Widow Waltz (Koslow)

The Widow Waltz
Sally Koslow, 2013
Penguin Group USA
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780670025640


Summary
Georgia Waltz has much of what most people only dream of—two healthy and bright daughters and a husband with whom she”s madly in love, even after decades of marriage; a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park; a Hamptons beach house; a driver; club memberships; fine art. It”s only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers that her husband—a lawyer who always provided well for his family—has left them exactly nothing. Their idyllic life together, it turns out, was built on lies.

As the family attorney attempts to trace the missing money and explain the mortgaged property, and worthless insurance policies, Georgia has to come to grips with her new reality. Not only must she learn how to manage her household finances with what little income she has left, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be. Between her efforts to protect his legacy for the sake of their daughters and coping with her critical brother and dementia–afflicted mother, Georgia is fighting to keep her spirits intact.

Meanwhile, her two daughters, now living at home, must also reevaluate their plans in the wake of their father's death—Nicola's globetrotting search for a career and Luey's education at Stanford are now untenable. With no trust funds to fall back on, both young women confront the challenges of adult responsibility even as they come of age and navigate complicated romantic relationships.

When Georgia's suspicions about Ben's secrets start to produce leads, through her own detective work she ultimately uncovers truths she would rather not have known. This sudden midlife shift forces Georgia to consider who she is and what she values. The results, including a tender new friendship with romantic potential, surprise everyone—most of all, her.

Told through the alternating perspectives of her female leads, Sally Koslow's fourth novel offers a droll but heartfelt look at how to summon resilience in a time of crisis and explores the challenges of redefining one's life in the face of devastating loss. The Widow Waltz is a warm, honest, and contemporary story that will appeal to readers of Elizabeth Berg, Anna Quindlen, and J. Courtney Sullivan. (From the publisher.)