Darling Rose Gold
THE USA TODAY AND EDGAR AWARD NOMINATED BESTSELLER "If you enjoyed The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, read Darling Rose Gold."--Washington Post
"Sensationally good - two complex characters power the story like a nuclear reaction..."--Lee Child
A most anticipated book of 2020 by Newsweek ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Bustle ∙ Shondaland ∙ PopSugar ∙ Woman's Day ∙ Good Housekeeping ∙ BookRiot ∙ She Reads
Mothers never forget. Daughters never forgive.
For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold. Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she's forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score. Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling... And she's waited such a long time for her mother to come home. "Dazzling, dark and utterly delicious"--J. P. Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before
"One of the most captivating and disturbing thrillers I've read this year. An astonishing debut"--Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
"Sensationally good - two complex characters power the story like a nuclear reaction..."--Lee Child
A most anticipated book of 2020 by Newsweek ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Bustle ∙ Shondaland ∙ PopSugar ∙ Woman's Day ∙ Good Housekeeping ∙ BookRiot ∙ She Reads
Mothers never forget. Daughters never forgive.
For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold. Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she's forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty Watts always settles a score. Unfortunately for Patty, Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling... And she's waited such a long time for her mother to come home. "Dazzling, dark and utterly delicious"--J. P. Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before
"One of the most captivating and disturbing thrillers I've read this year. An astonishing debut"--Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
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Community Reviews
I thought I would like this book a lot more than I ended up liking it, which was rather disappointing. The premise of the book was a mother who has Munchausen by proxy and how it affected her daughter, but in truth, it's a book that is a revenge tale, where nothing is how it seems (a la [b:Gone Girl|19288043|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554086139l/19288043._SY75_.jpg|13306276], though Gillian Flynn does it way better. Incidentally, she also does a Munchausen by proxy story that is executed much better as well.). Although I like the psychological mind games and enjoy thrillers, this was a case where I felt like the author got too caught up in how to appear clever. Regarding this issue, the most noticeable area where I had difficulty with this book was the ending. The last few chapters just seemed to be incredibly rushed without any attempt to tie things together. It felt like the author was going through a checklist and checking things off, but didn't try and make all the disparate parts work.
As far as the characters go, look, I love fucked up, unreliable narrators. But usually, even those characters have something I can relate to a little bit. I couldn't connect with either of the characters in this book. I wanted to feel sympathy for the daughter, but the whole time, I was just trying to diagnose her as I was reading (Borderline Personality Disorder? Possibly some Antisocial PD, but I'd need to check the DSM for the criteria. PTSD, and I think I saw some depression). Both mother and daughter were basically sociopaths who didn't care about anything but themselves, so I wanted them both to lose in the end. It does bring up some good questions of nature vs. nurture, since I doubt the daughter would have turned out the way she did if her mother hadn't acted the way she did. But it was so extreme; lots of people who are abused don't become sociopaths when they grow up.
I don't know, I guess I feel like the book was trying to shock the readers with these two characters' pathologies, and on that count, it did succeed. It just didn't really penetrate very far beyond the surface shock level. (I gave it three stars instead of two despite all my complaints because I did want to know what happened next and it kept me reading, so a point in its favor there.)
As far as the characters go, look, I love fucked up, unreliable narrators. But usually, even those characters have something I can relate to a little bit. I couldn't connect with either of the characters in this book. I wanted to feel sympathy for the daughter, but the whole time, I was just trying to diagnose her as I was reading (Borderline Personality Disorder? Possibly some Antisocial PD, but I'd need to check the DSM for the criteria. PTSD, and I think I saw some depression). Both mother and daughter were basically sociopaths who didn't care about anything but themselves, so I wanted them both to lose in the end. It does bring up some good questions of nature vs. nurture, since I doubt the daughter would have turned out the way she did if her mother hadn't acted the way she did. But it was so extreme; lots of people who are abused don't become sociopaths when they grow up.
I don't know, I guess I feel like the book was trying to shock the readers with these two characters' pathologies, and on that count, it did succeed. It just didn't really penetrate very far beyond the surface shock level. (I gave it three stars instead of two despite all my complaints because I did want to know what happened next and it kept me reading, so a point in its favor there.)
Patty Watts was convicted of aggravated child abuse for which she served five years in prison. Debut author Stephanie Wrobel takes readers inside Patty's mind via her first-person narration that begins on the day she is released. The alternating narrative from her daughter, Rose Gold, commences earlier -- in November 2012 shortly after Patty has begun serving her sentence. While Patty's storyline proceeds in real time, Rose Gold's moves forward incrementally until the two finally merge in the present.
