The Anger Meridian
A Novel
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A young widow must face the truth about her family—and herself: “At once a suspenseful mystery and a superlatively gripping story of self-discovery.” —Shelf Awareness
When Merryn Huntley is told by Dallas police that her wealthy husband has been killed in a car accident, along with a local waitress, her first instinct is to flee in order to protect her nine-year-old daughter. And the only place that feels safe enough is her mother’s beautiful, isolated home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Merryn’s mother used to tell her: When you tell a lie, make sure you keep it as close to the truth as possible, because it will be easier to remember. Now, from the moment Merryn arrives, she’s forced into twisting the truth—about how much she knew of her husband’s shady business affairs; about her own secret lovers; and most importantly, about how she is beginning to doubt the one person who’s always been the greatest influence in her life: her mother.
When two FBI agents show up and ask Merryn questions, it only intensifies her compulsion to lie. But as her perfect life begins to crumble, she must decide whether she can face the most painful reality of all—that she has been lying to herself her entire life.
“A compulsively readable novel . . . With engaging characters, a compelling story, and a seductive sense of place, this is a literary treat.” —Booklist
“This fascinating novel bases its mystery not so much on unfolding events, although these are well paced, but instead on how a person can live a life parallel to the truth, based on an ever-shifting set of lies and misrepresentations. There’s real danger is remaking the truth to avoid conflict, and that is never more apparent than in this well crafted book.” —Reviewing the Evidence
“A seething portrait of a narcissistic mother . . . Jones keeps the action churning . . . but perhaps the novel’s greatest feat is Bibi, an all-too-real toxic monster.” —Publishers Weekly
“An impossible-to-put-down book.” —Ann Hood
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jones creates a seething portrait of a narcissistic mother in this story of an adult daughter's attempt to reconcile the appearance of her prosperous and successful family with the harsh reality of a life built on a series of lies. Merryn Huntley (the adult daughter) is awoken by police officers to find that her husband, Beau, a heavy drinker prone to rage, has died in a car accident, along with a waitress from a local restaurant. Her first thought is relief: "It's over." But Merryn quickly discovers that her financial circumstances in Dallas are not what they seem, and with gossip and creditors swirling, she stashes her engagement ring and her Rolex in her young daughter Tenny's teddy bear; the two of them go to stay with her mother, Bibi, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Bibi is a doyenne of the expat community, with fingers heavy with silver and turquoise rings, and a large red house perched on a cliff in the wealthy Balcones neighborhood. She greets Merryn with her typical brand of undermining: "You've never been able to handle anything in your entire life without my help. What would happen to you, Merryn, if I weren't here to take care of you?" With an appealing cast of locals (a kind widower who owns a school, a handsome American doctor slumming it with a small children's clinic, and a former priest-cum-yoga instructor and healer), Merryn sets about getting her life on track. Jones keeps the action churning as the family drama veers into romance and spiritual journey, but perhaps the novel's greatest feat is Bibi, an all-too-real toxic monster of a mother.
