All through her childhood Rose Gold Watts was seriously ill - at least, that is what her mother led her to believe. Chronic nausea and vomiting, strange symptoms that couldn't be pinned down to any one illness, and an inability to keep her weight up stunted Rose Gold's growth and left her with a terrible smile and a certain amount of ridicule in her hometown of Deadwick. The most shocking part of the case is that her mother, Patty, was charged with aggravated child abuse for deliberately starving and mistreating Rose Gold - which earned her a five year jail term. When she is due to be released she has nowhere to turn but Rose Gold, and more than a few people are surprised when Rose Gold agrees to let Patty move in with her and her infant son Adam.
The relationship between Rose Gold and Patty is strained from the start - Patty blames Rose Gold for what happened, especially after Rose Gold testified against her at the trial. Patty is determined to pick up her life where she left off, return to being the mother Rose Gold obviously, desperately needs - but Rose Gold keeps her at a distance, and seems reluctant to leave Adam with her. The town of Deadwick isn't exactly welcoming either, all her old friends and neighbours have turned against 'Poisonous Patty' after what she did to Rose Gold, and no one seems to be willing to listen to her side of the story. Patty knows that Rose Gold is up to something and thinks that she knows exactly what Rose Gold is capable of doing, she raised her after all, but a lot can change in five years.
Darling Rose Gold was a surprising find in the new books list for my local public library. The blurb for the book suggested it was a psychological thriller (which it is) which appealed to me as well written psychological thrillers are amazingly addictive to read - and this was a very well written psychological thriller indeed. I have read about Munchausen syndrome by proxy before in the memoir Sickened: The memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood by Julie Gregory, and I have seen and read other things as well so had some idea of what to expect.
The main characters of Patty and Rose Gold bring the realities of Munchausen syndrome by proxy to life - Rose Gold ignorant of what was happening to her throughout her childhood, and Patty determined to see herself as the victim of a system that fails to recognise everything she did for Rose Gold. Told in a mix of current time with flashback chapters that slowly bring you up to date, this is a story that will drag you into the story and keep you there from start to finish. It is challenging to really sell the story without dropping too many potential spoilers, but the relationship between Patty and Rose Gold is what drives this story forward - not just the relationship they have, but also the relationship Patty thinks they have. This is a very well written book that is both engrossing and thoroughly believable. Highly recommended.
If you like this book then try:
- Sticks and stones by Katherine Firkin
- The wife by Alafair Burke
- Safe by S.K. Barnett
- When darkness calls by Mark Griffin
- The puppet show by M.W. Craven
- The liar's daughter by Claire Allan
- The better sister by Alafair Burke
- Gathering dark by Candice Fox
- Spare me the truth by C.J. Carver
- The half sister by Sandie Jones
- Then she was gone by Lisa Jewell
- Good me bad me by Ali Land
- Look what you made me do by Elaine Murphy
Reviewed by Brilla
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