Living on her own for the first time at the age of eighteen, Rose Gold, at the outset, resides in a rundown apartment and works as a cashier at Gadget World. Initially taken in by Patty's best friend, Mary Stone, Rose is now learning to navigate the world independently. Unable to tolerate food for most of her life, she learns what foods she likes and how to prepare them. Her only friend, Alex (Mary's daughter), has moved away, but they remain in touch. Rose has a boyfriend who lives in Colorado. She met Phil online and they have never met, but text regularly and she looks forward to seeing him in person so that she can experience her first kiss. Before that happens, however, she wants to undergo dental treatment for which she is saving her money. Her misshapen, discolored teeth are a result of years of stomach acid eating away the enamel surfaces. So she is extremely self-conscious, holding her hand in front of her face. And Rose is, of course, infamous in the little town of Deadwick where she has lived her entire life. She tells herself that she is "not disgusting," but she doesn't believe it. It was, in fact, Phil who helped Rose Gold figure out what her mother was doing to her. "It's odd that hospital food never makes you sick. Only your mom's food," Phil told her. Still, it took Rose Gold another six months to piece it all together and finally seek help.
By the time Patty is released, much has happened to Rose Gold. Her friendship with Alex has changed dramatically, she has purchased and moved into her mother's childhood home, and arrives at the prison with her two month old son, Adam.
The two women take up residence in the family home and begin a tense game of cat and mouse. Wrobel reveals Patty's plan to regain Rose Gold's trust and hear Rose Gold ask forgiveness for having testified at Patty's trial. After all, it was Rose Gold's testimony that secured her conviction. Little by little, Patty seeks more time alone with Adam . . . and to exert control over Rose Gold's life as she did for so many years.
The two women's inner dialogues are diabolically entertaining and full of surprising twists. Wrobel slowly reveals the depth of harm that a lifetime of mistreatment has caused Rose Gold through her naive, but calculating interactions with others. Rose simultaneously engenders sympathy and anger, ultimately describing how she arrived at the realization that she was utterly alone in the world and finally decided to visit her mother in prison for the first time.
Wrobel keeps the two story lines advancing at a steady pace until they converge and the action accelerates. Shocking revelations about the women's goals and motivations lead to a jaw-dropping conclusion.
Darling Rose Gold sets itself apart from other fictional stories about Munchausen syndrome by proxy. In those tales, the mystery is usually about what is actually happening to the child or which parent is the perpetrator. But Wrobel set out to write a story that is "more about the why. Not only does the reader know what Patty has done, but they’re also forced to live inside her head and watch her rationalize these actions."
And that is precisely why Darling Rose Gold is such an impressive debut. It succeeds as an in-depth, disturbing character study about a tragically dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. Each woman wants to be loved and accepted by the other. Both want to be celebrated for their individuality and, in Patty's case, she wants to be appreciated for the great sacrifices she contends she made for her daughter. Yes, she maintains her innocence -- even to herself -- even though she fails to deceive anyone, including the townspeople who refuse to welcome her back and her former best friend, Mary who is convinced from the moment she arrives back in Deadwick that no good will come from her return.
Darling Rose Gold demonstrates that Wrobel is a gifted and promising writer with the ability to develop multi-layered, complex characters while examining controversial topics that do not lend themselves to definitive conclusions. In Darling Rose Gold she has done so with sensitivity and compassion, while sustaining reader interest with unexpected, expertly-timed plot twists. Psychological thriller fans will find it impossible to put down . . . and contemplate it long after reading the last page.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Living on her own for the first time at the age of eighteen, Rose Gold, at the outset, resides in a rundown apartment and works as a cashier at Gadget World. Initially taken in by Patty's best friend, Mary Stone, Rose is now learning to navigate the world independently. Unable to tolerate food for most of her life, she learns what foods she likes and how to prepare them. Her only friend, Alex (Mary's daughter), has moved away, but they remain in touch. Rose has a boyfriend who lives in Colorado. She met Phil online and they have never met, but text regularly and she looks forward to seeing him in person so that she can experience her first kiss. Before that happens, however, she wants to undergo dental treatment for which she is saving her money. Her misshapen, discolored teeth are a result of years of stomach acid eating away the enamel surfaces. So she is extremely self-conscious, holding her hand in front of her face. And Rose is, of course, infamous in the little town of Deadwick where she has lived her entire life. She tells herself that she is "not disgusting," but she doesn't believe it. It was, in fact, Phil who helped Rose Gold figure out what her mother was doing to her. "It's odd that hospital food never makes you sick. Only your mom's food," Phil told her. Still, it took Rose Gold another six months to piece it all together and finally seek help.
