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Greenwich
A People Magazine "Best New Books" • An Amazon Best Books of July - Literature & Fiction • A Vanity Fair Summer Read
"A stunning debut...Fast-paced, beautifully written, vividly peopled, Greenwich is impossible to put down.” — Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Little Monsters
Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost eighteen when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help—and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey and her uncle is consumed with business, and Rachel feels lonely and adrift, excluded from the world of adults and their secrets. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more.
But when a tragic accident occurs, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. Caught between her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, she’s the only one who knows what really happened—and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted.
A riveting debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng and Liane Moriarty, Greenwich explores the nature of desire and complicity against the backdrop of immense wealth and privilege, the ways that whiteness and power protect their own, and the uneasy moral ambiguity of redemption.
"A stunning debut...Fast-paced, beautifully written, vividly peopled, Greenwich is impossible to put down.” — Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Little Monsters
Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost eighteen when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help—and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey and her uncle is consumed with business, and Rachel feels lonely and adrift, excluded from the world of adults and their secrets. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more.
But when a tragic accident occurs, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. Caught between her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, she’s the only one who knows what really happened—and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted.
A riveting debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng and Liane Moriarty, Greenwich explores the nature of desire and complicity against the backdrop of immense wealth and privilege, the ways that whiteness and power protect their own, and the uneasy moral ambiguity of redemption.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2025
800 people are currently reading
14589 people want to read
About the author
Kate Broad
1 book56 followersKate Broad holds a BA from Wellesley College and a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center. She is a Bronx Council on the Arts award winner for fiction and her writing appears widely in literary journals and online. Her first novel, Greenwich, was released in 2025 from St. Martin's Press and was named one of People Magazine's Best New Books, a Vanity Fair Summer Read, and an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best New Literature and Fiction. Originally from Massachusetts, she lives in the Bronx.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 461 reviews
October 14, 2025
Happy pub day to this amazing book! I really recommend picking it up ❤️❤️.
Out on July 22nd!
What a ride! This book is a mix of wealth, privilege, and regret served lukewarm in a Greenwich mansion circa 1999. This isn’t the summer of love, it’s the summer of yearning and bad decisions.
Think White Lotus energy without the murder, crossed with the muted sadness of Call Me by Your Name, but swap peaches for pearl necklaces and unresolved trauma.
Rachel Fiske spends the summer of 1999 in her aunt and uncle’s Greenwich mansion, suffocated by secrets she can’t quite understand and a family she doesn’t fit into. There’s a babysitter, Claudia, who’s both a lifeline and an obsession, and the tragic accident that sends everything spiraling. But let’s be clear: this isn’t about what happens. It’s about what doesn’t, what’s left unsaid, unprocessed, and unresolved.
This book isn’t here to thrill you. There’s no big twist, no gasp-out-loud moment, it’s more like walking into a room full of ghosts and realizing they’re all versions of yourself.
This book is a quiet excavation of shame. It’s about how privilege protects, how guilt festers, and how self-sabotage becomes a survival skill when you’re raised in the shadow of neglect. Rachel’s upbringing, a sick sibling getting all the attention, sets her up to seek connection in all the wrong places. There’s a low hum of compulsory heterosexuality in her fixation on Claudia, a kind of yearning that’s more about identity than romance.
Why It Wasn’t Five Stars:
1. The Description Doesn’t Fit: The marketing around this book does it a disservice. If you’re expecting high drama and shocking secrets, you’re not going to find it here. And that’s not a bad thing, it’s just not Greenwich. This book feels more like Family Trust by Kathy Wang or even Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe than anything remotely Moriarty-esque.
2. Missed Opportunities: While the book is rich with introspection, it skirts some of its juiciest themes. Rachel’s queerness feels more implied than explored, and the dynamics of her family (especially growing up as the overshadowed sibling of a sick child) are compelling but not fully developed.
