Chloe by Connie Briscoe{ Colored Pages Book Tour}

Blurb:

A mansion haunted by the ghost of a cool, charismatic first wife. A second bride from a small Southern town who may be in over her head. A brooding billionaire who grows icier the more his new wife questions him about the past.

In Connie Briscoe’s propulsive and entertaining novel, the elements of one of the most famous Gothic novels of all time is reimagined in surprising, yet still suspenseful, ways.

Angel is a private chef for the Harrison’s, one of the most powerful Black families on Martha’s Vineyard. Impossibly supercilious Jillian Harrison often spends the entire summer on the island, while her husband Irvin and their twenty-nine-year-old daughter Norma commute from Washington, DC, on weekends. They always join Jillian for the month of August, when the family throws a lavish garden party on the expansive lawn that is attended by nearly one hundred guests. This year’s guests include Everette Bruce, an influential Black billionaire, still in mourning for his first wife, Chloe, who committed suicide.

To the imperious Jillian’s surprise, Bruce ignores her and instead becomes enchanted with Angel. Eager to get away from the controlling Mrs. Harrison, Angel accepts Everett’s invitation to become the private chef at Riverwild, his massive mansion along the Potomac River. Her meals and company provide comfort Everett, and soon he and Angel begin a whirlwind romance that culminates in marriage.

Though Angel is confident and strong, over time, she begins to feel the enigmatic Chloe’s ghost. The house’s staff, the head housekeeper Ida—a menacingly rigid thorn in Angel’s side—and even Everett, cannot seem to let the dead woman go, nor explain why the wealthy, stunning woman would kill herself. The more questions Angel asks, the more melancholic Everett becomes, revealing a far less charming side of himself. Just how well does Angel know Everett? Did she marry in haste?

Review:

Since there are not very many stories set on Martha’s Vineyard that feature prominent Black characters, I jumped at the opportunity to read Chloe. There is nothing better than reading about rich people’s problems.

We follow the story through Angel’s perspective. She is a talented chef who is hired yearly by the Harrison’s. While Angel is sweet and competent, her employer, Jillian Harrison treats her as if she is less than capable of handling herself. Mr. Harrison and their daughter Norma are as close to decent as Angel gets while working in their household.

While Jillian is on a very important mission of setting her daughter up with the widowed Everette Bruce, things are go in a different direction for him once he sets his sight on Angel. While they try to remain discreet, word gets back to Jillian about their comings and goings. She of course reacts as any other well to do mother who is looking out for the future of her child. While all of this is going on, Norma displays zero interest in Everette.

As summer romances go, the situation between Angel and Everette is near perfect but the reality of their social differences looms above them. To everyone’s surprise, Everette asks Angel to marry him just before she leaves to head back home to her regular life. She says yes but then things start to change.

Although Everette is a much nicer person than Jillian, you see that he is not above using his status to get what he wants. Angel is like a fish out of water once they arrive at their beautiful estate that Everette purchased with his first wife, Chloe.

Chloe passed away by suicide or at least that is what the police decided after a quick investigation. Whenever Angel asks about Chloe, Everette takes on what seems to be a different personality. Is it grief showing through or is he hiding something.

This is a very short and to the point story. Soon Angel discovers that everything that glitters isn’t gold. Once she learns the truth about what has gone on at the Riverwild Estate, her new home, she is burdened with the choice of what she should do.

Does money and wealth give one a free pass to do whatever to whomever, or should there always be consequences? How far is one willing to go to protect their assets?

Check out Chloe to find out.

Rating:

3 stars

Availability:

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on March 18th

Thank you, Colored Pages Book Tour and Amistad Books for having me along on this tour.