Twisted Family Values

by V. C. Chickering

  Also by V. C. Chickering

  Nookietown

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  V. C. Chickering has written for Comedy Central, MTV, Lifetime, TLC, Discovery, NickMom, and Oxygen television networks as well as for BUST, Cosmo, and The Washington Post magazines. She’s written screenplays, has a local newspaper column entitled “Pith Monger,” and writes a blog. She lives with her family in New Jersey, where she also writes and performs witty, original songs for the alt-bluegrass/indie-jazz band Tori Erstwhile & the Montys. Twisted Family Values is her second novel. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  1968: A sumptuous nursery in an upscale commuter suburb, Firth, New Jersey

  1977: A well-appointed suburban kitchen, Larkspur, New Jersey

  1984: Two fairly decent, liberal arts college campuses, Boston, Massachusetts

  1990: The cousins’ childhood neighbor’s tree house, Larkspur, New Jersey

  2002: Georgia’s lush green front lawn, Firth, New Jersey

  2014: Claire’s worn, out-of-date, sparse kitchen, Larkspur, New Jersey

  Also by V. C. Chickering

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  TWISTED FAMILY VALUES. Copyright © 2019 by V. C. Chickering. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Philip Pascuzzo

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Chickering, V. C., author.

  Title: Twisted family values / V.C. Chickering.

  Description: First edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018055441 | ISBN 9781250065292 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781466871939 (ebook)

  Classification: LCC PS3603.H5453 T88 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018055441

  eISBN 9781466871939

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  First Edition: June 2019