The Recovery of Rose Gold is a chilling tale of obsession, reconciliation and revenge – an amazing debut from author Stephanie Wrobel.
Rose Gold Watts has been sick for eighteen years. The feeding tube, the surgeries, the wheelchair…
It all started when she was just a young child, vomiting, medication, hair loss and so much more. The neighbourhood viewed single mother Patty as a saint for taking care of such a sick child. They couldn’t go out much but well-wishers came to them with food, offers of help, support and love.
That was all before Rose Gold discovered that she wasn’t actually sick, that her mother had been poisoning her food, lying to doctors and deceiving everyone – especially her.
After five years in prison, Patty Watts has done her time and been released. She is ready to start again and, to the bewilderment of the residents of Deadwick, is moving back in with Rose Gold and the son she gave birth to while Patty was in jail.
Patty is deluded that mother and daughter will be reconciled and that the town of Deadwick will embrace her once again but she has lied too many times. Rose Gold isn’t the young naïve girl she was when Patty went inside.
At the outset we know why Patty went to prison but we don’t know what Rose Gold has been up to for the last five years, the book takes us back through this very interesting and disturbing time but I won’t reveal anything more about that, you’ll have to read it to find out.
Told from the perspective of mother and daughter, there is an unsettling feeling right from the first page. You never quite know what either of these women are thinking or what their next move will be, but you always know that nothing is ever going to end in the way you expected.
After a bit of research, it appears that the plot is loosely based on the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard who suffered similar abuse at the hands of her mother in the USA. I wasn’t aware of this story and I don’t think that the author is attempting a fictional retelling. In any case it is a compelling and gripping read.
Described as Sharp Objects meets My Lovely Wife and perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, it is claustrophobic and incredibly dark in the small world of Patty and Rose Gold. This is a story will get under your skin and stay with you long after you have read the last page. The big question is, whose side will you take?
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