"A delicious and irresistible novel set among the high society galas and gossip of Palm Beach!"
Reviewed by Patti Loveday
Posted April 11, 2019
Women's Fiction Contemporary
A PALM BEACH WIFE by Susannah
Marren is a delicious and irresistible novel set among the high society
galas and gossip of Palm Beach. Faith, as she comes from nothing,
rises to the top just to lose it all and have to dig herself out. A story of
strength, love, loss, and determination. Faith has the life that many dreams of filled with fancy parties, designer
clothes, several vacation homes, and a healthy husband. While she
doesn't take it for granted, she doesn't need it either. When her
husband tells her that he lost everything that means 30 million dollars
gone! What is a girl to do? Should she leave her husband? Have a
breakdown? Instead of being devasted she does the unexpected and
jumps in and takes over to dig their way back to the top. Susannah Marren has created a strong female character that is likable
and relatable. A book that you are sure to appreciate and characters
you are sure to love. Faith holds it together no matter what she has to
face even if it is her own scandal. Marren grabs your attention and
takes you into a world that is unlike any other. A world where nothing is
as it seems and you never know who you can really trust. Nothing is
permanent and can be gone in an instant. A PALM BEACH WIFE is a book you
are sure to get lost in. The perfect book for a lovely weekend read with
a hot cup of tea by the fire.
SUMMARY
For readers of Elin Hilderbrand, a delicious and
irresistible commercial novel set among the high society
galas and gossip of Palm Beach. Amid the glamour and galas and parties of Palm Beach, Faith
knows that image often counts as much if not more than
reality. She glides effortlessly among the highest of the
high society so perfectly that you would never suspect she
wasn’t born to this. But it wasn’t always so; though she
hides it well, Faith has fought hard for the wonderful life
she has, for her loving, successful husband, for her
daughter’s future. In this town of secrets and gossip and
rumors, Faith has kept a desperate grip on everything she
holds so dear, built from so little. And yet even she—the
only one who knows just how far she has to fall—never
suspects from which direction, or how many directions all
at
once, betrayal will come.
ExcerptLucas is leaning against a bench at the public beach
between Mar-a-Lago and Eau Spa when she gets there. The sky
is filled with pink and magenta streaks; the sun is rising.
In the gentle light, Lucas’s face is unflawed, mildly Clark
Kent–esque. Today she finds the look both sexy and
endearing. His straw hat reminds her of a picture she once
saw of Ernest Hemingway. She smiles at Lucas’s
interpretation of incognito.“Surreal, isn’t it?” he asks. Early risers, mostly fishermen, walk toward Benny’s on the
Beach for their pancake breakfast. Faith nods. “Totally.” They stand without touching, “Join me, Faith.” Lucas leads her, pats the empty space on
the bench for her to sit. She collects her hair into a ponytail, runs her tongue
across her front teeth. Nothing about him has to do with
Palm Beach or the Avenue. Nothing about her either. As if
they exist in a cubic prism—the lateral view belongs only
to them. She slots in, they face the boardwalk jutting into
the ocean, their shoulders close together. “So many years apart. I’m still thinking of you,” Lucas
says. “I don’t remember the last time I sat next to you,” Faith
says. She’s near enough to touch any part of his body. “Decades.” The voice again, a memory of telling a joke by
batting an eye. “A lifetime ago.” “Well, we’ve seen each other. Wasn’t there one time at the
Candy Kitchen in Bridgehampton, Margot sending daggers
toward you? If looks could kill, they say.” Lucas laughs. “Margot. She and I are sort of friendly these days.” “Really? All that she wants is your title for the Arts and
Media Ball,” Lucas sighs. “Not a bad idea,” Faith says. A comment that pops out of
her mouth, filled with truth. Perhaps it was yesterday with
Diana and last night with Edward’s pretense that caused the
tipping point. “What?” How he gazes at her. Uneasily, she turns to him. “Nothing.” Waves roll in, crashing into one another as if their rhythm
is off. Part of her wants to strip off her clothes,
instigate unmarried, untethered sex. She sniffs his skin as
though it might save her life. She could breathe Lucas
instead of oxygen. After years of brief and tenuous thoughts, longings and no
place to file anything. An affair of the mind that hasn’t
any home or port. “I’ve missed you.” Lucas’s mouth at her ear. “Let’s not
wait another stretch like this—twenty-five years—to be
together. I should never have let you go. I regret it—I’ve
regretted it always. But now, now our kids are grown.” She blinks, remembering what Eve had said when Lucas broke
it off with Faith. He’ll be sorry, really sorry. One day—a
faraway day—he’ll come begging. “Lucas,” she says. “Maybe . . .” He places his forefinger
on her lips, then over her forehead. She’s made of carved
alabaster, in place for his touch, unable to resist. “Soon? Maybe?” He reaches over to kiss her. “Hey?” “You don’t want me, Lucas. Believe me.” She wishes this warning weren’t true. He kisses her again
and she opens her mouth. He tastes like licorice and tree
resin; his lips are soft and strong. The wind blows his hat and he tugs it back before it flies
away. Faith pulls her hood over her head and stares at him.
Is he being sincere, or is she too incredibly threadbare
from what’s gone on that she wouldn’t know? How many years
has she imbued Edward with qualities he may or may not
have? Still, her husband needs help, and here she sits with
Lucas. He hugs her and she sinks into him. A
comfortable/strange caress. What kind of person is she? “Something has happened with Edward. I want to tell you
before you hear it on the tennis courts, at some golf
match, a cocktail hour at Longreens,” she begins. “Let’s not do that this morning. Can’t we shut Edward out?
And Margot out? Let’s the two of us have our own little
reunion.” He puts his mouth close to her ear again. “Come
with me, Faith, it’s time. We’ve always been in love..” “I need to explain . . . first,” Faith says. “Explain what, Faith?” He’s half listening, persuaded by
their tête-à-tête, perhaps fascinated by her face so near
to his—that they’re in each other’s company. He moves
toward her ear again. She wants him to keep at it, but
instead she stiffens, moves back. “Lucas, we have to talk about Edward, if not the others.
Today. Because he’s in trouble.” He pauses almost politely as she shifts the conversation
far from their interlude. A few more fishermen pass by on
their way to the pier. “Edward’s lost our money. You’ll know about it soon
enough.” “How?” Lucas asks with a slight detachment, as if there’s
nothing original in her news. “Bad investments, I suppose—personal investments. I’m
understanding he was careless, imprudent. It’s going to
rumble through Palm Beach, people talking, whispering.
Katherine has to be safe. I’m trying to help, to figure out
what to do.” Lucas straightens up and looks at the shoreline, away from
Faith. “I brought you to Palm Beach. We were meant to be together.
You and I . . .” What might have been with Lucas, the life not shared. Has
he missed her careful camouflage, threaded together over
the years with great care? Rather he’s searching for a
reason, one he’ll understand. “Oh, Lucas, I don’t know that, I don’t know—I let that go.
I had to.” The gulls caw overhead, cackling and dropping clamshells
onto the boardwalk. “A loan,” Lucas says. “Would that help?” “I’m sorry?” “I’ll loan you money, Faith. Name the amount.” “Why are you doing this, Lucas?” “I owe you. I owe you for . . .” “Please, please don’t say this.” She closes her eyes,
wanting to touch his collarbone. “You should take the check, Faith.” “I can’t do that,” she whispers. He starts to kiss her. She kisses him back, wishing he’d
invade her being. They would find a spot beneath the pier
to make love, Lucas would be inside her. Whether they do or
not, she’s covered in Lucas anyway.
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