A Palm Beach Wife


Book Description

For readers of Elin Hilderbrand, Susannah Marren's A Palm Beach Wife is a delicious and irresistible commercial novel set among the high society galas and gossip of Palm Beach. Amid the glamour and galas and parties of Palm Beach, Faith knows that image often counts as much if not more than reality. She glides effortlessly among the highest of the high society so perfectly that you would never suspect she wasn’t born to this. But it wasn’t always so; though she hides it well, Faith has fought hard for the wonderful life she has, for her loving, successful husband, for her daughter’s future. In this town of secrets and gossip and rumors, Faith has kept a desperate grip on everything she holds so dear, built from so little. And yet even she—the only one who knows just how far she has to fall—never suspects from which direction, or how many directions all at once, betrayal will come.




A Palm Beach Scandal


Book Description

"An engrossing novel...a perfect example of doing the wrong thing for all of the right reasons." - The Authors Show From Susannah Marren, author of A Palm Beach Wife, comes her next book set in the exclusive, glamorous world of Palm Beach. Marren follows two sisters as one offers the ultimate selfless act to the other, proving the very meaning of family, in this novel of artifice and intrigue. Veronica and Simon Cutler and their dazzling adult daughters, Elodie and Aubrey, strike an enviable pose, the ultimate Palm Beach family. In a town where social aspirations, wealth and charm prevail, they are transcendent. While the sisters are polar opposites, they are fiercely loyal to each other. When Elodie receives the shocking news that she is no longer able to conceive a baby, she turns to Aubrey. Aubrey, a free spirit, isn’t interested in marriage or children, yet when her sister asks her to carry her child, she can’t say no, despite her mother’s warnings. And then one stupefying secret, meant to be buried forever, is unearthed and no one in the Cutler clan is able to turn back. As the family is shaken to their core, Aubrey and Elodie must realize their places in the world and the lives they want to lead. In the midst of the unforgiving opulence of Palm Beach, A Palm Beach Scandal is a story for our times, a captivating tale of discovery, sisterhood, and love for others where you least expect it. "A great novel which explores some great themes: family, loyalty, what we will do for each other and what is right to ask of each other." - The Girly Book Club




A Palm Beach Wife


Book Description

For readers of Elin Hilderbrand, Susannah Marren's A Palm Beach Wife is a delicious and irresistible commercial novel set among the high society galas and gossip of Palm Beach. Amid the glamour and galas and parties of Palm Beach, Faith knows that image often counts as much if not more than reality. She glides effortlessly among the highest of the high society so perfectly that you would never suspect she wasn’t born to this. But it wasn’t always so; though she hides it well, Faith has fought hard for the wonderful life she has, for her loving, successful husband, for her daughter’s future. In this town of secrets and gossip and rumors, Faith has kept a desperate grip on everything she holds so dear, built from so little. And yet even she—the only one who knows just how far she has to fall—never suspects from which direction, or how many directions all at once, betrayal will come.




Madness Under the Royal Palms


Book Description

The New York Times bestselling history of the glamour and debauchery of the ultra-wealthy Palm Beach community--from The Breakers to Trump's Mar-a-Lago. For more than a hundred years, Palm Beach has been an exclusive and exotic universe of wealth and privilege in America. And until Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme devastated its eternally sunny world, the reality of this affluent enclave has rarely been exposed to outsiders. Now, in Madness Under the Royal Palms, resident insider Laurence Leamer reveals the secrets and scandals of this South Florida island via a cast of characters that includes social climbers, trophy wives, sugar daddies, glamorous widows and their "escorts," sociopathic multimillionaires, and elegant society queens. Dive into the unbelievable true story of love, lust, money, and murder in a uniquely American paradise.




