Shadow Garden

June 1, 2020
Donna Pryor, the narcissistic protagonist of this intimate, often lyrical thriller from Burt (The Good Daughter), is recuperating from a fall at Florida’s luxurious Shadow Garden. Memory flashes tell her that something horrible has happened. Her only certainty is that neither husband Edward, a brilliant surgeon indifferent to the world around him, nor mentally unstable daughter Penelope, who at age 29 still lives at home in the family mansion, has called or visited. That Donna’s apartment contains many of her personal belongings suggests to her that Edward is trying to separate her from Penelope and is going to divorce her. Eventually, decides to leave Shadow Garden and confront Edward and Penelope. The tragedy that led to Donna’s confinement slowly and devastatingly unfolds. Burt presents these severely flawed people in such a way as to win reader empathy. Fans of domestic suspense will be satisfied. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Agency. (July)This review has been updated to remove a spoiler.

June 1, 2020
After an accident, a rich doctor's wife is recuperating at a condo set on the grounds of a lovely estate in Texas, but troubles arise when she starts asking questions. As the novel opens, Donna Pryor is trying to settle in at Shadow Garden, where her physician husband, Edward, has settled her along with a housekeeper. "The truth is our marriage is over and Shadow Garden is my consolation prize," she thinks. But why is the housekeeper sometimes distant, and why won't Donna's adult daughter, Penelope, return her calls? The story goes back in time, told from the viewpoints of Donna, Edward, and Penelope. Along with being a portrait of a marriage, it's the story of parents who can't or won't admit to problems with their only child. Why do children get hurt around Penelope? When she stabbed a classmate in the arm with a fork in the school lunchroom, Donna told Edward, "She was in a mood, all those kids and the noise." Aren't they being good parents by explaining, excusing, and covering up her actions? But when something happens that should never be covered up, events spin out of control. Nothing is as popular these days as an unreliable narrator, but here the ambiguity is overdone. The author creates tension, but as actions are told, retold, refuted, and analyzed, the novel becomes one long waiting game. Readers who enjoy uncertainty may find this entertaining, but others will find the structure unsatisfying.

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