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 … 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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Stephanie Wrobel introduces a fresh perspective into an exhausted topic with her novel Darling Rose Gold. The past few years has seen the market glutted with depictions of the fascinating and disturbing psychological disorder Munchausen By Proxy. In actuality an extremely rare disorder, it involves a primary caregiver who intentionally harms a child in order to gain attention and sympathy (a grossly oversimplified definition). Most of the popular stories are sensationalized accounts with a clear female perpetrator and a victimized child, low on nuance and high in shock value. Darling Rose Gold is both more original and interesting than the typical offerings and is well worth exploring as a result. Providing an interior view of both the mother and the child as a grown adult, Wrobel shows how the pathology emerges and the resulting long-term damage it inflicts on both characters. The novel begins as Patty, the mother, is being released from prison five years after her daughter Rose Gold has provided testimony against her. Surprisingly, Rose Gold has seemingly not only forgiven her, but is also accepting her back into her home despite the abuse she suffered. The emotional stakes are increased further by the presence of Rose Gold’s newborn-who the reader fears will fall prey to the unrepentant Patty. The author alternates between narration from both women’s points-of-view, using flashbacks to develop some background and provide insight about the intervening years. Wrobel thereby shows the genesis and extent of Patty’s unhinged thoughts in the context of her own childhood abuse and demonstrates Rose Gold’s stumbling entry into independent adulthood. The novel’s best chapters are those in which Rose Gold struggles to compensate for the external and internal scars she still carries while dealing with a lingering rage that she has no idea how to healthily express. Both women are treated cruelly by a community that cannot comprehend the monstrosity produced by this disorder and are confused by Rose Gold’s seeming naivete. Patty defiantly tries to insert herself back into her old environment without admitting guilt, and Rose Gold desperately attempts to be accepted but is challenged by others’ alternating pity and judgement. There are occasions in the book when the shifting perspectives and timeline jumps can be a bit confusing to the reader, but the resulting disorientation is satisfyingly resolved and helps to maintain a heightened sense of tension and suspense. Excellently plotted and climactic with some truly surprising elements, Darling Rose Gold is perceptive and empathetic in dealing with a topic that has suffered from too much attention with insufficient depth.
Thanks to the author, Berkley (Penguin) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
DARLING ROSE GOLD
By Stephanie Wrobel
This novel was definitely a subject of poignant interest to me. It brought about feelings that I could hardly imagine going through as a child of a parent that suffers from Munchausen by Proxy. It was reminiscent of a real story & recent case that was in headlines regarding Gypsy Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee. And that didn’t turn out well.
In the beginning I almost thought this was a retelling of that story except with name changes to the characters and I was a little disappointed. But I quickly learned I was very wrong and this story was very unique and I couldn’t put the book down. The original similarities I saw were just the common things that happen to victims of Munchausen by Proxy and the mental illness is remarkable in how it presents itself in each person, almost like replicating another person with the same syndrome that they don’t even know.
Rose Gold Watts is no longer a victim and has survived the poisonings, illnesses and supposed diseases she had that her mother Patty had tormented her with her whole life. Rose Gold takes the stand for the prosecution and helps get her mom put away for 5 years for what child abuse she had been put through.
During this time, Rose Gold finds out her mother is an even bigger liar. Her father isn’t dead in fact he sought her out wanting a relationship with Rose Gold. That’s all she ever wanted was a family that loved her. But does Rose Gold have problems of her own when she begins to ruin the relationship by stalking and pushing herself on a family she is just becoming to know?
The story is told from two main viewpoints, Rose Gold’s & Patty. Rose Gold’s story flips between the present and the past and shows how she has built up such a hatred for her mom and resents her but puts on a show of a forgiving daughter. When she forms a plan to set Patty up and make her pay when she is about to be released from prison is not what I expected.
This will knock your socks off and keep you guessing. There are twists I never expected from Rose Gold, I guess I viewed her as weak. But this girl is as smart as a whip and the plan that is formulated is genius and the ending is a shocker. This is a 5 star from beginning to end.
If you like crazy then this is the book for you !!
Darling Rose Gold features a mother and daughter duo.
Mom , Patty just got out of prison for for aggravated child abuse against her daughter Rose Gold who testified against her . Patty has nowhere to go so Rose Gold takes her in.
I could not decide who was crazier, who was lying, who would do what next !!
Couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
I had to find out !!
Not giving anything away ; you simply have to read this one !
Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster Canada, Simon and Schuster Mystery Thrillers for an unbelievable quirky read !! Loved it !!
I got an ARC of this book and really enjoyed it. Wrobel did a good job with alternating the perspectives between mother and daughter and building up the suspense. Even though I had to suspend a little disbelief at some of the machinations in the end, I still enjoyed the whole story. I also appreciate the complexities of the different personalities in this book and how I could somewhat understand motivations and drives.
A page-turner that makes you look at mother-daughter relationships in a whole new light.
What a story! I raced through this suspenseful novel and couldn’t wait to find out what would happen to Rose Gold and Patty. The small town setting was the perfect background for this creepy read. The author kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. Each chapter alternated between mother and daughter point of views. It was easy to feel sorry for Rose Gold and I kept questioning how she could possibly reconcile with her mother. It is explained that Patty was beaten by her father and her brother committed suicide but I’m not sure it was a good explanation of what caused her to abuse her daughter in this way. I was satisfied with the ending and the overall tension in the authors writing, but closed the book with unanswered questions.
Netgalley ARC
Darling Rose Gold is a creepy story of a twisted mother/daughter relationship that kept me wondering which one was crazier! I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want give anything away. Darling Rose Gold is one of my most anticipated 2020 releases and I can’t wait for others to read it!
This book is very Twisted. It will take you on a emotional journey. The twist and turn in this book will have you on edge. There are some Shockers in here for sure. This is a story that kind of leaned on the Gypsy Rose story. So this might be a to close to the story book for some. It is well written and the story flows. The characters are twisted and a bit demented. This is a book some are going to love and some will be questioning what they think long after they read it
Darling Rose Gold takes domestic/psychological suspense to a whole new level. Think Gone Girl on steroids. Absolutely impossible to put down and I’m certain that Rose and Patty will stay with me for a long, long time. They are two of the most complex, twisted characters I’ve come across in recent reads. Wrobel takes you deep inside their psyches with great skill and insight. This one isn’t out until the Spring 2020 so keep it on your radar!