The Children

The members of the late Whit Whitman's family descend upon Lakeside, the large Connecticut lake house where the poet's second wife, Joan, and her two daughters, Charlotte and Sally Maynard, are permitted to live by the terms of Whit's will. Everything is quite civil, even amiable, until the girls' stepbrother, Spin Whitman, brings his gorgeous new fiancée Laurel Atwood to meet the family. Things start to unravel as Laurel begins to question Joan and childless Charlotte, who has a secret (and very lucrative) mommy blog, about the past and their residence in Lakeside, which is rightfully Whitman property. However, bipolar Sally brings things to a head when her suspicions about Laurel turn out to be correct. At times, the back-and-forth time frame is a bit confusing, but Charlotte's first-person, witty perspective should keep most listeners engaged. As past mistakes—and secrets—emerge, nearly everyone is on edge and suspicious. The growing tension is compelling, particularly after a sudden death raises the usual thorny questions related to money and inheritance. Narrator Gretchen Mol artfully captures each character and the many twists and turns in this often melodramatic tale.