The Darlings are drowning in illusions within the serenity and tranquility of a small southern town. Secrets shatter the everyday world of Deborah Darling as the truth evades her. Deception, revenge, and the peculiarities of sexuality lead to the shattering of life’s most precious bonds. Behind the veil of what we think we know, everything we don’t know lies bare.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Why, her Barnaby could talk the devil into quoting the Bible and lining the pathway to heaven with gold.
His mother always made him laugh, not necessarily when she was present but when he thought of her in hindsight. She reminded him of some cartoon character who said outrageous things and had no idea she was being ignorant or prejudiced, that her thoughts were simply outrageous. His mother had no idea that she appeared ignorant.
None of these drag queens are ugly… Why is that, they’re really men? Men who look like men underneath all that makeup, men with face stubble and jock straps.
It’s not that Deborah didn’t know her daughter, she simply didn’t want to know the many facets of her. Deborah’s picture of Robbie’s life was like a PG-rated television script in which her daughter was completely one-dimensional. Problem was, the real script of Robbie’s life was R-rated, much more complex than Deborah could have ever imagined.
Southern ladies do not raise their fists in rage. The urge to drive her car into the pristine white front porch until nothing was standing but the splinters of its former glory almost won, but she would not tarnish her Cadillac for the indiscretions of that tawdry, cheap woman.
My Review:
This has been my initial exposure to the deft and crafty word voodoo of Vera J. Cook and I am kicking myself for not noticing her work sooner, it was deviously clever and wryly witty. The woman has mad skills! Once I queued up my beloved Kindle I was sucked into an oddly and deliciously compelling vortex that was populated by an unusual collection of wealthy and privileged Southern hypocrites, eccentrics, and small-town quirks. I was bewitched, captivated, and fascinated by the complexity and multiple layers of secrets and scandalous activities that had prevailed in this tiny berg for such an extended period of time.
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