Smart One by Ellen Meister

From the Publisher

Bev is the Smart One, who finally leaves her artistic ambitions in chalk dust (and her humor-impaired husband in the arms—and legs—of his nubile protégée) to become a schoolteacher. Clare is the Pretty One, who married well and seems to be living a designer version of the suburban dream. Joey is the Wild One, struggling to stay clean and sober now that she's used up her fifteen minutes of fame as a one-hit-wonder rock star.

They love each other but mix like oil, water, and hundred-proof gin . . . a combination that threatens to combust over family tensions, suspected infidelities, a devastating accident, a stunning confession, and the sudden reappearance of their handsome, now all-grown-up former neighbor, Kenny Waxman, who's back in town making his mark as a TV comedy writer.

It seems they'll never understand where their differences begin and their own destructive tendencies end. Then it happens: the sisters discover a decades-old body stuffed inside an industrial drum and begin a bold, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious journey that will either bring them together . . . or tear them apart for good.

Publishers Weekly

Now divorced, 35 and resolved to become a teacher after a series of entry-level design jobs, Bev Bloomrosen takes up temporary residence in her parents' Long Island home while they're in Florida. There, she immediately gets drawn into older sister Clare's marital woes and younger sister Joey's struggle to stay off drugs. Romantic complications soon arrive in the form of the neighbors' son, Kenny, a comedy writer whose tangled past involves both Bev and Joey. The sisters share an adventure while removing an industrial drum from beneath Kenny's parents' house-until they open it to discover the body of a pregnant woman, possibly killed years earlier by Kenny's father (who is now in Florida with advanced dementia). Meister (Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA) develops this uneasy mix of soap-opera secrets and slapstick humor with twist after twist to the point of reader exhaustion. (Aug.)

Amy Brozio-Andrews - Library Journal

In this character-driven novel, the relationship of a trio of sisters is pushed to the brink by long-simmering jealousies and grievances brought to the surface by old flames and new loves. Bev is the middle sister, the smart one, divorced and between jobs, always conscious of meeting her family's expectations. Eldest sister Clare feels pressure to live up to her reputation as the pretty one, with her storybook marriage, beautiful family, and affluent suburban home. Youngest sister Joey is the talented one, the former rock star-turned-recovering drug addict who resists every encouragement to return to the stage. When the sisters discover a body concealed in a drum found in the crawl space beneath a neighbor's home, their sleuthing plays out against family drama and romantic tugs-of-war. Despite being punctuated by a couple of wrenching plot points and the somewhat ambiguous resolution, the novel is fast-paced and features great dialog. Meister's second novel (after Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA) is a fresh take on the familiar "she's the smart/funny/talented one" refrain. Recommended for all public libraries.

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