3. Character Growth (or Lack Thereof): Rachel isn’t self-aware, and while that’s clearly intentional, it makes for a frustrating reading experience at times. By the end of the book, she’s technically grown—becoming a trauma surgeon is no small feat—but emotionally, she’s still caught in the same loops of shame and self-doubt.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy. Greenwich publishes on July 22, 2025, and I’m so glad I got to read it early!
Out on July 22nd!
What a ride! This book is a mix of wealth, privilege, and regret served lukewarm in a Greenwich mansion circa 1999. This isn’t the summer of love, it’s the summer of yearning and bad decisions.
Think White Lotus energy without the murder, crossed with the muted sadness of Call Me by Your Name, but swap peaches for pearl necklaces and unresolved trauma.
Rachel Fiske spends the summer of 1999 in her aunt and uncle’s Greenwich mansion, suffocated by secrets she can’t quite understand and a family she doesn’t fit into. There’s a babysitter, Claudia, who’s both a lifeline and an obsession, and the tragic accident that sends everything spiraling. But let’s be clear: this isn’t about what happens. It’s about what doesn’t, what’s left unsaid, unprocessed, and unresolved.
This book isn’t here to thrill you. There’s no big twist, no gasp-out-loud moment, it’s more like walking into a room full of ghosts and realizing they’re all versions of yourself.
This book is a quiet excavation of shame. It’s about how privilege protects, how guilt festers, and how self-sabotage becomes a survival skill when you’re raised in the shadow of neglect. Rachel’s upbringing, a sick sibling getting all the attention, sets her up to seek connection in all the wrong places. There’s a low hum of compulsory heterosexuality in her fixation on Claudia, a kind of yearning that’s more about identity than romance.
Why It Wasn’t Five Stars:
1. The Description Doesn’t Fit: The marketing around this book does it a disservice. If you’re expecting high drama and shocking secrets, you’re not going to find it here. And that’s not a bad thing, it’s just not Greenwich. This book feels more like Family Trust by Kathy Wang or even Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe than anything remotely Moriarty-esque.
2. Missed Opportunities: While the book is rich with introspection, it skirts some of its juiciest themes. Rachel’s queerness feels more implied than explored, and the dynamics of her family (especially growing up as the overshadowed sibling of a sick child) are compelling but not fully developed.
3. Character Growth (or Lack Thereof): Rachel isn’t self-aware, and while that’s clearly intentional, it makes for a frustrating reading experience at times. By the end of the book, she’s technically grown—becoming a trauma surgeon is no small feat—but emotionally, she’s still caught in the same loops of shame and self-doubt.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy. Greenwich publishes on July 22, 2025, and I’m so glad I got to read it early!
February 20, 2025
3.5
a fast, pulpy beach read. It’s the type of story where you can already see ahead of time the broad strokes of the plot but it’s entertaining to the point where it doesn’t matter that you know where things are going. I love these types of stories where you're kind of moving backward in knowing the ending but getting to watch how everything falls in line, and mix in a rich family with secrets… very up my alley lol.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, sometimes it veered into the territory of young adult (no shade, there’s just an ism a lot of those books have that flashed through the writing every so often here). And I think the themes of race and class were honestly quite hamfisted so I wouldn’t go into this expecting any grappling with those topics further than what you’d see in like.. an infographic off instagram. There was one scene specifically in this book that in hindsight after finishing was so… random to throw in there? I have more thoughts on this but I think it would veer into spoiler territory so I’ll hold off lol.
Despite that it was still compulsively readable, I found myself annihilating the first half of this book in one night. Fair warning though I can see people finding the perspective you have to read from very grating. It’s reminiscent of Yellowface and despite both of those books intentionally writing their mcs that way I know some people don’t jive with it so I’d keep that in mind. Good book to get you out of a reading slump though. Thanks NetGalley for the arc!
a fast, pulpy beach read. It’s the type of story where you can already see ahead of time the broad strokes of the plot but it’s entertaining to the point where it doesn’t matter that you know where things are going. I love these types of stories where you're kind of moving backward in knowing the ending but getting to watch how everything falls in line, and mix in a rich family with secrets… very up my alley lol.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, sometimes it veered into the territory of young adult (no shade, there’s just an ism a lot of those books have that flashed through the writing every so often here). And I think the themes of race and class were honestly quite hamfisted so I wouldn’t go into this expecting any grappling with those topics further than what you’d see in like.. an infographic off instagram. There was one scene specifically in this book that in hindsight after finishing was so… random to throw in there? I have more thoughts on this but I think it would veer into spoiler territory so I’ll hold off lol.