By the time Patty is released, much has happened to Rose Gold. Her friendship with Alex has changed dramatically, she has purchased and moved into her mother's childhood home, and arrives at the prison with her two month old son, Adam.
The two women take up residence in the family home and begin a tense game of cat and mouse. Wrobel reveals Patty's plan to regain Rose Gold's trust and hear Rose Gold ask forgiveness for having testified at Patty's trial. After all, it was Rose Gold's testimony that secured her conviction. Little by little, Patty seeks more time alone with Adam . . . and to exert control over Rose Gold's life as she did for so many years.
The two women's inner dialogues are diabolically entertaining and full of surprising twists. Wrobel slowly reveals the depth of harm that a lifetime of mistreatment has caused Rose Gold through her naive, but calculating interactions with others. Rose simultaneously engenders sympathy and anger, ultimately describing how she arrived at the realization that she was utterly alone in the world and finally decided to visit her mother in prison for the first time.
Wrobel keeps the two story lines advancing at a steady pace until they converge and the action accelerates. Shocking revelations about the women's goals and motivations lead to a jaw-dropping conclusion.
Darling Rose Gold sets itself apart from other fictional stories about Munchausen syndrome by proxy. In those tales, the mystery is usually about what is actually happening to the child or which parent is the perpetrator. But Wrobel set out to write a story that is "more about the why. Not only does the reader know what Patty has done, but they’re also forced to live inside her head and watch her rationalize these actions."
And that is precisely why Darling Rose Gold is such an impressive debut. It succeeds as an in-depth, disturbing character study about a tragically dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. Each woman wants to be loved and accepted by the other. Both want to be celebrated for their individuality and, in Patty's case, she wants to be appreciated for the great sacrifices she contends she made for her daughter. Yes, she maintains her innocence -- even to herself -- even though she fails to deceive anyone, including the townspeople who refuse to welcome her back and her former best friend, Mary who is convinced from the moment she arrives back in Deadwick that no good will come from her return.
Darling Rose Gold demonstrates that Wrobel is a gifted and promising writer with the ability to develop multi-layered, complex characters while examining controversial topics that do not lend themselves to definitive conclusions. In Darling Rose Gold she has done so with sensitivity and compassion, while sustaining reader interest with unexpected, expertly-timed plot twists. Psychological thriller fans will find it impossible to put down . . . and contemplate it long after reading the last page.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Patty Watts is being released from jail, having served 5 years for aggravated child abuse. Based primarily on her daughter's testimony, she was convicted of having poisoned her daughter with Ipecac syrup, causing her to vomit repeatedly. The resulting malnutrition caused her to exhibit a host of other symptoms, which required lots of attention from the medical community, and lots of support from their neighbors. And who is there to pick Patty up as she takes her first steps back into freedom? None other than her daughter, darling Rose Gold (and Rose Gold's 2 month old son). Why on earth, you ask yourself, would Rose Gold be willing to allow her mother back into her life?
Told in alternating chapters, starting with Patty's release, going back to get Rose Gold's story of her life after her mother's imprisonment, and coming together as we near the dramatic conclusion, this book is in no way straightforward. It becomes increasingly clear that Rose Gold is playing a deep-fake game with her mother, but it's not until the end, that we find out exactly how deep her game goes.
This book is indeed thrilling, and suspenseful, but I couldn't help but wonder how a girl like Rose Gold, who has been sick and beyond sheltered her entire life, would have the physical strength (she's described as being very small and thin) and mental fortitude to pull off her scheme. But it's that very question that will keep you reading all the way through!
Told in alternating chapters, starting with Patty's release, going back to get Rose Gold's story of her life after her mother's imprisonment, and coming together as we near the dramatic conclusion, this book is in no way straightforward. It becomes increasingly clear that Rose Gold is playing a deep-fake game with her mother, but it's not until the end, that we find out exactly how deep her game goes.
This book is indeed thrilling, and suspenseful, but I couldn't help but wonder how a girl like Rose Gold, who has been sick and beyond sheltered her entire life, would have the physical strength (she's described as being very small and thin) and mental fortitude to pull off her scheme. But it's that very question that will keep you reading all the way through!
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