The Birthday Girl
A Novel
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3.6 • 19 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In the thrilling, suspenseful new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz, all of Ellie de Florent-Stinson’s secrets come to light in one eventful evening full of twists, turns, and surprises.
Before she became a glamorous fashion designer, Ellie de Florent-Stinson was a trailer-park teen about to turn sixteen. But a night of birthday celebration doesn’t go exactly as planned and descends into a night she’ll never be able to forget.
Now, on the cusp of her fortieth birthday, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career; and a dazzling circle of friends.
Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. But hiding those skeletons has a cost, and it all comes to a head the night of her fabulous birthday party in the desert—where everyone who matters in her life shows up, invited or not. Old and new friends and frenemies, stepdaughters and business partners, ex-wives and ex-husbands congregate, and the glittering facade of Ellie’s life begins to crumble.
Beautifully paced and full of surprises, The Birthday Girl is an enthralling tale of a life lived in shadow and its unavoidable consequences.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ellie de Florent-Stinson, the heroine of this gripping domestic thriller from de la Cruz (Witches of East End), will do anything to make sure that her 40th birthday party in her new Palm Springs, Calif., home is picture-perfect, even though her life is not. Her former actor husband may be cheating on her; her stepdaughter is home from college, bearing bad news; and Ellie is frantically trying to close a deal that might save her clothing company, and her family, from financial ruin. When Ellie receives a text from a person from her past, she's afraid he'll crash her party and bring down her delicate house of cards. Flashbacks detail Ellie's desperately poor upbringing in an Oregon trailer park, especially the shocking events of her 16th birthday. As the party unfolds, Ellie realizes just how precarious her existence really is. De la Cruz expertly mixes biting satire with suspense and throws in more than a few surprises. Readers will be riveted as long simmering secrets come to light.