Despite that it was still compulsively readable, I found myself annihilating the first half of this book in one night. Fair warning though I can see people finding the perspective you have to read from very grating. It’s reminiscent of Yellowface and despite both of those books intentionally writing their mcs that way I know some people don’t jive with it so I’d keep that in mind. Good book to get you out of a reading slump though. Thanks NetGalley for the arc!
February 27, 2025
I received a free copy of, Greenwich, by Kate Broad, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Rachel Flaske goes to spend the summer with her injured aunt in Greenwich, Connecticut. I could not get into this book at all. I did not care for any of the characters at all, especially Rachel.
May 4, 2025
This is one of those 3-star ratings that starts at 4 stars but ends at 2, making it more of an average than anything else. You could certainly make the argument that I should rate it at 2 instead, because at least at the beginning we don't really know what the book is about yet.
This is much, much too long. This is a long short story that has been turned into a novel. So much of the middle of this book feels unnecessary, just one anecdote after another. Some of them are there so that we see a specific thing occur, but really they just run on and on. Yes, that is how Rachel's summer is supposed to feel. But it is in sharp contrast to the book's occasional reminders that Something Terrible Is Going To Happen.
I want to like this more than I did. I think what Broad is really going for all together, the story not just of what Rachel felt at this moment, but who Rachel goes on to be afterwards is interesting. But the way it was told didn't work for me at all. Once we move on from the Something Terrible, Rachel is obsessed with absolving her own guilt, she is also incapable of confronting her own culpability, her own privilege, and all the ways that she continues to keep it all going. Her rebellions feel wildly insufficient. All this is very much in line with Rachel as a character, it felt honest to me. But the book doesn't seem fully willing to take Rachel down the way it should. I was so fed up with her for the entire second part of the book. It was so clear what she was doing wrong but we had to go through another 100 or so pages of repeating and repeating.
Perhaps this is just one of those situations where I got to the point at page 200 when Broad only wanted me to get there at page 300. Maybe that won't happen for most readers. I can only speak for myself. But in the end, this book is a manifestation of white feel-good liberal values that doesn't do much. For better or worse.
This is much, much too long. This is a long short story that has been turned into a novel. So much of the middle of this book feels unnecessary, just one anecdote after another. Some of them are there so that we see a specific thing occur, but really they just run on and on. Yes, that is how Rachel's summer is supposed to feel. But it is in sharp contrast to the book's occasional reminders that Something Terrible Is Going To Happen.
I want to like this more than I did. I think what Broad is really going for all together, the story not just of what Rachel felt at this moment, but who Rachel goes on to be afterwards is interesting. But the way it was told didn't work for me at all. Once we move on from the Something Terrible, Rachel is obsessed with absolving her own guilt, she is also incapable of confronting her own culpability, her own privilege, and all the ways that she continues to keep it all going. Her rebellions feel wildly insufficient. All this is very much in line with Rachel as a character, it felt honest to me. But the book doesn't seem fully willing to take Rachel down the way it should. I was so fed up with her for the entire second part of the book. It was so clear what she was doing wrong but we had to go through another 100 or so pages of repeating and repeating.
Perhaps this is just one of those situations where I got to the point at page 200 when Broad only wanted me to get there at page 300. Maybe that won't happen for most readers. I can only speak for myself. But in the end, this book is a manifestation of white feel-good liberal values that doesn't do much. For better or worse.
