This novel has the over-the-top absurd privilege of Crazy Rich Asians but without the humor. This book was ALMOST spot on in many ways, but just didn’t hit the mark for me. I needed a sympathetic character or satisfaction from a plot resolved that just didn’t happen.

There is a particular kind of crazy to want to be in both the politics of government as well as the politics of inclusive wealth cliques. They are vicious and relentless, regardless of how well dressed.
Shifting landscapes, shifting loyalties, shifting recollection of facts leads to all sorts of misery.
This is fun, if painful to see some of the worst of human behavior that is not all that rare.

This is such a good book and was like a trip to old home week for me. It gave me a chance to revisit so many familiar places from long ago. Times have changed in many ways but it was apparent from the reading of this book that Washington and it’s social structure remains fundamentally the same. The intertwined groups of media, military, and political are as unchanged as they were many years ago when you might pass David Brinkley walking through People’s drugstore at Friendship Heights. The author has captured the place from her position as insider so well with her perspective of the fancy schools and pressures on the privileged and sometimes hapless offspring of the moneyed and powerful. I now am looking forward to reading the author’s memoir!

I was given the opportunity to read and review this book through Net Galley and I am so glad! The story sucked you in and you'll find yourself thinking about the characters long after you finish the book. Can't wait to read more by this author!!

I really enjoyed this multi-family story with an overlay of Washington D.C. political drama. Many of the elements feel especially timely now. There are a lot of different characters involved, but I bookmarked the guide at the beginning explaining who’s who, and was able to refer back to it to refresh my memory. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm torn in how I feel about this book. In one hand, it's a poignant novel exposing the lives of politicos in DC and their salacious exploits. On the other hand, it doesn't feel as if it does enough to serve as a cautionary tale. While white privilege is explored, not much of anything comes out of it and no comeuppance is dealt. At the end I'm left with so many loose threads in the storyline that I'm unsure if this was intentional by the author. However this is a compulsively readable novel that would be perfect for fans of Scandal, just beware of hanging chads.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

So this book just hit different especially now. It talks about the Washington elite and the hold they have over power and decisions. And honestly with all that is happening it is like watching this book come to life every day.

I couldn't get interested in the beginning. I liked the cover. There was a lot going on. I couldn't get interested in the descriptions and characters.

I started out loving this book until the author hurried the story under endless names and characters. The author clearly has a purpose of uncovering the extreme white privilege that surround those who live in Washington DC. The inspiration was the story of a home invasion in posh, posh DC which became unspeakably brutal, killing the inhabitants, and the reaction of the people around it.

I am aware that I have a problem with books that are crowded, too many names, too many extraneous characters. McDowell brought this to new heights. One character, Elizabeth, called Bunny, but Lizbet by another friend. In one scene she brought in a virtual wagonload of students at their expensive private school. My head was spinning, trying to figure out who was who and who belonged to which family (many of them described in the book).

So, what starts as a great idea winds up muddled in a morass of characters. Sorry it was too much for me to untangle.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I absolutely love this author’s first attempt and I love this one as well. A book that gets inside the head of the very rich and explores the depths. I highly recommend it