ALTARCATION

Katkov’s novel pits two New York socialite sisters against each other in a tale of romance, inheritance, and rivalry.

Rayne Connors grew up in Manhattan’s wealthiest social echelons. Like the grandmother who raised her, she prides herself on remaining grounded, despite constant pressure from her best friend, Lars, to embrace the glamour of her native city and social milieu. In contrast, Rayne’s sister, Madison Howlett, has thrown herself into the socialite lifestyle to a cartoonishly villainous level. She’s a four-time divorcée who looks on seemingly everyone and everything around her with disdain. The only thing she seems to care about is her ability to continue spending lavishly—a desire that sets off the novel’s central conflict, when it’s revealed that the siblings’ grandmother has put a very specific stipulation in her will: Whichever sister gets married first within the next four months—and then becomes pregnant “within a reasonable period of time”— will receive the entire $300 million inheritance. Rayne’s romance with a doctor at the hospital wing bearing her grandmother’s name leads Madison to concoct an escalating series of schemes, and Rayne’s struggles play out in response to these plots, which get progressively wilder. Katkov’s novel aims for campy, soapy, over-the-top melodrama in the Madison sections, but plays it a bit more seriously with Rayne’s complex relationships and interior conflicts; these dual approaches occasionally lead to some tonal whiplash. That said, the novel is fun and engaging overall, and it will particularly appeal to readers who appreciate a good prime-time soap. The chaos generated by Madison’s schemes runs the gamut from petty to diabolical, and Katkov’s characters are memorable and likable, if a bit underdeveloped. Still, Rayne’s arc offers some genuinely novel twists and turns, and her interactions with her grandmother are among the book’s highlights.

A fun and campy sibling-rivalry melodrama.