THE CAVE DWELLERS

Madeleine Maby narrates this layered satirical novel with a strong sense of story and a fine ability to get inside her characters' psyches. Her emulations of Washington, DC's, powerful and power hungry are nuanced. Her performance reveals the vapid sound of the social climber and the angst of the teenager. The novel is fast paced. Author McDowell draws on her own experience of scandal; her father ended up in prison for fraud. "The cave dwellers"--those with old money and old mansions, the elite of the elite--live uptown existences that events--murder, suicide, and corruption at the highest levels--upend. The story is well researched and packed with careful descriptions of a way of life replete with BOTOX, Hermès scarves, and secret clubs. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2021]