan Meyers [Accidents of Marriage] [The Murderer’s Daughters], so when I saw she had a new book out, I immediately put it on my to-read list. The cover and synopsis motivated me to move it to near the top!

This is a ‘ripped-from-the-headlines’ story inspired by the Bernie Madoff financial scandal of 2008. On the author’s website, she states that one of her motivations in writing the story was to explore how members of the family are affected when a person commits a crime. “Every crime has multiple victims—including the family of the perpetrator.” SInce I often wonder about the mother of the criminal and how she must feel when I hear about a crime, this interested me.

The story is told from the point of view of Phoebe, wife of Jake Pierce. We know from the beginning that Jake is in prison and Phoebe is in a prison of sorts herself. The book is the story of the 50-60 years leading to the present situation

Phoebe and Jake met in high school, and Phoebe is a typical woman of the 50s. She went to college and prepared for a career, but once she married, she was expected to abandon that career and devote herself to her children and husband and her husband’s business interests. Yes, she could participate in charitable causes, but her appearance and actions must always reflect well on her husband and his business.

Phoebe has an elite lifestyle, much different to the life she had with her parents. Her husband makes lots of money and she is happy to spend it. There have been suspicious signs with her husband and his business through the years, but Jake has always been able to explain them away and remind her it was his job to make the money and hers to maintain their home. Phoebe accepts this willingly until the day her world comes crashing down around her, causing a reversal in her lifestyle and an estrangement from her children.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt bad for Phoebe, even though she could have avoided some of this by asking more questions and trusting less. I also felt a bit sorry for Jake at times. He seemed like a good-hearted person who wanted to make things right, but his ego got in his way, and he got in too deep.

One other thing I really like about this book is the cover. I’m not sure what the significance is. It appears to be a skyline of Manhattan with the sparkle flaking away. I’m thinking ‘all that glitters is not gold’?

This will be a good selection for book clubs with discussions of trust and loyalty, repercussions of crime, and current events. You can visit the author’s website for discussion questions or to read an excerpt of the book and learn about the author’s inspiration for this story.

Review: Accidents of Marriage

Accidents of Marriage

by Randy Susan Meyers

Why did you choose this book? I’ve read other books by this author and this one sounded good!

When did you read this book? October 2014

Who should read this book? readers who enjoy stories of family drama

Source: Goodreads First Reads

Here is a synopsis of Accidents of Marriage from Goodreads

Accidents of Marriage explores a topic rarely shown in fiction: the destruction left in the wake of spouse’s verbal fury. Ben never meant to hurt Maddy. He never imagined his recklessness would lead to tragedy.

Maddy is a social worker trying to balance her career and three children. Years ago, she fell in love with Ben, a public defender, drawn to his fiery passion, but now he’s lashing out at her during his periodic verbal furies. She vacillates between tiptoeing around him and asserting herself for the sake of their kids – which works to keep a fragile peace – until the rainy day when they’re together in the car and Ben’s volatile temper gets the best of him, leaving Maddy in the hospital fighting for her life.

Randy Susan Meyers takes us inside the hearts and minds of her characters, alternating among the perspectives of Maddy, Ben, and their fourteen-year-old daughter. Accidents of Marriage is a provocative and stunning novel that will resonate deeply with women from all walks of life, ultimately revealing the challenges of family, faith, and forgiveness.

ACCIDENTS OF MARRIAGE explores a topic rarely shown in fiction: the damaging effects of a spouse’s emotional abuse.

My Review

This one is a good one and the book kept my interest from the beginning! It is not always an easy read, but it is a good read. I chose to read this book because I had previously read and enjoyed The Murderer’s Daughters by the same author. While I enjoyed that one, I can say without hesitation that I enjoyed this one so much more!

Maddy and Ben have been married long enough to be settled into their marriage and to take each other for granted. Maddy is a social worker working full time and Ben is an attorney. With three children, one of them a young teen, things are not always easy and when Ben is stressed, he is not a pleasant person to be around. He has a temper and at times his anger is abusive. Emma, the oldest child, sees the effect this has on her mother and is resentful. Ben’s anger leads to tragedy, and Maddy ends up in the hospital with her survival in question. The rest of the book follows the struggles the family faces while watching Maddy fight for her life. It would be very easy to give some spoilers here, so I’m not going to say anymore about the actual storyline.

I really liked the way the story was told in alternating points of view, with each chapter giving voice to a different character. This is not a new technique but it is very effective in this book. I particularly liked the character of Anne, Maddy’s mother, and the way she interacted with both Ben and her grandchildren. This is a story about our capacity to forgive, and Anne is a big believer in forgiveness. One thing I didn’t like so much was the ending. It felt more like a ‘to be continued’ with the reader as the one responsible for continuing the story. That will not bother most readers, but if you read here much, you know I like nice neat endings. Truly though, that doesn’t take away from the story or how much I liked the book. If you enjoy reading about family drama, pick this one up. You won’t be sorry you did!

My Rating:  ★★★★   4 Stars

I received a review copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program in return for an honest review.

Tuesday Memes: Accidents of Marriage

Every Tuesday Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where you can share the first paragraph, or a few, of a book you are reading or thinking about reading soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Today I am spotlighting Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers

Accidents of Marriage explores a topic rarely shown in fiction: the destruction left in the wake of spouse’s verbal fury. Ben never meant to hurt Maddy. He never imagined his recklessness would lead to tragedy.