Palm Beach People


Book Description

Palm Beach People is a dazzling portraitand insider's view of a fabled andexclusive resort community and itshigh-profile denizens, as seen throughthe lens of master photographer HarryBenson and the words of societycolumnist Hilary Geary Ross. Ross and Benson's critically acclaimedfirst project, the coffee-table book, NewYork, New York, provided readers with aninside look at the homes and portraitsof New York City's movers and shakers.In this beautiful, deluxe-size follow-up,Palm Beach People, Benson and Ross givethe reader a grand tour of America'smost glamorous watering hole. You'llmeet everyone from captains of industry,politicians, movie stars, artists, and bestsellingauthors to celebrated athletesand society doyenne, all photographedin their exquisite private oases, oftenarchitectural masterpieces, or in other oftheir favorite Palm Beach settings. Palm Beach People captures theessence of America's most exclusiveenclave, from the early 70s to today,in hundreds of color and black-and-whitephotographs complimented byrevealing captions. Subjects includethe Duke and Duchess of Marlborough;former Canadian Prime Minister BrianMulroney and his wife Mila; Marie-JoseeKravis; members of the Fanjul family;Judy and Alfred Taubman; GeorginaBloomberg; Pauline Pitt; Mrs. HenryFord; Leonard Lauder; Tommy LeeJones; David Koch; Arriana and DixonBoardman; Tatiana Smith; Mrs. WinstonChurchill; Brooke Shields; Anne Slater;and many, many more.




Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America's Xanadu


Book Description

From the first Gilded Age to the second, a “charming, zippy history . . . a rollicking, informative lesson in real estate, American history, and current events.” —Town & Country Looking at the island of Palm Beach today, with its unmatched mansions, tony shops, and pristine beaches, one is hard pressed to visualize the dense tangle of Palmetto brush and mangroves that it was when visionary entrepreneur and railroad tycoon Henry Flagler first arrived there in April 1893. Trusting his remarkable instincts, he built the Royal Poinciana Hotel within a year, and two years later, what was to become the legendary Breakers—instantly establishing the island as the preferred destination for those who could afford it. Over the next 125 years, Palm Beach has become synonymous with exclusivity—especially its most famous residence, Mar-a-Lago. As Les Standiford relates, the high walls of Mar-a-Lago and other manses like it were seemingly designed to contain scandal within as much as keep intruders out. This book tells the history of this fabled landscape intertwined with the colorful lives of its famous and infamous protagonists, from Flagler’s two wives to architect Addison Mizner, who created Palm Beach’s “Mediterranean look” to heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband E. F. Hutton, the original residents of Mar-a-Lago. With authoritative detail, Standiford recounts how Marjorie ruled Palm Beach society until her death in 1973, and how the fate of her mansion threatened to tear apart the very fabric of the town until Donald Trump acquired it in 1985. “Edifying, energetic, and captivating.” —Florida Weekly




The Charmed Wife


Book Description

"Genre-bending and darkly comic, Grushin's fourth novel is a weird and wonderful triumph." –O, the Oprah Magazine Cinderella wants her Prince Charming dead in this sophisticated fairy-tale for the twenty-first century. Cinderella married the man of her dreams--the perfect ending she deserved after diligently following all the fairy-tale rules. Yet now, thirteen and a half years later, things have gone badly wrong and her life is far from perfect. One night, fed up and exhausted, she sneaks out of the palace to get help from the Witch who, for a price, offers love potions to disgruntled housewives. But as the old hag flings the last ingredients into the cauldron, Cinderella doesn't ask for a love spell to win back her Prince Charming. Instead, she wants him dead. Endlessly surprising, wildly inventive, and decidedly modern, The Charmed Wife weaves together time and place, fantasy and reality, to conjure a world unlike any other. Nothing in it is quite what it seems--the twists and turns of its magical, dark, and swiftly shifting paths take us deep into the heart of what makes us unique, of romance and marriage, and of the very nature of storytelling.




