The Darlings
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Fried
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By:
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Cristina Alger
About this listen
A sophisticated pause-resister about a wealthy New York family embroiled in a financial scandal with cataclysmic consequences.
Now that he's married to Merrill Darling, daughter of billionaire financier Carter Darling, attorney Paul Ross has grown accustomed to New York society and all of its luxuries: a Park Avenue apartment, weekends in the Hamptons, bespoke suits. When Paul loses his job, Carter offers him the chance to head the legal team at his hedge fund. Thrilled with his good fortune in the midst of the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression, Paul accepts the position.
But Paul's luck is about to shift: a tragic event catapults the Darling family into the media spotlight, a regulatory investigation, and a red-hot scandal with enormous implications for everyone involved. Suddenly, Paul must decide where his loyalties lie - will he save himself while betraying his wife and in-laws or protect the family business at all costs?
Cristina Alger's glittering debut novel interweaves the narratives of the Darling family, two eager SEC attorneys, and a team of journalists all racing to uncover - or cover up - the truth. With echoes of a fictional Too Big to Fail and the novels of Dominick Dunne, The Darlings offers an irresistible glimpse into the highest echelons of New York society - a world seldom seen by outsiders - and a fast-paced thriller of epic proportions.
©2012 Cristina Alger (P)2012 PenguinListeners also enjoyed...
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A smart, comic pause-resister about a Silicon Valley family in free fall over the course of one eventful summer from the author of Watch Me Disappear and Pretty Things. When Paul Miller’s pharmaceutical company goes public, making his family IPO millionaires, his wife, Janice, is sure this is the windfall she’s been waiting years for - until she learns, via messengered letter, that her husband is divorcing her (for her tennis partner!) and cutting her out of the new fortune.
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The Perfect Life Ain't So Perfect
- By Theresa on 12-28-08
By: Janelle Brown
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Nappily Ever After
- A Novel
- By: Trisha R. Thomas
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Venus Johnston has a great job and a long-term, live-in boyfriend who happens to be a drop-dead gorgeous doctor. She also has a weekly beauty-parlor date to keep her long, nappy hair slick and straight. But the tedious hours and harsh chemicals in the salon have long grated on Venus. One frustrating day, she trades in the long hair for a dramatically short, natural cut and sends her commitment-balking boyfriend packing. It's a bold declaration of independence and one that has effects she never could have imagined.
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Great
- By Laura K. on 08-21-09
By: Trisha R. Thomas
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Hush Money
- Hush Money Mystery Series, Book 1
- By: T. E. Woods
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Madison is booming with dreamers and drifters, visionaries and entrepreneurs. Among them is Sydney Richardson, the daughter of a cop who died on these streets and now the proud, stressed-out owner of Hush Money, one of the city's top new restaurants. Like everyone else in town, Sydney is shocked when Madison's popular mayor - a crusty, charismatic man of the people - is shot to death in his own home. But the news hits especially close to home for Sydney because one of her own stands accused of the brutal crime. Sydney's the one person that Wanda Fields, a quiet, hardworking waitress and single mother, can think to call after her arrest.
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T E Woods sure know how to write 'em!
- By shelley on 02-14-18
By: T. E. Woods
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Save Me
- By: Kristyn Kusek Lewis
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Daphne Mitchell has always believed in cause and effect, right and wrong, good and bad. The good: her dream job as a doctor; Owen, her childhood sweetheart and now husband; the beautiful farmhouse they're restoring together. In fact most of her life has been good - until the day Owen comes home early from work to tell her he's fallen head over heels for someone else.
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story
- By ngoza on 08-10-15
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She Regrets Nothing
- A Novel
- By: Andrea Dunlop
- Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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When Laila Lawrence becomes an orphan at 23, the sudden loss unexpectedly introduces her to three glamorous cousins from New York who show up unannounced at her mother's funeral. The three siblings are scions of the wealthy family from which Laila's father had been estranged long before his own untimely demise 10 years before. Two years later, Laila has left behind her quiet life in Grosse Point, Michigan to move to New York City, landing her smack in the middle of her cousins' decadent world.
