I love the epigrams that kick off each chapter that add poignancy to the events we are about to read. Often they are excerpts from that woman’s past: “Yes, you are beautiful and smart and charming. These things can take you far and get you much when you’re young, especially with men. But, honey, beauty fades… It’s nice if someone wants to take care of you, but in case no one does, learn how to get your own—Lynette’s favorite aunt to Lynette, age 17.” Lynette is involved with high-level, illegal drug trafficking. The chapter titles are fun too: “Is this all there is?”, “End of an Era” and my favorite, “Same story, different page.” The author might have chosen a title that better served the overall novel and the switch from two years past to present three-quarters of the way through the book seems a bit sudden. But of all the books I have reviewed this past year, and there have been close to a hundred, this one strikes me as having the greatest commercial potential. Here’s hoping some major publisher scoops up Mae Turner’s novel and the next we see her is on Oprah’s. She’s ready.

There are some little gems along the way. It’s not all high-drama, for example there’s a scene in which Anissa, having brunch by herself at a fashionable restaurant, has a stand-off with the young hostess trying to one-up her: “I lift my sunglasses slightly above my eyes and give Homegirl Hostess a look that clearly says ‘you don’t want to mess with me.’” And a heartbreaking episode during which Hallie has a revelation about her husband, “This man, this strong and good provider for his family, my almost-too-perfect husband, Mr. Take-Control and Always-In-Control, has finally run up against a situation he is ill-equipped to handle… As much as I wish otherwise, I know that he can’t comfort me. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because I’ve always given him a pass where complex matters of the heart are concerned.”