Julia Madeleine

This was an interesting book to finish reading on Mother's Day: a day when we venerate mother's and their many virtues. As a mother, Scarlet Rose (aka Sylvia) doesn't really have any virtues. In fact on pg 205, Scarlet's daughter Suzanne describes her mother perfectly as "the Cruella de Vil of mothers." She forces her eldest daughter, Fiona onto the stage as a 'dancer' at the age of 16 to support her addictions, and basically allows all manner of evil to befall all of her kids without a thought. Despite this, and fighting addictions of their own, Fiona and her sister Suzanne grow up to be strong, independent women. My heart went out to them. Even with all of their faults - and they had plenty - I was on their 'team' from the start.

Julia Madeline has written a gritty novel from the seedier side of life. She has forced the reader to confront certain truths: that dysfunctional families are more prevalent than we want to admit; that drug addicts, exotic dancers and all manner of others that our society tries not to see, are real people with lives and hopes and feelings and loves; that there is evil in the world. the truth about Scarlet Rose was one of those novels that left me examining my own prejudices and thought processes. It made me remember that survivors and women of strength may not look like lawyers or soccer moms. And, on top of all this, it is a fast paced, involving read. I couldn't put it down.… (mais)

Scarlet Sins is a chilling dark suspense thriller of a short story that is a prequel to The Truth About Scarlet Rose.

It is the story about Sylvia Dalton, a beautiful Montreal born girl, who has had a hard life and was desperate to escape from her very dysfunctional family. At sixteen years old, she devised a plan to get pregnant by her boyfriend, and she assumed that he would go along with her plan and marry her. Unfortunately, she gave up her virginity to a boy that had wanted to wait but gave in to her feminine wiles, only to refuse to marry her because he thought that they were too young, and he wanted his bride to be a virgin. Pregnant and without any support system, Sylvia runs away to Toronto, where at seventeen years old she gives birth to her baby daughter Fiona in a home for unwed mothers. When they try to force her to give up her daughter for adoption, she leaves the home and rents a room, becoming a cocktail waitress in a nightclub to support herself and her baby. While working at the Lux nightclub she becomes fascinated with the burlesque dancers, and is discovered by Carlo, an entertainment agent, who introduces her to the burlesque / stripper world and gives her the stage name of Scarlet Rose. Scarlet Rose is a beautiful woman, she always had wanted to be famous, and the stage provided that for her, she was adored and sought after by all the men who came to see her perform. Now eighteen years old, Scarlet Rose falls in love with one of her admirers, Charlie Reynolds, an older man twelve years her senior. She moves in with Charlie within a few months of meeting him, and eventually marries him when she becomes pregnant with her second daughter, Suzanne. Married life is anything but rosy for Scarlet Rose, she finds out that Charlie is a gambler, heavy drinker and womanizer. Unhappy and bitter, she turns to murder ...

Scarlet Sins is a fascinating glimpse into the dark psyche of a very troubled woman. The storyline is intriguing, the drama and suspense will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. This short story is filled with chilling twists and turns, the characters are complex and fascinating, and the author does a wonderful job of describing the 1960s decade and the inner workings of the burlesque clubs. Sylvia/Scarlet Rose is a fascinating character, the author provides the reader with a dark character that draws you into her world. Sylvia/Scarlet Rose's poor choices and decisions in her life leaves her bitter, ruthless and revengeful against anyone or anything that gets in her way. This short story will whet your appetite to read The Truth About Scarlet Rose.

Disclaimer: At the request of the author, a Kindle edition of the book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/04/scarlet-sins-by-julia-madelein...… (mais)

The Truth About Scarlet Rose is a story about a once beautiful burlesque stripper, who has a dark psyche, deep hidden secrets and a penchant for getting what she wants at all costs. The reader first meets Sylvia Dalton, aka Scarlet Rose in the prequel Scarlet Sins. In the prequel, Sylvia Dalton is a beautiful Montreal born girl, who has had a hard life and was desperate to escape from her very dysfunctional family. At sixteen years old, she devised a plan to get pregnant by her boyfriend, and she assumed that he would go along with her plan and marry her. Unfortunately, she gave up her virginity to a boy that had wanted to wait but gave in to her feminine wiles, only to refuse to marry her because he thought that they were too young, and he wanted his bride to be a virgin. Pregnant and without any support system, Sylvia runs away to Toronto, where at seventeen years old she gives birth to her baby daughter Fiona in a home for unwed mothers. When they try to force her to give up her daughter for adoption, she leaves the home and rents a room, becoming a cocktail waitress in a nightclub to support herself and her baby. While working at the Lux nightclub she becomes fascinated with the burlesque dancers, and is discovered by Carlo, an entertainment agent, who introduces her to the burlesque / stripper world and gives her the stage name of Scarlet Rose. Scarlet Rose is a beautiful woman, she always had wanted to be famous, and the stage provided that for her, she was adored and sought after by all the men who came to see her perform. Now eighteen years old, Scarlet Rose falls in love with one of her admirers, Charlie Reynolds, an older man twelve years her senior. She moves in with Charlie within a few months of meeting him, and eventually marries him when she becomes pregnant with her second daughter, Suzanne. Married life is anything but rosy for Scarlet Rose, she finds out that Charlie is a gambler, heavy drinker and womanizer. Unhappy and bitter, she turns to murder ...

Fast forward to 1983, Sylvia is now a shadow of what she used to be. At the age of thirty-nine, her faded looks make her look fifty. The one thing that hasn't changed is her cold, hard, controlling, and ruthless personality. She has always put herself number one, while blaming her "ungrateful" children for everything that has gone wrong in her life. She has always used guilt to control them, her cruelty knew no bounds, and she was incapable of giving them love and compassion. Sylvia lives on welfare and the handouts from Fiona, her oldest daughter, who she made go into the stripping business when she was sixteen years old to help support the family. When Syvlia's ex-husband Charlie is found brutally murdered, his step-daughter Fiona is determined to find out who had murdered the man who she cared for and considered to be her best friend.

Filled with suspenseful drama and more twists and turns then a roller coaster, the reader is taken on an journey into the dark side of deeply held family secrets, betrayals, greed, sex, drugs and murder that is one hell of a thrill ride.

The Truth About Scarlet Rose is the type of dark murder mystery suspense thriller that keeps the reader turning the page as they try to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. This storyline is cleverly written, the reader is drawn into the dark psyche of a very troubled woman and her equally dysfunctional family. There are so many fascinating characters, each are complex and have interesting stories of their own, but the author masterfully interweaves the characters lives and pulls the reader into the story as they try to keep up with them through all the drama and suspense.

The Truth About Scarlet Rose is a disturbing psychological thriller that will not disappoint hardcore mystery murder suspense thriller fans!

Disclaimer: At the request of the author, a Kindle edition of the book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review and participation in the virtual book tour event.

Virtual Book Tour Event: On Friday, April 27, 2012, author Julia Madeleine participated in a virtual book tour event with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/04/author-guest-post-julia-madele...

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/… (mais)