Silver Girl: A Novel [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Meredith Martin Delinn's world is crashing around her. She has been living the "high life" since her children were small. Her husband, Freddy, was one of those wonderful guys on Wall Street that got caught by the SEC (think Bernie Madoff) making off with his clients money and wonderful guy that he was, he dragged his wife and family down with him.

Freddy is now sitting in prison while Meredith and their son Leo are under investigation and filled with questions. Their son Carver never got into the family business so he is not facing the heat, but Leo has moved in with him and they can have no contact with their mother.

Meredith has lost everything except for some money she had of her own before she was married, but she has no home, no friends, can't talk to or see her sons, no social standing at all. She contacts her friend since childhood, Constance Flute. Their friendship fizzled out when they took all the money they had invested with Freddy out a couple of years ago. Connie's husband, Wolf, was dying and he just didn't think Freddy's numbers added up and thought he was doing something shady. But Meredith stood by her man and blamed Wolf's cancer for his poor judgement.

Connie is headed to Nantucket for the summer to try to heal from the devastating loss of not only her husband, but her daughter who is blaming her for not making her dad fight harder against the cancer that had returned. He chose his work over the treatments. He was an architect and he felt the work he was committed to needed to be completed and would be his legacy. Connie has called and left a voice mail every Sunday hoping that just once her daughter will pick up the phone or call her back.

Connie decides to take Meredith with her to Nantucket so they may also heal their friendship, but once the people of the island find out that Meredith is there, the friends become plagued with old and new troubles, adding even more stress in their lives at a place that was supposed to be healing, relaxing and full of happy memories. Can their friendship be restored? What kind of lives will they after when the summer ends?

This is the quintessential summer beach read. It takes on the power of friendship, love, loss, forgiveness, trust, happiness, prosperity, misery, and bliss, along with an element of suspense. It is also very current due to the scandal that happened in New York with Bernie Madoff recently, like I said above, but it shows the other side, that maybe some of the spouses of the Wall Street Execs really could be oblivious to what was really happening. When they are bringing home that much money it is kind of taken for granted and the how and why is not always questioned. Unfortunately most of us are not in that position so I didn't trust Meredith for a good part of this story, which made it more of a mystery for me as the clues were uncovered and linked together.

I also loved the special ways history was remembered and tied to some very beautiful music. It made the story so much more real as they were songs I loved from my past. Just added a wonderful element that set the back stories and much more.

I had the privilege to read an review Hilderbrand's The Island last summer and declared it my Best General Fiction Read of 2010. Elin Hilderbrand has become one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to read her entire back list and anything she writes in the future.

The tagline of this blog is "Escape With A Good Book". This is the perfect "escape" book!! I did over the weekend and am so glad I did. Get yours today, fix a nice pitcher of lemonade, splash on a little sunscreen and hit the beach, deck chair, or porch swing and sit back and enjoy this wonderful story.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reagan Arthur Books, Little Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"Sail on Silver Girl. Sail on by. Your time has come to shine. All your dreams are on their way." Page 341

Meredith Delinn certainly didn't feel like any dreams were coming true after her husband was arrested for stealing millions from investors.

Being the wife of an investment thief definitely was not pleasant. Freddy had cheated investors out of millions, was finally caught, and made his family's life miserable. He wouldn't talk to authorities about anything and wouldn't tell them that his wife and sons had nothing to do with his swindling of investors out of their money. Meredith and her two sons were also under investigation.

So.....as Freddy was hauled off to jail for 150 years, Meredith left town with her best friend Connie. They were staying at Connie's beach house in Nantucket....beautiful Nantucket where Meredith had to remain incognito since many investors lived there.

Despite her disguise, someone recognized Meredith and small assaults on Connie's property started occurring. They were blaming Meredith for Freddy's thievery.

SILVER GIRL went from past to present describing the story behind each character and how they became the person they were today. Many themes presented themselves.....love, health issues, social issues, family and friendship connections, and most evident.....GREED, BETRAYAL, and DECEIT. All three were ruining many lives including Meredith's.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and became involved with the characters. The characters were made of a great circle of friends tangled in situations since high school. As you read the book, you will start to ask yourself: Do I really know the people I have in my life relationships? Well.....hopefully we do, but the book definitely will make you question yourself.

The book title plays a major role in solving the mystery that was also woven into the book.

I am giving Silver Girl an outstanding 5/5....Ms. Hilderbrand kept my interest from the first to the very last page.

"Silver Girl" is a good book to take on vacation; it's long enough that you won't finish it too quickly but an easy read and one that while inspired by current events, is also focused on relationships and emotions. It tugs at the heartstrings but Hilderbrand also shows us the painful and very real aftermath of treachery, betrayal, and loss, regardless of their causes.

Meredith has been cut off by friends and acquaintances, she's alone, emotionally raw, and devastated by what her husband has done. She's vilified, almost broke, and afraid to be seen in public. She vacillates between wondering if there was a part of her that knew what he was doing and being convinced that she was clueless. Being clueless is not much of an improvement but Hilderbrand deftly portrays the relationship between Meredith and Freddy. It's a fact that there are many couplings and marriages where one partner is so left out of the other's work and parts of their emotional life. Hilderbrand also deftly portrays Meredith's utter abandonment and her feelings of loss at the relationships that she thought she had.

The story happens over the course of the summer and we see Meredith struggle, adjust and grow; we see her and Connie rebuild their friendship, and we see the parallels in their grief and loss. It was a little slow at times and Hilderbrand definitely aims to tug on your emotions but it's an interesting read and one that at times is raw and painful. Overall, it's an enjoyable story and perfect for the beach or pool.

This review originally appeared at my blog [...]

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