The NEST Familiy Ties that Bind & Unravel Over an Inheritance

Cynthia Sweeney's debut novel is a family dysfunctional dilemma embedded in a lair of interesting quirks & a major jerk.  The Plumb family is meeting to discuss their waning inheritance they're about to receive on the 40th birthday of the youngest sibling.  Melody is the youngest of 4 siblings, and the only parent with teenage twins.  Leo is the leader of the Plumb pack which includes Jack, the gay brother who deals in antiquities & Bea wanna be writer.  Their father prudently put aside a trust to ensure his offsprings a tidy sum to supplant their financial security.  Leo is a self-serving narcissist who oozes charm.  He is the reason for a major debit from the fund.  The novel begins with a catastrophic car crash caused by Leo. Leo lures a young waitress with supposed music connections to abscond in his porsche.  Extremely intoxicated & distracted while driving he runs into an oncoming van.  The accident results in an amputation of the girl's foot and a major cut from the "nest." Their widowed mother, the executor of the estate, thought best, to pay off Leo's indiscretion to avoid scandal.   A familiar familial cry of not fair embroils the others.   All parties had plans for their anticipated & direly needed windfall.  Leo cons his siblings into giving him a few months to adjust for the incremental reduction to their shared nest.  This is a frothy, fast read as we discover the hidden secrets of each siblings' sequestered stash or lack of cash.  We're intrigued by the siblings who are drawn into Leo's commanding orbit & remain tied to one another.  There are plenty of side characters, such as the twin sisters and love interests that keep this novel enticing.  The NEST is a light read of family bonds.  Some fall away and others are sustained.