The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham: Review
The gatecrasher, written by Madeleine Wickham
Everyone has their own way of making their fortune. This book, The gatecrasher written by Madeleine Wickham, captures Fleur Daxenys way of making her fortune by being a con artist of the highest order. She has figured out exactly how to meet her willing victims. With the help of the times announcements page she gatecrashes the funerals and memorial services of rich widowers. She dresses up in black suits and charms her way into the grieving men`s wallets and onto their platinum credit cards.
Under the pen name "Sophie Kinsella," Madeleine Wickham has published the highly successful Shopaholic series of books which is being filmed under the name "a confession of a shopoholic". Now her publisher is releasing, for the first time in the U.S., several chick-lit novels written under Wickham's real name. She was born in London and worked as a financial journalist when she published her first novel.
This book focuses on Fleur, a late thirty something, who meets men, moves in, and then cashes out a small nest egg before moving onto the next hapless soul. She finds these men mainly at funerals – for their beloved wives. Over the top yes, but it seems to work and provide a bit of comedy in this book. Everything is working along with her plans until Fleur crashes the funeral of Richard, a grieving widow who starts to realize he never really knew his deceased wife nor the rest of his family. Fleur begins to provide the support Richard needs as well as the support his family needs and then trouble begins. Fleur starts to wonder if she should hang up her funeral crashing ways for finding true love with one person especially when her daughter Zara shows up and fits in so well with Richard’s family. The internal fight Fleur experiences leads to a few twists and honestly, I didn’t know how this book was going to end. I think in either instance I would have been fine with the path she took.
The main character Fleur Daxeny is
Everyone has their own way of making their fortune. This book, The gatecrasher written by Madeleine Wickham, captures Fleur Daxenys way of making her fortune by being a con artist of the highest order. She has figured out exactly how to meet her willing victims. With the help of the times announcements page she gatecrashes the funerals and memorial services of rich widowers. She dresses up in black suits and charms her way into the grieving men`s wallets and onto their platinum credit cards.
Under the pen name "Sophie Kinsella," Madeleine Wickham has published the highly successful Shopaholic series of books which is being filmed under the name "a confession of a shopoholic". Now her publisher is releasing, for the first time in the U.S., several chick-lit novels written under Wickham's real name. She was born in London and worked as a financial journalist when she published her first novel.
This book focuses on Fleur, a late thirty something, who meets men, moves in, and then cashes out a small nest egg before moving onto the next hapless soul. She finds these men mainly at funerals – for their beloved wives. Over the top yes, but it seems to work and provide a bit of comedy in this book. Everything is working along with her plans until Fleur crashes the funeral of Richard, a grieving widow who starts to realize he never really knew his deceased wife nor the rest of his family. Fleur begins to provide the support Richard needs as well as the support his family needs and then trouble begins. Fleur starts to wonder if she should hang up her funeral crashing ways for finding true love with one person especially when her daughter Zara shows up and fits in so well with Richard’s family. The internal fight Fleur experiences leads to a few twists and honestly, I didn’t know how this book was going to end. I think in either instance I would have been fine with the path she took.
The main character Fleur Daxeny is