The Essential Elizabeth Stone

In the heart-wrenching latest from Banash (The Rise and Fall of Ava Arcana), the daughter of a Martha Stewart–esque lifestyle guru learns that most of her mother’s life story is a lie. When Juliet Stone was a girl, her mother, Elizabeth, would reminisce about her idyllic childhood in tony Bar Harbor, Maine, where her own mother was renowned for the parties she hosted. After Elizabeth dies suddenly of cancer, Juliet is approached by Elizabeth’s publisher to write the definitive biography of her mother. While digging for material, Juliet discovers that Elizabeth built her brand on a lie. In fact, she was raised as Billie Abbot on the poor side of Bar Harbor, where she worked her way up from maid to chef for a wealthy family whose matriarch eventually guided her to success. Juliet’s life is further upended when she catches her husband of 15 years, an employee at her mother’s company, having sex with an intern. Banash steadily illuminates the contours of Elizabeth’s past by switching between Juliet’s research and chapters from a younger Elizabeth’s point of view, and she makes Juliet’s emotions palpable as she weathers one revelation after the next. Readers will race through this expertly plotted tale. (Sept.)