"A good mainstream tale"

On Park Avenue in Manhattan, secretary Carla DiRoma separately informs face to face the shocked Atkinson cousins (Mary Beth, Nikki, and Gabrielle) that their investment banker Lester Markham absconded with their trust funds. The trio know that they are broke and used to a golden spoon from having inherited their respective money. Now the cousins need to find a way to earn money for basic sustenance.

Surprisingly, though somewhat estranged over the years, the threesome comes together planning to survive this crisis. With the encouragement of Carla, they also chart a course to find, prosecute, and get their money back from Lester. However, to succeed they must forget that tragic summer years ago that sent them on their separate paths and stay united in their quest to regain what they lost, which they will learn is much more than a mere fortune.

TRUST FUND BABIES is an insightful look at three individuals struggling with a sudden reversal in their lives. The cousins are warm engaging protagonists, but they adapt too easily to their change in fortune (what?s a million here - soon the cousins will be talking real money). Carla is a wonderful "mother hen" and friend to the not enough beleaguered Atkinson women. She enables Jean Stone's novel to remain a fascinating tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 31, 2002

Summary

Book Description Jean Stone, the bestselling author of Off Season , weaves the extraordinary story of three cousins bound forever by the family fortune they share-and the family secrets they don't dare reveal.... Mary Beth, Nikki, and Gabrielle have little in common except the vast Atkinson fortune they inherited. Growing up amidst the splendor of Manhattan town houses and summers on Martha's Vineyard, they've all learned the hard way that money can buy everything-except happiness. Marked by a summer tragedy they've all tried to forget, each woman has struggled to find her own way to cope with the secrets of her past. Now Mary Beth is a pillar of the New York social scene, buying designer clothing and priceless jewels that even she cannot afford. Nikki searches for peace on the Vineyard, pouring her inheritance into endless charity work. And Gabrielle hoards her money in a Swiss bank account, safe from the husband who knows nothing of her wealth. But when their trusted executor disappears with their money, the cousins come together once again to find him. For each woman, regaining her fortune has a different meaning-and will come at a different price. And in the end they'll learn that no one's secrets can stay hidden forever-not even the truth of what really happened that terrible day so many summers ago....