CHLOE

When a wealthy man with a shady past sweeps into Angel’s life, she has to decide whether she loves him enough to vanquish his demons—most notably the memory of his dead wife.

At 33, Angel has made her way to a high level of success through her own hard work and determination. She’s a sous-chef at a popular Washington, D.C., restaurant but for several summers in a row, she’s been hired as a private chef for the Harrisons in the Black enclave of Martha’s Vineyard. Though they treat her like the help, she gets both experience and exposure—and the occasional day off to enjoy sketching on the beautiful beaches. This summer, Mrs. Harrison has her sights set on wealthy widower, Everett Bruce, as a possible husband for her uninterested daughter, so when Angel trips over him in a meet-cute, Mrs. Harrison is pissed. She wants Angel to understand that people like her are not in the realm of possible partners for handsome billionaires, especially ones who have recently lost their beautiful wives to tragic suicides. Of course, fate and Briscoe would like to offer a counterargument, and soon Angel is being swept off her feet by Everett, and when the summer comes to a close, he drops to one knee and proposes. Of course, not all is fairy tale ready: Everett turns out to be a workaholic, and all the money in the world can’t staunch Angel’s loneliness. Things get worse when they return home to Riverwild, the multimillion-dollar estate that’s run with an iron hand by Everett’s sister, Ida, and where his former wife’s bedroom is preserved like a shrine. Rebecca is a floating palimpsest in the background, but Chloe falls far short of the impact and dread of that classic. Ida comes onto the scene with a Mrs. Danvers–like disdain but doesn’t prove a worthy opponent, and the “ghost” of Chloe is all too easily banished in a rather rushed denouement.

Money trumps trauma here—and guarantees a happily ever after.