August 11, 2025
Thank you, St. Martin's Press, for sending me this ARC. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I really struggled to connect to the characters and the storyline. The book is essentially split into three segments: 1. foreshadowing of the tragedy, 2. the tragedy itself, and 3. the aftermath. I initially felt intrigued because, naturally, I wanted to know what happened and the outcome of the event, but simultaneously, this story dragged. The storyline embedded throughout, outside of the incident, was the bulk of the book, and it just lacked substance. Maybe the audiobook would be better?
2.5 stars✨
The publication date is set for July 22, 2025.
2.5 stars✨
The publication date is set for July 22, 2025.
January 8, 2026
While her family struggles with her sister’s health issues, Rachel, a rising college freshman, is sent to spend the summer with her aunt and uncle in Connecticut. She’s supposedly there to “help” her aunt with her toddler-aged cousin—but it turns out the kid already has a full-time nanny, Claudia. A recent college grad, Claudia is sophisticated and fun, and quickly takes Rachel under her wing. The story is narrated by the future 30-something Rachel—and she warns us through cryptic clues that it will end in scandal and tragedy. As Rachel and Claudia embark on their fun summer, we know that it will take a turn for the disastrous.
This story is well-crafted, and the vague foreshadowing works particularly well. Even in the sunniest scenes, there is a sense of foreboding. It also explores race and class in a nuanced way through the experiences of Rachel, who is white, and Claudia, who is Black. Neither girl fits neatly into an archetype. Rachel is from an upper middle class home, but her aunt and uncle are uber wealthy and she gets to vicariously experience the life of the ultra privileged. Claudia is a highly educated artist, the sister of Rachel’s aunt’s colleague. But when things fall apart, the gap between how she and Rachel are perceived becomes shockingly clear.
Be warned that this story is a very sad one, but it’s also fascinating. It’s a literary page-turner that will especially appeal to fans of books like Little Fires Everywhere.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me access to an eARC of this book.
This story is well-crafted, and the vague foreshadowing works particularly well. Even in the sunniest scenes, there is a sense of foreboding. It also explores race and class in a nuanced way through the experiences of Rachel, who is white, and Claudia, who is Black. Neither girl fits neatly into an archetype. Rachel is from an upper middle class home, but her aunt and uncle are uber wealthy and she gets to vicariously experience the life of the ultra privileged. Claudia is a highly educated artist, the sister of Rachel’s aunt’s colleague. But when things fall apart, the gap between how she and Rachel are perceived becomes shockingly clear.
Be warned that this story is a very sad one, but it’s also fascinating. It’s a literary page-turner that will especially appeal to fans of books like Little Fires Everywhere.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me access to an eARC of this book.
November 16, 2024
Greenwich by Kate Broad. Thanks to @stmartinspress for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer of 1999 Rachel goes to stay with her aunt and uncle in Greenwich, Connecticut. 17, Rachel is thankful to escape troubles back home but feels lonely and isolated at Greenwich. Her only solace is their nanny, Claudia, who watches Rachel’s niece. When tragedy strikes the family turns against Claudia and Rachel is stick in between.
It took a bit for this one to pick up for me. The first half is slow going but you know tragedy is about to strike so you dread turning the pages. About halfway it picks up, especially once the court room scenes start. You really need to sit with this one and read it closely. It’s not a fast paced suspense that can be sped through; there’s a lot of intent and purpose behind it.
“Maybe anything could become true once you decided there was no other way.”
Greenwich comes out 7/22.
Summer of 1999 Rachel goes to stay with her aunt and uncle in Greenwich, Connecticut. 17, Rachel is thankful to escape troubles back home but feels lonely and isolated at Greenwich. Her only solace is their nanny, Claudia, who watches Rachel’s niece. When tragedy strikes the family turns against Claudia and Rachel is stick in between.
It took a bit for this one to pick up for me. The first half is slow going but you know tragedy is about to strike so you dread turning the pages. About halfway it picks up, especially once the court room scenes start. You really need to sit with this one and read it closely. It’s not a fast paced suspense that can be sped through; there’s a lot of intent and purpose behind it.
