An exploration of domestic derangement, as sinister as Daphne Du Maurier’s classic Rebecca, that plumbs the depths of sibling rivalry with wit and menace. Oh, to be a Beloved–one of those lucky people for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Everything falls into their laps without effort: happiness, beauty, good fortune, allure. Betty Stash is not a Beloved–but her little sister, the delightful … little sister, the delightful Gloria, is. She’s the one with the golden curls and sunny disposition and captivating smile, the one whose best friend used to be Betty’s, the one whose husband should have been Betty’s. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Gloria inherits the family manse–a vast, gorgeous pile of ancient stone, imposing timbers, and lush gardens–that was never meant to be hers.
Losing what Betty considers her rightful inheritance is the final indignity. As she single-mindedly pursues her plan to see the estate returned to her in all its glory, her determined and increasingly unhinged behavior–aided by poisonous mushrooms, talking walls, and a phantom dog–escalates to the point of no return. The Beloveds will have you wondering if there’s a length to which an envious sister won’t go.
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This book had me at page 1. Is this Betty Stash obsessed or what? Sibling rivalry at it’s best. After their mom gives the house to the younger sister Gloria, the fireworks start. Clearly Betty is losing her reality on life and even gets extreme in trying to ruin peoples lives all around her. Yet to her she does nothing wrong. She gets psychotic in many parts of the book. My favorite is the harassment between her neighbors downstairs in her apartment complex. Betty needs a job, something to keep her mind off everything around her but I don’t think I would want to work around her. Betty wants everything that was not hers, including her sisters husband, their house, their life. If she doesn’t get her way she made your life miserable but acted innocent.
I loved this book till the end and then it abruptly ended, another novel perhaps?
Well anyway, I like the cast (mostly felt sorry for them), the plot has an eerie feel to it. I also like how the Author put her words together, great story writing. I would read more by this author.
Thank you Net Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Books for me to review.
There’s an expression that my grandmother used to say about people who thought a bit too much of themselves – ‘I’d like to buy them for what they’re worth and sell them for what they think they’re worth.’ That came to mind several times while reading The Beloveds. This story is told from the perspective of Betty Stash, one of the most unlikable characters I’ve come across in some time. Now, given that she’s the antagonist of this tale, that’s to be expected. Betty is unhinged at best with her obsession over her childhood home – a house that speaks to her no less. I could get behind the crazy obsession and even Betty’s frustration over her sister inheriting the house, but for a story that was supposed to be about sibling rivalry, I really didn’t see much of that here. Don’t get me wrong, Betty definitely doesn’t like her sister, but the thing is she doesn’t like anybody, including her own husband, so it’s more like a rivalry with everyone. She does have her sinister side, complete with plans to get what she wants. All of this could’ve made for a thrilling read, including when Betty’s plans backfire on her. Unfortunately, this one lacked that edge of your seat feeling that should come with a thriller. Instead, Betty comes across as whiny and pathetic most of the time, and that whining went on and on for the majority of the story. Her self-entitled, that should be mine attitude and the incessant poor pitiful me theme wore thin pretty quickly and made for a story that felt much too long. There are a handful of moments when the tension ramped up, but they were just too few and far between to make up for the tedium of the rest of the book. The author clearly has talent, and the premise was good. In fact, this could’ve made for an excellent short story, but as it stands, I found myself wanting to skim more often than not and it was much too easy to set it aside for later.
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
DNF: 25%
I gave this one two stars because I recognize that other people may like the story, but it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t finish it. I kept trying to read more but was wondering why.
I was drawn in by the cover and then the summary. I’m all for a well-done sibling rivalry. But I struggled to find the rivalry. It seemed to be more a story about how one sister hated the other. And I didn’t understand why. I recognize that more information and understand may have been found further in, but I couldn’t keep going.
I found Betty to be an intensely unlikable character. And she’s the narrator! I didn’t understand her hatred for Gloria and, while I’m happy to roll with an unreliable narrator, I need to be invested. Unfortunately for this one, the story didn’t capture me.
The Beloveds by author Maureen Lindley is more of a family drama with mystery. Elizabeth Stash, Betty seems to feel unloved due to her mothers’ preference for her younger sister. Gloria. She has felt that way since they were children. Betty harbors thoughts of wanting her sister to die. Betty brought her boyfriend Henry home and Gloria steals his eye and they are later married. When Betty’s mother dies, she leaves the home and gardens to Gloria and her husband.
Now, this is a travesty for Betty! Betty has always been a loner but loved the big old house she named Pipit, for the birds that used to flock there. Her heart and soul is wrapped up in the spirit of the house and she feels broken and angry when she learns she, the oldest, is not to be the caretaker and owner of her beloved home.
I won’t post spoilers for the whole story, but I will post that Betty is a selfish child who grows into a bitter woman. She has one goal, to own Pipit! Noone else matters and she has an arrogant disdain for other people. She is self-absorbed in a disturbing way. The personality of Betty is sad and unlikeable.
Betty rarely has friendly thoughts or friendly feelings for others. She only wants to be left along with the house, Pipit.
So, she starts to plot…how can she be rid of Gloria and Henry from the house?
The descriptions of the plants, flowers, and gardening is the best part of this book for me.
Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read and review this book.
I tried. I really did. The blurb intrigued me and I enjoy a “dark side of family” story as much as the next girl, but I just could NOT get into this one… There was just nothing to grab me. The family drama didn’t feel so much like drama as like whining sibling rivalry. The “sinister” elements alluded to in the description never quite materialized as such – again, it mostly felt like whining. Betty was certainly not a good or nice sister/wife/person; but she never quite made it into full-on evil mode either (at least not by the point that I gave up). She didn’t do much of anything. Mostly she just seemed to expend a tremendous amount of energy hating – people, situations, cooking, renovations, life… And after dozens and dozens of pages of that hatred – which never truly erupted but rather just simmered heavily – I just couldn’t keep reading.
My review copy was provided by NetGalley.