Elizabeth Berg, you sneaky fox. I confess, I didn’t see this coming in The Confession Club. If you’re read any other posts or just know me, I absolutely judge a book by its cover. I knew I’d like this book based on the cover jacket alone, and I was right. Add this to your TBR list.
I grabbed The Confession Club when Target had a 3 for the price of 2 sale. Not that I ever need encouragement to buy more books. They are coming out of my ears. Probably like you, too. Alas, I saw this cover and hit ‘add to cart.’
I assumed (here we go…when you assume you make an…) that this would be about women gathering and someone lays down a big confession and a bomb explodes. Figuratively. In my mind, I saw a very unassuming lady in her 50s calmly share over her grandmother’s cobbler recipe that she killed her cheatin’ husband and covered it up as a freak accident. (Sounds vaguely like a country song or a Lifetime movie plot…) Nope. Not even close.
A group of women in Mason, Missouri, gather for dinner and dessert and someone gets the confession throne to share something from their past – big or small – to rid themselves of the moral angst and get some slightly objective feedback without too much judgement. Well, a little. Think of this as a friendly confession session with a priest without the judgement, penance or guilt. Lovely, right?!
There are women in all chapters of life (love that), sharing all sorts of feelings, misdeeds and memories. Intertwined is a sub-plot of Iris, a women who transplanted herself from the east coast, dabbling in a possible romance with a pretty unexpected character.
The author brought together such a hodge podge of personalities in what you’d assume would be a small town, gossip-y culture. But this word guru created an incredible environment of women supporting women. Loving each other for who they are. Letting one another make decisions as their hearts and heads need. Glorious.
This was my first Elizabeth Berg novel, but won’t be the last!
Have you read The Story of Arthur Truluv? There are references in The Confession Club to Arthur, and now I’ve added yet another book to my TBR list. Isn’t reading the best!!!!!