The East End
A Novel
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"Every page is filled with wise insights about social class and the human heart."
—Bonnie Jo Campbell, National Book Award finalist
Corey Halpern, a local high schooler, grew up working class in the Hamptons and is desperate to leave his home-town and start anew somewhere else. The summer before college, he finds escapism in sneaking into neighboring mansions and pocketing small items.
One night just before Memorial Day weekend, he breaks into the wrong home at the wrong time: the Sheffield estate, where he and his mother, Gina, work. Under the cover of darkness, Leo Sheffield, patriarch and billionaire CEO, arrives unexpectedly with a companion. After a shocking poolside accident, Leo is desperate to cover up what happened before his family and friends arrive for the holiday weekend. Unfortunately for him, Corey saw everything, as did other eyes in the shadows.
Secrecy, obsession and desperation dictate each character's path in this spectacular debut. With an ending as explosive as the Memorial Day fireworks on the island, The East End is an unforgettable debut about class, family secrets, and the desire to belong.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
On the eve of the Hamptons' season-opening Memorial Day weekend festivities, disgruntled high schooler Corey Halpern, the protagonist of Allen's ambitious but scattered debut, breaks into the mansion where his mother, Gina, works as a housekeeper and stumbles onto a scene that could prove far more life-changing than anything he might have stolen. Coked-up billionaire Leo Sheffield has come out to what he mistakenly believes to be an empty estate for an assignation before the arrival of his shrewish wife. But nothing goes as planned, starting with the fact that Leo's rebellious college student daughter, Tiffany, and her alluring best friend, Angelique, are already squirreled away on the premises, as is Corey and ending with one very dead body. Amid the frenetic and frequently farcical action that ensues, Corey and Angelique strike up an instant romance. Corey's working-class perspective on the excesses of the Sheffields and their ilk intrigues, and Allen addresses such serious concerns as Gina's alcoholism, but he tries to pack in too much. Still, suspense fans will eagerly turn the pages.
