BEEN THERE, MARRIED THAT - by Gigi Levangiez
St. Martin's Press
ISBN-10: 1250166810  
ISBN-13: 978-1250166814
ASIN: B07SBQCQLB
February 11, 2020  
Women's Fiction – Drama/Comedy

Los Angeles – The Present

Agnes Nash's husband Trevor toasted her at her 48th birthday party. He is an Oscar-winning movie producer. Although a rich Hollywood wife, Agnes is one of the few that works—as a writer. Currently, their pre-teen daughter Pep (short for Penelope) has exhibited her age's troublesome attitude toward their mothers, and this along with her menopause symptoms, bothers her. Everything seems great until she hires an Uber to take her home from a book signing because Trevor never showed up. She finds the code at the gate to her mansion changed, and after climbing over the gate, she finds the house doors locked, too. Pep is in there asleep. After a trying episode (she was tased) with the neighborhood's security guard, her determination wins the battle, and he unlocks a door. Inside, Trevor shortly join her and says their marriage is over and advises her Pep is staying with one of the housemaids for the night.

BEEN THERE, MARRIED THAT  is written in first person and plunges deeply into Agnes's mind, but all the while she is talking to the reader. The story revolves about the end of her marriage, the divorce, and how she will survive. Trevor is a douchebag throughout. Agnes gives a very wild, humorous, and acerbic look at her own life from her knowledge of rich wives' lives and how, when those wives go through a divorce, they become social pariahs, even to previously good friends. Some of the references in brand names and social jargon is hard to understand, but as Agnes goes through some harrowing and humiliating experiences, it glues a reader to her predicaments. The many strange characters go through some twisted and unexpected changes. How can she keep custody of her daughter? Her felonious younger sister is there to help, but how helpful can she be? And can Agnes redesign her life into a better place? An interesting often hilarious read.

Robin Lee