Maddy is a social worker trying to balance her career and three children. Years ago, she fell in love with Ben, a public defender, drawn to his fiery passion, but now he’s lashing out at her during his periodic verbal furies. She vacillates between tiptoeing around him and asserting herself for the sake of their kids – which works to keep a fragile peace – until the rainy day when they’re together in the car and Ben’s volatile temper gets the best of him, leaving Maddy in the hospital fighting for her life.

Randy Susan Meyers takes us inside the hearts and minds of her characters, alternating among the perspectives of Maddy, Ben, and their fourteen-year-old daughter. Accidents of Marriage is a provocative and stunning novel that will resonate deeply with women from all walks of life, ultimately revealing the challenges of family, faith, and forgiveness.

ACCIDENTS OF MARRIAGE explores a topic rarely shown in fiction: the damaging effects of a spouse’s emotional abuse.

Opening Paragraph

Maddy ran her tongue over her teeth, imagining the bitter taste of a crumbling tablet of Xanax. After a gut-wrenching day at the hospital, nothing tempted her more than a chemical vacation. Nothing appealed to her less than cooking supper. Churning stomach acid — courtesy of work — coupled with anxiety that Ben might come home as frenzied as he’d left — made a formidable appetite killer.

She could bottle it and make a fortune.

Each morning she spun the wheel on the Ben chart, hoping that arrow would hit happy husband, or at least the neutral guy. Today his arrow landed on total bastard, holding her personally responsible for Caleb’s tantrum, which — oh horror! — had cost Ben twenty minutes of work.

My Teaser

    “Right.” What an all-purpose word right had become in their family, their polite way of saying, I am acknowledging you have spoken, but am choosing not to engage in any meaninful way. Lately, they used it all too often.

page 4

(These quotes are from uncorrected advance proofs. Please refer to the final printed book for corrected quotes!)

So...what do you think? Is this one you would pick up? Leave a comment below!

Waiting On Wednesday: Accidents of Marriage

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine in which we spotlight upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating!

Accidents of Marriage

by Randy Susan Meyers

Expected Publication Date: September 2, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads

Accidents of Marriage explores a topic rarely shown in fiction: the destruction left in the wake of spouse’s verbal fury. Ben never meant to hurt Maddy. He never imagined his recklessness would lead to tragedy.

Maddy is a social worker trying to balance her career and three children. Years ago, she fell in love with Ben, a public defender, drawn to his fiery passion, but now he’s lashing out at her during his periodic verbal furies. She vacillates between tiptoeing around him and asserting herself for the sake of their kids – which works to keep a fragile peace – until the rainy day when they’re together in the car and Ben’s volatile temper gets the best of him, leaving Maddy in the hospital fighting for her life.

Randy Susan Meyers takes us inside the hearts and minds of her characters, alternating among the perspectives of Maddy, Ben, and their fourteen-year-old daughter. Accidents of Marriage is a provocative and stunning novel that will resonate deeply with women from all walks of life, ultimately revealing the challenges of family, faith, and forgiveness.

ACCIDENTS OF MARRIAGE explores a topic rarely shown in fiction: the damaging effects of a spouse’s emotional abuse

Why I am waiting....

I previously read The Murderer’s Daughters by this author. This one sounds like another good one! And lucky for me, I was just notified that I won a copy through Goodreads First Reads program!

Review: The Murderer's Daughters

The Murderer’s Daughters

by Randy Susan Meyers

Why did you choose this book? I saw this on Goodreads and the synopsis was interesting 

When did you read this book? May 2012

Who should read this book?

Source: library

Here is a synopsis of ‘The Gathering Storm' from Goodreads, where it rates 3.64 stars.

Lulu and Merry’s childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu’s tenth birthday their father drives them into a nightmare. He’s always hungered for the love of the girl’s self-obsessed mother; after she throws him out, their troubles turn deadly.

Lulu’s mother warned her to never let him in, but when he shows up, he’s impossible to ignore. He bullies his way past ten-year-old Lulu, who obeys her father’s instructions to open the door, then listens in horror as her parents struggle. She runs for help and discovers upon her return that he’s murdered her mother, stabbed her sister, and tried to kill himself. 

For thirty years, the sisters try to make sense of what happened. Their imprisoned father is a specter in both their lives, shadowing every choice they make. Though one spends her life pretending he’s dead, while the other feels compelled to help him, both fear that someday their imprisoned father’s attempts to win parole may meet success.

My Review 

This was a pretty good read. All the action happens in the first chapter, when Lulu and Merry witness their father murder their mother. He also attempts to kill Merry and himself. The story covers the 30 years after the murder. Lulu carries around the guilt of not being able to prevent this murder, while Merry carries insecurities about WHY her father tried to kill her. Lulu reacts by pretending her father is dead, refusing to visit him in the prison or to respond to his letters. Merry, on the other hand, has a need to visit him. Shortly after the murder the girls are placed in an orphanage when their maternal grandmother dies and their aunt refuses to have ‘evil’ in her house. 

I didn’t care for the ending, mainly because I felt like I was left hanging and wondering about the girls. The story ends after 30 years when the father is released from prison and the girls theoretically make peace with that. Did they REALLY feel at peace? I think there was a long way to go, and especially a lot to learn about Merry and what came next for her. The book also dragged a bit at times. But I did enjoy the book and think it would make an excellent book club pick. There are many discussions points to cover, from ‘would you be more like Lulu or Merry towards your father?’ to ‘why were the girls the way the were’ to discussions on the aunt and the orphanage. I think this is a book that would improve with discussion!

My Rating:  ★★★ 3 Stars