DARLING ROSE GOLD

5 stars out of 5

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, or so it's been said. Whether that's a result of nature, nurture or a combination of both is, I guess, still up for discussion. After reading this book I'm not much closer to deciding which option I lean more toward, but however this mother-daughter pair got where they are, it's not a pretty place.

To say their story is a wild ride would be an understatement; I was hooked from the beginning and reluctant to put it down. Likable characters? Oh heck no; but then, that's what makes this book so special. Mom is Patty Watts, who seriously mistreated her "beloved" daughter, Rose Gold, almost from the day she was born (apparently a severe case of Munchausen by Proxy). Somewhere around age 18, Rose Gold (her mother always objected to anyone who shortened her name to "Rose") figured out why she'd been so sickly and in and out of hospitals all her life. Her court testimony resulted in Patty's incarceration for five years, convicted of severe child abuse.

For almost all of those years, Rose Gold refused to have any contact with her mother. But then, as Patty is about to be released, Rose Gold begins to visit - claiming all is forgiven and that she wants nothing more than for them to be together from now on. Even though Rose Gold is now the mother of an infant son, she responds in the affirmative when her mother begs to stay with her after she's sprung from jail.

Needless to say, no one in their small town who knew what happened to Rose Gold is willing to forgive and forget what Patty did, and they're aghast that Rose Gold wants to be anywhere near her mother. But Rose Gold stands firm and mom moves in; but don't think for one second that everything from now on will come up roses (not even close). Chapters told from the perspectives of Patty and Rose Gold reveal what's going on in their hearts and minds. Some things have changed and others have stayed the same, but one thing is certain: neither has forgotten the past.  

All told, it's a dark tale that pits the psychological manipulation of two women at loggerheads - leaving readers to wonder who will emerge triumphant right up to the end. It's a "wow" from me - and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (Berkley, March 2020); 319 pp.