Sunday, July 1, 2018

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand


Title: The Rumor 
Author: Elin Hilderbrand 
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: June 16, 2015




Madeline King and Grace Pancik are best friends and the envy of Nantucket for their perfect marriages, their beautiful kids, their Sunday night double dates with their devoted husbands. But this summer, something's changed, and if there's anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it's a good rumor.


And rumor has it...

...that Madeline, a novelist, is battling writer's block, with a deadline looming, bills piling up, and blank pages driving her to desperation--and a desperately bad decision;

...that Grace, hard at work to transform her backyard into a garden paradise, has been collaborating a bit more closely than necessary with her ruggedly handsome landscape architect;

...that Grace's husband, successful island real estate developer "Fast Eddie" Pancik, has embarked on quite an unusual side project;

...that the storybook romance between Madeline's son, Brick, and Grace's daughter Allegra is on the rocks, heading for disaster.

As the gossip escalates, and they face the possible loss of the happy lives they've worked so hard to create, Grace and Madeline try mightily to set the record straight--but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it. 








"Every life contains a novel.” 

This is my first book by Elin Hilderbrand. I'm not sure if it was the right one to begin with, but when my flight got canceled and I suddenly had to rent a car and drive four hours, I knew I needed an audiobook to help me stay awake.

The Rumor did its job. I was entertained the whole way through. The drive was a breeze while I was picturing the beautiful Nantucket (which is on my list of places to vacation at). A small island where people love to gossip and where two couples are about to give fuel to the fire.

The residents of this island have nothing better to do than to entertain themselves by whispering about their neighbors and to create drama from nothing just like Madeline, Trent King, Grace and "Fast Eddie" Pancik will discover soon.

Madeline King is a writer suffering from writer's block. She needs to deliver a new book soon to her publishers before they come knocking on her door. Madeline has used the advance they gave her. She doesn't have enough money in the bank to pay them back. She makes the sudden decision to rent an apartment to isolate herself from her husband Trent and her son Brick and to concentrate on writing her next novel. Of course, this will trigger a rumor that she is having an affair.

Eddy Pancik is a real state agent. His nickname is Fast Eddy. Eddy came from nothing and now he's a big success or so people think. The real estate market is down and Eddy is in dire need of money to finish a project. His bills are accumulating. He needs to do something. Grace and his twin girls, Allegra and Hope, depend on him.  In a desperate move, Eddy makes the decision to start a lucrative side job except it is illegal and if caught, he could lose it all.

Grace is married to Eddy. She feels like Eddy doesn't see her anymore.  Her two teenage daughters don't want to spend time with her. Her passion is her garden and the man who's helping her build it. Slowly but surely, she is falling for Ben. He is everything she wants. But how far can she take it before there is no return?

I love small-town settings where everyone knows everyone. The downside is that everyone knows everyone. It's hard to hide an illicit business, a teenager's indiscretion, a heated affair or a separation. And even if everything is going well, people still love to talk. 

I was thoroughly entertained by The Rumor. There were so many wrong decisions taken by many characters and I didn't know how Elin Hilderbrand was going to wrap things up. I can say that in my opinion, she did it just perfectly.

I have The Identicals on my kindle. I think I'll read that one next. 

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

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