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Good Listen
- By Vallena on 02-19-18
By: Andrea Dunlop
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Kiss the Girl
- By: Melissa Brayden
- Narrated by: Felicity Munroe
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Twenty-eight-year-old Brooklyn Campbell is having a bad day. A speeding ticket, a towed car, and a broken heel are all working against her laid-back vibe. To top it all off, her birth mother, whom she's never met, has requested contact. The only bright spot is an impromptu date with a beautiful and mysterious brunette. Jessica Lennox is what you would call a high-powered executive. She's the head of a multimillion-dollar advertising firm in New York City, and it didn't happen by accident.
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Lesbian version of Mad Men!!
- By Iris Pereyra on 01-22-15
By: Melissa Brayden
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The Wrong Sister
- By: T. E. Woods
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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From behind the wheel of her car, Tess Kincaid glimpses a woman walking down a Madison, Wisconsin, street. They've never met, but Tess sees the same features every time she looks in the mirror. Tess introduces herself and discovers that she and her doppelganger, Mimi, have more than appearance in common. They even share the same birthday. Mimi - confident and outgoing where Tess is understated and shy - is convinced they're twins, separated shortly after birth. When a body is discovered in a local marsh, Tess is entangled in a search for the truth....
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Nothing like anything T E Woods has written B4!!!
- By shelley on 03-01-18
By: T. E. Woods
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Red Hot Lies
- By: Laura Caldwell
- Narrated by: Nancy Liem
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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They say bad things happen in threes. When her fiancé, Sam, disappears on the same day her mentor and biggest client is killed, hotshot Chicago attorney Izzy McNeil starts counting. But trouble keeps coming. Sam is implicated in the client's death, her apartment is broken into and it's not just the authorities who are following her.
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A bit uneven, but fun!
- By Marie on 03-14-10
By: Laura Caldwell
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Custody
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Thayer
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Ambitious, brilliant, and engaged to a wonderful guy, Kelly MacLeod feels like her dreams are coming true when she lands a prestigious appointment as a judge in the Massachusetts Family Court. A passionate advocate on behalf of children of divorce, she can at long last put her fierce intellect to good use in the courtroom. But a chance meeting with a charismatic man forever changes Kelly’s life.
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Tempered and Forged by the Kiln of Experience
- By Empress Karen on 10-04-18
By: Nancy Thayer
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Truly, Madly
- A Lucy Valentine Novel
- By: Heather Webber
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucy Valentine is as smart as can be, as single as you can get, and so not qualified to run a matchmaking service. But when her parents temporarily step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it's Lucy's turn to step up and help out - in the name of love. Plus, her rent is due. Here's the problem: Lucy doesn't have the knack for matchmaking. According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed by Cupid with the ability to read "auras" and pair up perfect couples.
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Cute light listen
- By CrunchySocks on 09-11-14
By: Heather Webber
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Some Women
- By: Emily Liebert
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Annabel Ford has everything under control, devoting her time to her twin boys and keeping her household running smoothly. But when her husband of a decade announces that he's leaving, she's blindsided. And suddenly her world begins to unravel. Piper Whitley has always done her best to balance it all - raising her daughter, Fern, by herself while advancing her career as a crime reporter. Only now that she's finally met the man of her dreams, Fern's absentee father shows up, throwing everything into a tailspin.
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Great Book!!
- By femmefatale on 01-12-23
By: Emily Liebert
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So Close
- By: Emma McLaughlin
- Narrated by: Emily Durante
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Amanda Beth Luker has spent her whole life desperately looking for someone who can show her the way out of her trailer park Florida town. And then, finally, help arrives - in the form of Tom Davis, a successful lawyer with political aspirations who grew up just a few towns over from Amanda. But it's his wife, Lindsay, who really captures Amanda's imagination. Strong, smart, and determined, she gives Amanda something she's never had: a role model.
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I've never been so mad at a book before.
- By Stacie on 06-15-16
By: Emma McLaughlin
What listeners say about The Darlings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Molly-o
- 04-01-12
Okay, not great
This book is a good glimpse into New York society but the characters are flimsy and the story is only so-so. This would be a good book to read on an airplane-and sometimes you need books like this to take you into another world for a little bit. Unfortunately, it wasn't very memorable.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Elese Newman
- 03-31-23
Not sure
I liked Alger’s novel, The Banker’s Wife, and so I tried The Darlings. I don’t know if it was just not what I wanted at the time, but I could not get interested. The character’s seemed flat and I didn’t like them, so I didn’t care much what happened to them. I may not have given it enough time to develop, but, based upon other reviews it was a probably enough to know.