“Maybe anything could become true once you decided there was no other way.”
Greenwich comes out 7/22.
July 3, 2025
Greenwich was somehow both a slow burn and a wild ride. While the “main event” alluded to throughout the story took ages to arrive, the tension kept simmering. I found myself constantly building up theories and scenarios based on the subtle asides woven into Rachel’s recollections of that pivotal summer.
Rachel, as a character, was deeply unlikable—yet I couldn't stop feeling sorry for her. I kept thinking, maybe if this or that hadn’t happened, she wouldn’t be such a creepy brat. But the truth is, this is just who she is at her core. Despite her attempts to differentiate herself from the privileged world she comes from, she repeatedly proves she’s no better than the people she claims to despise.
Some plot threads felt like they were being set up for major reveals—like Julia’s cancer, the disturbing things Rachel discovered on the computer, or some of the more adult experiences she went through as a minor—but they ended up fading into the background. That might be intentional, though. Perhaps Broad is making a broader point: when you come from extreme wealth, nothing really sticks, and consequences rarely matter.
As for the “event” the book builds toward, I was convinced it was going to take a wildly different turn. The buildup pointed so clearly in one direction that when it finally happened, I was left confused and somewhat underwhelmed. And the ending—without giving spoilers—I was expecting something truly unhinged, especially considering Rachel’s obsession with Claudia. But again, not much really happens.
My emotions and stress levels were all over the place. This book was messy, intense, and unpredictable, and it definitely kept me on my toes.
I listened to an early audio copy, gifted by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. As always, Macmillan delivered high-quality production. Imani Jade Powers was excellent as the narrator—she kept me locked in and second-guessing all the way through. Big thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listen—I really enjoyed this one!
Rachel, as a character, was deeply unlikable—yet I couldn't stop feeling sorry for her. I kept thinking, maybe if this or that hadn’t happened, she wouldn’t be such a creepy brat. But the truth is, this is just who she is at her core. Despite her attempts to differentiate herself from the privileged world she comes from, she repeatedly proves she’s no better than the people she claims to despise.
Some plot threads felt like they were being set up for major reveals—like Julia’s cancer, the disturbing things Rachel discovered on the computer, or some of the more adult experiences she went through as a minor—but they ended up fading into the background. That might be intentional, though. Perhaps Broad is making a broader point: when you come from extreme wealth, nothing really sticks, and consequences rarely matter.
As for the “event” the book builds toward, I was convinced it was going to take a wildly different turn. The buildup pointed so clearly in one direction that when it finally happened, I was left confused and somewhat underwhelmed. And the ending—without giving spoilers—I was expecting something truly unhinged, especially considering Rachel’s obsession with Claudia. But again, not much really happens.
My emotions and stress levels were all over the place. This book was messy, intense, and unpredictable, and it definitely kept me on my toes.
I listened to an early audio copy, gifted by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. As always, Macmillan delivered high-quality production. Imani Jade Powers was excellent as the narrator—she kept me locked in and second-guessing all the way through. Big thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listen—I really enjoyed this one!
April 10, 2025
I won a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
"They were careless people, [Laurent and Ellen]- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made." Yep, that quote from The Great Gatsby works well to describe this book.
2 and 1/2 stars rounded down. I wanted to like this more, but man, it was really difficult in the end. This is an adult book, but the narrator is such a child. For the first part of the book, it was difficult to like Rachel because she was an unreliable narrator who kept saying "What do I know about anything?" But her actions were understandable because she was 17. However, she has absolutely ZERO growth over 20 years! As a 38 year old doctor, she should not have the same thought process that she had at 17. She was very frustrating.
"They were careless people, [Laurent and Ellen]- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made." Yep, that quote from The Great Gatsby works well to describe this book.
2 and 1/2 stars rounded down. I wanted to like this more, but man, it was really difficult in the end. This is an adult book, but the narrator is such a child. For the first part of the book, it was difficult to like Rachel because she was an unreliable narrator who kept saying "What do I know about anything?" But her actions were understandable because she was 17. However, she has absolutely ZERO growth over 20 years! As a 38 year old doctor, she should not have the same thought process that she had at 17. She was very frustrating.
