“When the beautiful and successful Beth Lindstrom is sent away to do time at Alderson Women’s Prison, her sister-in-law steps in to make sure her brother and nieces are protected. It is a story of money, family, who you can trust, and the extremes to which one will go for blood. I couldn’t put it down.”
Listen to excerpts from the book as read by the author:
MEET HANNAH, THE LAW LIBRARIAN
They’re all drunk as usual. It’s the final night of the annual Lindstrom family reunion, the official end of summer, and the last time we’ll be together for a while. Everyone’s indulged in a few too many Moscow mules and Dirty martinis. The kitchen stool behind the Carrara marble counter provides a mezzanine view of the assembled cast.
Sam’s the one dozing on the couch, his handsome head tilted back, his mouth slightly agape. There’s a tiny trickle of drool snaking toward his perfect chin. Gazing at my younger brother takes me back forty years to when he was a baby sleeping peacefully in his crib: the gentle curve of his eyelids, his long lashes fluttering in rhythm with his dreams, his warm moist breath smelling sweetly of mother’s milk. Like me, Sam isn’t a Lindstrom by blood but at least he’s one by marriage.
My sister-in-law Beth is the drunkest of them all, but she has reason to be. This is Beth’s last taste of freedom before the dreaded road trip—the road trip no one dares talk about to her flawless face.
MEET BETH, THE PHARMA EXECUTIVE
I stare at the van’s passenger-side mirror as we leave the parking lot and cross over to the other side—the federally restricted side—of the one-armed gate.
“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear,” I read in the etched glass surface. Hannah stands in the same spot that I left her, waving pathetically, while Sam climbs back into the car, his face impassive.
It’s gonna be a long trip home.
I check out my new surroundings. To the naked eye, Alderson doesn’t look too bad. Colonial-style brick buildings, neatly trimmed lawns, leafy trees. I half expect to see someone driving a golf cart or giving a campus walking tour.
Up the grassy hill, I spot a line of khaki-clad women exiting a building and walking down a path. Headed to dinner, maybe? They appear to be on their own, no guard in sight. Except for my van driver, I don’t see any guards at all. No razor wire either. The only thing separating me from freedom is that lousy one-armed gate.
MEET LISE, THE WHISTLEBLOWER
Q: Tell us about the first time you met Ms. Lindstrom.
A: I was sixteen, just arrived in America from Sweden.
Q: Did Ms. Lindstrom pick you up at the airport?
A: No, she sent Jorge. Jorge is Beth’s driver.
Q: Did you find it strange that you traveled all the way from Sweden to be her au pair but she wasn’t there to welcome you?
A: Well, now that you mention it, I guess it was a little strange. But, you know, I’d never been an au pair before. Anyway, Beth is just different.
Q: What do you mean: Beth is just different?
A: I mean Beth’s not like most women. She doesn’t cook, clean, that kind of stuff. She’s all fancy, you know? She grew up in the Swedish Embassy, with her own cook and driver.
Q: So you’re telling us that Ms. Lindstrom had a privileged life. Is that you mean by being different?
A: You don’t know Beth, do you? My God, she’s different in so many ways.