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- Pamela Harvey
- 02-28-12
Another Madoff Spin-off
Fundamentally a fictional version of - or perhaps an "homage" to - the Madoff family saga, this book is every bit as gripping as the true story. Even without the presence of young children on stage in this particular iteration of the "deal with the devil", the book has depth, suspense, and ingenious twists and turns, especially at the end. The writing is fast-paced, descriptive and multi-layered, but watch out if your attention wanders because you may lose track of the character connections.
The author manages to get in something for everyone - there are personal histories, backstories and lots of front-end action - it all comes into play and it all works. The timeline structure functions well and adds to the suspense, with the primary action taking place during a Thanksgiving weekend (similar time frame as the Madoff story), and each section is given a clock point (5:45, 8:15 etc.) which functions as an effective and ominous narrative device.
The narration could not have been better. Fried gives an evenly-toned performance, with subtle cues when needed, but never turns up the volume for the sake of histrionics.
I may go back and re-read this one - I am sure there are many details that I missed the first time around.
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17 people found this helpful
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- K J S
- 11-23-22
Great book!
This book is a timeless story set in modern Manhattan amongst old money and movers & shakers in the financial world. Charismatic characters I was rooting for & a just a wonderfully written page turner.
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- Michael Blumstein
- 03-17-12
Fun Novel (Early Beach Read)
Perfect beach read (listen) for anyone connected to finance. Also good for running (plot moves nicely). Thei book might not endure, but it's a well constructed, sophisticated and believable Madoff-type drama. Reminded me a bit of the JC Oates book "We Were the Mulvaneys." I don't often comment on the narration, but the reader of this one was outstanding -- nuanced voices without screaming for attention.
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4 people found this helpful
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- RueRue
- 03-24-16
Overweight
There's an interesting story of the 2008 financial crisis hidden under the all the overstuffed cast of characters. It was hard to keep track of all the names and relationships, on top of the complexities of financial malfeasance.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Moved around
- 03-31-12
Very Enjoyable
Would you listen to The Darlings again? Why?
Maybe...it was a really good listen
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Darlings?
You just can't wait to see what will happen next. You like these characters, even if you want to dislike them.
Who was the most memorable character of The Darlings and why?
Paul...he is unwittingly caught up in the excessiveness
Any additional comments?
Since the story takes place in just one week, reading it might be a little slow. I can't wait to get in my car, or on the treadmill to finish this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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- cristina
- 03-26-12
I enjoyed it
There were too many characters for all of them to be well-developed, but the story kept me entertained as the seemingly separate people come together in a semi-plausible way. It's clearly a Madoff spinoff, but you know that going in.
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- JOHN
- 03-10-12
So So...
I found this book to be unremarkable and predictable. The prose was bland, the characters formulaic and the outcome foreseen.
The author sets this novel amid the recent Wall Street financial meltdown, opening the story with the apparent suicide of a major hedge fund manager on the eve of the long Thanksgiving weekend. The ensuing tale takes place over the weekend, filling in back story, painting the picture of the Darling family who are tied to this fund and its principal. Throw in a few crooked lawyers and SEC officials and you have pretty much the material upon which this book is constructed.
This book is not terrible, and I did find myself at times wanting to listen more just to see how it turns out. However there were no surprises. The writing was mediocre and I was unsatisfied with the ending.
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- PhotogirlNYC
- 08-03-12
I couldn’t wait for this one to be over.
Slow, slow narrative about the New York City super rich elite and other Wall Street insider stuff.
In the end what you’re left with is a jumbled rehash of the Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal and the story about the main characters remains completely underdeveloped and gets lost in the mix.
The first half of the book was tolerable, but part two was so boring that I found myself hoping someone would die or just get arrested already. There was endless recounting of conversations between characters that quite frankly, I couldn’t care about.
Too many characters. Not enough character development. Weak and over-done story.
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