Title: Did I Say You Could Go by Melanie Gideon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Mystery, Suspense
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
A suspenseful, gripping novel about families and friendships torn apart at the seams by obsession, secrets, and betrayal with relentless twists and turns that hurtle forward to a shocking confrontation.
When Ruth, a wealthy divorcée, offers to host the Hillside Academy kindergarten meet-and-greet, she hopes this will be a fresh start for her and her introverted daughter, Marley. Finally, they’ll be accepted into a tribe. Marley will make friends and Ruth will be welcomed by the mothers. Instead, the parents are turned off by Ruth’s ostentatious wealth and before kindergarten even begins, Ruth and Marley are outcasts.
The last guest to arrive at the meet-and-greet is Gemma, a widow and a single mother to her daughter, Bee. Ruth sets her sights on the mother-daughter duo, and soon the two families are inseparable. Ruth takes Gemma and Bee on Aspen vacations, offers VIP passes to Cirque du Soleil, and pays for dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants. For Gemma, who lives paycheck to paycheck, Ruth’s largesse is seductive, but as the years go by, she can’t shake the feeling that she’s accruing an increasingly unpayable debt. When Ruth’s affair with a married Hillside dad is exposed, and she’s publicly shunned, Gemma uses it to sever ties with Ruth.
Six years later, when Gemma finds herself embroiled in a scandal of her own—Ruth comes to her defense. Their renewed friendship rehabilitates their reputations, but once again, Gemma starts to feel trapped as Ruth grows more and more obsessed with their relationship.
A relentless page-turner, Did I Say You Could Go is the story of friendships steeped in lies and duplicity. It’s about two families who, when pushed to extremes, cross the line with devastating results.
Review:
Did I Say You Could Go by Melanie Gideon is an attention grabbing domestic mystery.
Ruth Thorne is a divorced, wealthy mom to fifteen-year-old Marley. She is disciplined about her appearance and she browbeats poor Marley who struggles with her weight. Ruth is clingy and needy so she does whatever it takes to keep her stranglehold on her friendship with widow Gemma Howard. But how far will she go to make sure Gemma will not abandon her again?
Gemma is in danger of losing her business after a very public scandal. So she a gratefully renews her relationship with Ruth after her former friend publicly comes to her defense. Gemma is a hands-off mom who trusts Bee to make the right choices. Will this parenting style blow up in her face as Bee makes once bad decision after another?
Marley is extremely introverted and after their mom’s friendship imploded so did hers and Bee’s. She tentatively accepts Bee’s attempts to bring her into her circle of friends, but Marley is initially cautious. Things are going well between the teenagers, but will Ruth’s tight grip on her daughter ruin Marley’s opportunity for acceptance?
It does not take long for Gemma to remember why she gladly took the chance to end her friendship with Ruth. She is naïve and trusting and quickly feels beholden to Ruth. With her life finally back on track, how will Ruth react to Gemma’s promising new relationship?
Did I Say You Could Go is an engrossing mystery with a twisty-turny storyline. Ruth is obsessive, calculating and outright cruel so she is virtually impossible to like. Gemma is an appealing character whose precarious financial situation leaves her vulnerable to manipulation. Resuming their friendship is an easy decision but trouble is on the horizon for both the mothers and their daughters. With stunning plot twists, Melanie Gideon brings this mesmerizing domestic mystery to a jaw-dropping, unpredictable conclusion.