February 21, 2025
Genre: Coming of Age
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: July 22, 2025
In the summer of 1999, we meet 17-year-old Rachel, about to graduate in her senior year of high school. We learn that she has lost all her friends due to typical teenage drama, and her parents are confused about why she will not be attending graduation parties. At the story’s beginning, Rachel has the reader’s sympathy, but not so much at the end. Kate Broad does a good job of showing us teenage naivety vs. teenage selfishness. Rachel is glad to be leaving town to help her aunt recover from an accident. Her aunt and uncle’s lavish estate exposes her to a world of privilege and the abuse of power that can come with extreme wealth. She connects with her aunt’s Afro-American Nanny, Claudia, who watches over her two-year-old cousin. Claudia is only a few years older than Rachel is. They develop a friendship and more. A tragic accident forces Rachel to make a tough decision about her loyalty between Claudia and her aunt. The author explores the inequality of race, class, privilege, and sexuality. I enjoyed this novel but was disappointed that Claudia did not receive as much detail as Rachel. In addition, the end part of the book dragged a bit. However, it is fair to say that none of the characters were innocent about the tragedy, which makes this an interesting and complex read.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list…
https://books6259.wordpress.com/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review…
https://www.facebook.com/martie.neesr…
https://www.amazon.com/
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: July 22, 2025
In the summer of 1999, we meet 17-year-old Rachel, about to graduate in her senior year of high school. We learn that she has lost all her friends due to typical teenage drama, and her parents are confused about why she will not be attending graduation parties. At the story’s beginning, Rachel has the reader’s sympathy, but not so much at the end. Kate Broad does a good job of showing us teenage naivety vs. teenage selfishness. Rachel is glad to be leaving town to help her aunt recover from an accident. Her aunt and uncle’s lavish estate exposes her to a world of privilege and the abuse of power that can come with extreme wealth. She connects with her aunt’s Afro-American Nanny, Claudia, who watches over her two-year-old cousin. Claudia is only a few years older than Rachel is. They develop a friendship and more. A tragic accident forces Rachel to make a tough decision about her loyalty between Claudia and her aunt. The author explores the inequality of race, class, privilege, and sexuality. I enjoyed this novel but was disappointed that Claudia did not receive as much detail as Rachel. In addition, the end part of the book dragged a bit. However, it is fair to say that none of the characters were innocent about the tragedy, which makes this an interesting and complex read.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list…
https://books6259.wordpress.com/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review…
https://www.facebook.com/martie.neesr…
https://www.amazon.com/
August 2, 2025
If you’re gonna make your characters unlikable, they’ve gotta be more compelling than this
July 27, 2025
Wow wow wow. I could not put this down. Fans of Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid will love this incredibly nuanced portrait of race, class, and privilege, a novel that deftly shows how the distinction between truth and lies is so blurry and so often up for interpretation.
February 2, 2025
Kate Broad's Greenwich was a masterclass in slow building domestic tension. The novel follows recent high-school grad Rachel, while she spends her summer break in Greenwich, CT, with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Ellen and Laurent, their young daughter Sabine, and their live-in au pair, Claudia. From the first page we know that disaster looms imminently on the horizon for the family depicted in Greenwich. Each long summer day feels as if it drags on, adding to the tension simmering just beneath the surface. As the narrative reaches its crescendo, (without spoiling anything) everything happens very quickly. The perfect bubble of domesticity that the family has been preserving has been temporarily burst, and they will stop at nothing to restore their family name.
