Reading Belva Plain's The Carousel is like watching a soap opera. Because this book is about a wealthy family that, to outsiders, would appear to be happy and successful. But there are secrets brewing in this family and nothing is as it seems.

The patriarch is Oliver Grey. A public humanitarian, everyone loves him. But do they really know him? Now into his 60's, Oliver has given his business to his sons and his niece and nephew.

The sons are Ian and Clive. Two total opposites. Ian has a beautiful wife, but can't stay faithful. Clive is smart, but homely, a bit of an oddity in the family. When he meets the beautiful and vivacious Roxanne, he finds true happiness for the first time ever. But is it real?

The nephew and niece are Dan and Amanda. Dan loves his wife Sally, and their two little girls. But something seems terribly "off" about five year old Tina. She's suddenly aggressive, and seems to be obsessed with a toy carousel. When the psychiatrist tells them that Tina's behavior is a result of having been molested, Dan refuses to believe it, while Sally's not so sure.

Amanda wants to be bought out from her share of the business, as she wants to spend the money on one of her own projects. If the others won't buy her out, she's willing to sell to the highest bidder, a move which doesn't sit well with the three other shareholders. Amanda's carrying around a huge secret, one that dates back to her childhood and continues to affect her to this day.

And there you have it - the Grey family and all of their issues. The book follows the happenings of this family for an entire year. Along the way there are betrayals, lies, a murder, an illness, a marriage, and a pregnancy. You know, all the stuff that any soap opera entails. There is suspense and a bit of mystery, some romance, and a few twists. The book definitely held my interest. In fact I would say I was completely enthralled with this family and all of the goings-on.

Mostly, I wanted to know the real story about Tina. Why the five year old suddenly turned so nasty. And why was she obsessed by that toy carousel? Was the psychiatrist right? Or was something else behind Tina's aggression? And, I was interested in the story of Clive and Roxanne. On the one hand, I was so happy that Clive found someone that brought him happiness. Yet, being familiar with typical soap operas, I feared that his happiness will be fleeting.

I liked the fact that there were only a few characters, and almost no extraneous "fluff". No extra subplots tossed in. No extra people to get to know. Just the few family members. With so few characters, it was easy to get a real sense of them, as if I "knew" them.

The only parts of the book I found annoying had to do with Tina's parents. Faced with a horrendous possibility, one parent simply refuses to believe it, and sweeps the possibility under the rug. The other parent suspects it might be true, but instead of acting on her instincts to try to help the child, she kowtows to her husband's wishes for denial. Furthermore, it seems like no one actually tried to talk to Tina. To try to get her to open up about what was bothering her. Nor did they take her to a medical doctor to see if there is any physical evidence to back up what the psychiatrist suspects. I found myself very angry at Dan and Sally for the way they handled (or more accurately didn't handle) Tina's problems.

Other than that one issue, I found this book to be a page-turner. I do believe that there is something in it, for everyone. I have enjoyed the other Belva Plain books I've read, and this one is no exception.

Also by Belva Plain:
Homecoming
Looking Back
Secrecy

Recommended: Yes