Weezie a Palm Beach Story


Book Description

Weezie A Palm Beach Story - is a book that will make you laugh and make you cry but you will never want to put it down. The darker aspects of life that are inflicted upon Weezie, her father and her son by her evil step mother are truly heart wrenching and frustrating. The suffering inflicted upon Weezie's father by the woman who should have been one person he could trust was horrific. If, at the time of his death Weezie had known about the crime of Elder Abuse this would have been handled differently. But badly advised by her attorney's no action was taken. Fraud, lies and an undisputed charge of bigamy are the sins of the step mother. But this book will not get you down. There are wonderful upbeat and laugh out loud funny stories as it covers most of Weezie's unusual life. Current reviews on Amazon.com ***** A Sharp Story of an Even Sharper Lady Louise has written an extraordinary story of an exhilarating life, but at times also tragic. One would have a heart as hard as stone not to be saddened and disheartened by the story of losing her relationship with her father. All in all a fast read with plenty of highs and lows to keep your interest. ***** Easy, breezy "Weezie" An easy and enjoyable read, this book manages to convey the author's clear sense of fun and to poke fun at social-climbing while still making plain her palpable hurt and upset over the heartbreaking way the last few years of her father's life played out. It would be hard to make up a literary villain as nasty as the vain, selfish stepmother portrayed here, and at times her spiteful antics make the reader want to scream, but through it all Ms Ford keeps her good humor intact and her boundless energy and resilience sparkle on every page. ***** What a page-turner! You will not be able to tear yourself away once you start this book, so set aside an afternoon to peer into the highs and lows of being Weezie. She's a heroine, and keeps going, when many of us would have thrown up our hands in despair. She writes with an easy, flowing style that leaves you wanting more. Weezie has already triumphed in the writing and publishing of this book. I look forward to the sequel and to learning what Weezie has in store for us in the next chapter of her life. ***** RIVETING! This story is so incredible, that I actually "called in sick" from work the day after I got it, just so I could finish it! I hope that Weezie writes another book so we all learn the truth about this evil step-mother. Highly recommend! ***** Brillant on top of fabulous I was enthralled! I especially loved all the anecdotes about PALM BEACH LOCALS!! Laugh out loud funny! Buy it, you won't be able to put it down! ***** I love a good memoir....this is an amazing life story I could not put this book down. It is written with honesty and humor amid betrayal and disappointment. I wish I had known Weezie's mother because she created a very resilient, intelligent and emotionally strong woman in the mere 15 years they had together. I hope that we will hear the end of this story. I want the wicked step mother to get what she deserves. ***** Heartbreaking and Heartwarming I found myself not wanting to turn the page to find out the next horrible thing that happened to Weezie, but the intrigue got the best of me. At one point, it seemed as though there was one or more absolutely shocking difficulty happening on every page! The step-monster is truly evil it is impossible to believe the extent she went to to make Weezie's life miserable. To know that Weezie's Dad was so poorly cared for in the end of his life was truly heartbreaking. The book makes you yearn for justice for Weezie, but you also learn that she is a true survivor and will be fine no matter what happens. I wish her the best.




In Need of a Good Wife


Book Description

Richly detailed, vivid, and unforgettable, this is an extraordinary novel about three women challenging the American West—and unpredictable fate—for a future only the most daring can secure… For Clara Bixby, brokering mail-order brides is a golden business opportunity—and a desperately needed chance to start again. If she can help New York women find husbands in a far-off Nebraska town, she can build an independent new life away from her own loss and grief. Clara’s ambitions are shared by two other women, who are also willing to take any risk. Quiet immigrant Elsa hopes to escape her life of servitude and at last shape her own destiny. And Rowena, the willful, impoverished heiress, jumps at the chance to marry a humble stranger and repay a heartbreaking debt. All three struggle to find their true place in the world, leaving behind who they were in order to lay claim to the person they want to be. Along the way, each must face unexpected obstacles and dangerous choices, but they also help to forge a nation unlike any that came before.




Squeeze Me


Book Description

“If you could use some wild escapism right now, Hiaasen is your guy.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times From the author of Skinny Dip and Razor Girl, a hilarious, New York Times best-selling novel of social and political intrigues, set against the glittering backdrop of Florida’s gold coast. It's the height of the Palm Beach charity ball season: for every disease or cause, there's a reason for the local luminaries to eat (minimally), drink (maximally), and be seen. But when a prominent high-society dowager suddenly vanishes during a swank gala, and is later found dead in a concrete grave, panic and chaos erupt. Kiki Pew was notable not just for her wealth and her jewels--she was an ardent fan of the Winter White House resident just down the road, and a founding member of the POTUSSIES, a group of women dedicated to supporting their President. Never one to miss an opportunity to play to his base, the President immediately declares that Kiki was the victim of rampaging immigrant hordes. This, it turns out, is far from the truth. The truth might just lie in the middle of the highway, where a bizarre discovery brings the First Lady's motorcade to a grinding halt (followed by some grinding between the First Lady and a love-struck Secret Service agent). Enter Angie Armstrong, wildlife wrangler extraordinaire, who arrives at her own conclusions after she is summoned to the posh island to deal with a mysterious and impolite influx of huge, hungry pythons . . . Carl Hiaasen can brighten even the darkest of days and Squeeze Me is pure, unadulterated Hiaasen. Irreverent, ingenious, and highly entertaining, Squeeze Me perfectly captures the absurdity of our times.