Regina Black's aptly titled debut, The Art of Scandal, is a character-driven multicultural romance featuring a political scandal, romantic and artistic passion, and delicious prose.
At 37, Rachel Abbott is stunned to receive a sext--one he'd meant to send to someone else--from her husband of 13 years, Matt Abbott, the mayor of the wealthy D.C. suburb where they live. That night, she meets 26-year-old Nathan Vasquez at the drive-in theater where she's angry-drinking. He's immediately captivated by her, and they connect again when she later walks into the laundromat he owns. Their relationship grows ever more complicated as Black builds up a series of barriers that seem insurmountable. Rachel is still married, her husband has congressional ambitions, and she signed an agreement--she's made a deal to stay his dutiful political wife in public for a year in exchange for a million dollars and the house. Nathan (who refers to himself as "a big brown guy with ink up to his neck") is the son of the powerful, wealthy Vasquez family with class ties to the Abbott dynasty. When Rachel is put in charge of a fundraising gala and art show, the artist backs out, and Nathan is thrust into the role of featured artist, even though he's never professionally pursued his art.
In The Art of Scandal, Black puts her mastery of character on full display. Rachel and Nathan could easily have been reduced to stereotypes: the self-sacrificing wife betrayed, the privileged 20-something losing himself as he coasts through life. They are these things, but they're also much more. Rachel's experience as a Black teen mom isn't a stereotype, either, though the Abbott political machine loves to trot it out as they try to paint their white would-be Democratic congressional candidate as a beacon of progressive ideals. Both have complicated relationships with money, and their attempts to reckon with financial stability, risk, and respectability drive the plot as much as their intense attraction to each other. What Nathan represents to Rachel is a return to the passionate, hopeful life she once led. To Nathan, Rachel is an inspiration to focus on his art, and to step outside his early-onset ennui to make his life something of his choosing.
At heart, this is a gorgeous love story, and as the threat of discovery and disaster looms large, readers will be racing through the pages to find out how Black will pull off a happy ending. The Art of Scandal is a riveting debut perfect for readers of Seven Days in June. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian and freelance reviewer
Shelf Talker: Political scandal, family strife, art, and passion combine with Regina Black's mastery of character in her soapy yet insightful debut novel.