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P.G. County

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Overview

Connie Briscoe's previous novels have won the accolades of critics, positions on national bestseller lists, and the loyalty of millions of fans. Essence magazine called Sisters and Lovers "a frank and funny tale," and Mademoiselle dubbed it "riveting ...lively...hilarious." The San Francisco Chronicle had high praise for Big Girls Don't Cry, declaring "[It] brims with warmth, energy, and a positive message." With P.G. County, Briscoe serves up a sexy, lush, and irresistible portrait of an elite African American community in Maryland. Now meet the women of P. G. County: Barbara Bentley is fifty, rich, fabulous, and the wife of the powerful Bradford Bentley. She has more than enough trouble keeping track of her handsome but all-hands husband while keeping her drinking problem in checkPearl is a hairdresser who lives on the outskirts of the tony Silver Lake with her grown son, Kenyatta.

Editorial Reviews

Affluent African-Americans are the protagonists of this entertaining novel, a gossipy tell-all that goes behind the scenes of suburban life to reveal the secrets of the inhabitants of Silver Lake, an exclusive enclave of Prince George's County, a Washington, D.C., suburb. Through the eyes of five women, readers learn that even in this so-called exclusive community, residents are still fighting to be judged for who they are rather than what "class of society" they represent. Barbara, the grand dame of Silver Lake, is a recovering alcoholic married to Bradford Bently III, multimillionaire and womanizer. She's struggling to regain her self-confidence and to save her 30-year marriage. Jolene, married to hardworking Patrick, is a high-ranking civil servant blinded by revenge and greed and willing to do whatever it takes to move up the social ladder. Pearl, a divorc e, is a successful beauty-shop owner, living on the outskirts of the community. Candice is an aging white flower child, living with her second husband and two daughters and coming to grips with an old family secret that, if revealed, may tear her family apart. Lee, a runaway teenager, looking for a father who doesn't know she exists, comes to Silver Lake armed with one clue, the nickname Smokey. Though the story is a stereotypical smalltown drama, Briscoe (Sisters and Lovers) uses her skill as a talented storyteller to deliver just the right touch of intrigue. Author tour. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Connie Briscoe

Connie Briscoe is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Sisters and Lovers and Big Girls Don't Cry, and The Long Way Home. She is the former managing editor of the American Annals of the Deaf at Gallaudet University and has been hearing-impaired for most of her adult life. She lives in Falls Church, Virginia.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Doubleday

Filesize

583.19 KB

Number of Pages

336

eBook ISBN

9780385508308

Awards

  • Black Caucus of the America Library Association Award

Excerpt from: P.G. County by Connie Briscoe

Barbara Bentley was sweating profusely and it wasn't the shakes this time. She hadn't had a drink in years. This time it was that philandering husband of hers, Bradford Bentley III, slipping out of bed at the crack of dawn to run to his mistress. Honestly. The man had no shame when it came to his uncontrollable sexual urges.

She listened to him moving around in the bathroom--the toilet flushing, water running--and fumed under the bedcovers. Only seconds ago, she'd been tucked contentedly between her Egyptian cotton sheets, dreaming of the exquisite preparations for her daughter's upcoming wedding--of Beluga caviar and smoked salmon, of starched white tablecloths and lilacs and lilies. Then came the familiar bed tremor as her husband jolted her awake.

But she didn't utter a word. She had long since learned not to question the man who slept next to her each night about these things, unless she wanted to be thoroughly dressed down. And lied to. He'd give her his 'how dare you question me' look and tell her to quit whining. He was only going to play golf, to hang out with his buddies for a few hours, and hadn't he given her everything a woman could possibly want? They had a big beautiful house, a condo at Wintergreen ski resort and another in Nassau, a Jaguar and two Benzes in the driveway, a forty foot boat sitting on the Potomac, and country club membership.

But at fifty years of age, she now knew better than to be deceived by his sly diversions. She wasn't some wide-eyed young bride anymore, and he wasn't running off to hit any balls into little holes in green grass. No indeed. He was off to put his little pecker into a certain brown hole down the block.

She threw the bedcovers off. She needed to cool down. Normally she would shrug it off, he'd done this for so long. But this was their daughter's wedding day. Didn't the man have even a shred of decency? Of propriety? Sympathy? Even for his daughter?

The bathroom door opened, and she lay there with her back turned away from him and fumed as she mentally ticked of the myriad tasks she had to complete--without benefit of her husband's help--before the guests arrived at their home that afternoon for the reception. She had a wedding planner to help out, of course, but Barbara trusted no one to completely handle this very important affair.

Only after she heard the bedroom door shut and her husband's footsteps on the stairs did she yank the silken mask from her eyes. Then she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and reached for the pack of Benson & Hedges sitting on her night stand.