Review: Intriguing Suspense Prequel to The Truth About Scarlet Rose
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 27, 2012
Scarlet Sins is a chilling dark suspense thriller of a short story that is a prequel to The Truth About Scarlet Rose.It is the story about Sylvia Dalton, a beautiful Montreal born girl, who has had a hard life and was desperate to escape from her very dysfunctional family. At sixteen years old, she devised a plan to get pregnant by her boyfriend, and she assumed that he would go along with her plan and marry her. Unfortunately, she gave up her virginity to a boy that had wanted to wait but gave in to her feminine wiles, only to refuse to marry her because he thought that they were too young, and he wanted his bride to be a virgin. Pregnant and without any support system, Sylvia runs away to Toronto, where at seventeen years old she gives birth to her baby daughter Fiona in a home for unwed mothers. When they try to force her to give up her daughter for adoption, she leaves the home and rents a room, becoming a cocktail waitress in a nightclub to support herself and her baby. While working at the Lux nightclub she becomes fascinated with the burlesque dancers, and is discovered by Carlo, an entertainment agent, who introduces her to the burlesque / stripper world and gives her the stage name of Scarlet Rose. Scarlet Rose is a beautiful woman, she always had wanted to be famous, and the stage provided that for her, she was adored and sought after by all the men who came to see her perform. Now eighteen years old, Scarlet Rose falls in love with one of her admirers, Charlie Reynolds, an older man twelve years her senior. She moves in with Charlie within a few months of meeting him, and eventually marries him when she becomes pregnant with her second daughter, Suzanne. Married life is anything but rosy for Scarlet Rose, she finds out that Charlie is a gambler, heavy drinker and womanizer. Unhappy and bitter, she turns to murder ...Scarlet Sins is a fascinating glimpse into the dark psyche of a very troubled woman. The storyline is intriguing, the drama and suspense will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. This short story is filled with chilling twists and turns, the characters are complex and fascinating, and the author does a wonderful job of describing the 1960s decade and the inner workings of the burlesque clubs. Sylvia/Scarlet Rose is a fascinating character, the author provides the reader with a dark character that draws you into her world. Sylvia/Scarlet Rose's poor choices and decisions in her life leaves her bitter, ruthless and revengeful against anyone or anything that gets in her way. This short story will whet your appetite to read The Truth About Scarlet Rose.Disclaimer: I received a Kindle edition of this book from the author for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event.