I read Greenwich in one straight marathon session, from cover to cover over the course of a day. I was completely absorbed waiting for the shoe to drop. Though the pacing was uneven throughout the novel, I thought it lended itself to the events of the story very nicely. The characters stayed true to self until the end. I found the narrator, Rachel, to be unlikeable; she was self-sabotaging yet consistently depicted herself as a victim and I felt in the wrong in moments where I briefly sympathized with her. Overall, I thought this was a really impressive debut, and the book read like a movie so I'm crossing my fingers for a big-screen adaptation! I think fans of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi, and the movie Saltburn will also enjoy Greenwich. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kate Broad for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I read Greenwich in one straight marathon session, from cover to cover over the course of a day. I was completely absorbed waiting for the shoe to drop. Though the pacing was uneven throughout the novel, I thought it lended itself to the events of the story very nicely. The characters stayed true to self until the end. I found the narrator, Rachel, to be unlikeable; she was self-sabotaging yet consistently depicted herself as a victim and I felt in the wrong in moments where I briefly sympathized with her. Overall, I thought this was a really impressive debut, and the book read like a movie so I'm crossing my fingers for a big-screen adaptation! I think fans of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi, and the movie Saltburn will also enjoy Greenwich. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kate Broad for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
September 8, 2025
Drawn to the book’s title, I went into dysfunctional read hopeful. Hopeful, that the story would be gripping, salacious, and atmospheric given that it takes place in Greenwich, a town close to where I used to live. While the writing was ok, the storyline was lacking. I never developed a connection to the characters or their storylines and was left wanting. This may simply be the case of having very specific expectations, and being the wrong reader for this novel.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.
August 16, 2025
Oh I liked this one! How much does the truth matter? How much do we matter? How much does someone else’s knowledge and perception of us change our self image? All questions this book had me asking myself. The characters are complex and the storyline kept me interested to the very end. The narrator did an excellent job. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review!
May 3, 2025
Okay, giving up on this one. As someone who lived in Greenwich, CT from 1994-2003, I was excited when I saw this thriller set there in 1999… but not only was it not compelling or thrilling, nothing about it actually read like the town. I couldn’t find out where the author is from, but it isn’t Greenwich. Which is fine if you want to pick a rich, affluent, mostly white area to set your commentary on white privilege, but if you’re going to give the book the title Greenwich, then actually know something about Greenwich. I started highlighting parts with notes like “No one calls it downtown Greenwich, you mean Greenwich Ave.” That aside, as for the plot, things were dragging and by a quarter in, I no longer even cared what the big incident was going to turn out to be.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC to review.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC to review.
December 16, 2025
Greenwich is a domestic drama. This was the right book at the right time. I could take my time to absorb the characters, nuances, plot, and writing. The writing and pace was good. I get excited when I read a debut author that engages the reader. The plot is enticing and prompted curiosity with wealth, abuse of power and social hierarchy. The characters were a mixed bag. The mc, Rachel, wasn’t very likable, but I just went with it and hoped she would eventually have redeeming qualities. What bubbles beneath is unsettling.
This isn’t a fast paced read, but the anticipation of a something looming pushes the narrative along. The conclusion was a choice. Which side are you on? A worth while read for sure and I’m looking forward to the next by Katie Broad.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press
This isn’t a fast paced read, but the anticipation of a something looming pushes the narrative along. The conclusion was a choice. Which side are you on? A worth while read for sure and I’m looking forward to the next by Katie Broad.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press
July 21, 2025
Really enjoyed this one! I loved the point of view of the narrator and the suspense that was built from the start. A great commentary on racial/wealth inequalities and the injustices in the legal system while still being overall lighthearted and fun. I would have loved the queer storyline to be a bit more developed, especially in the epilogue. The ending left me wanting a little bit more for Rachel!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 6, 2025
I have tried hard to think about what exactly this book adds to the literary conversation about race, and have drawn a blank. That selfish young white women can manipulatively, casually enact unspeakable racist violence too? That rich folks do it all the time but don’t have the decency to feel bad about it?
Literally who is this book for????
Literally who is this book for????
Currently reading
October 13, 2025who's book clubbing this with me once it's released ??
July 24, 2025
Kate Broad's debut novel, Greenwich, arrives like a perfectly timed thunderclap—illuminating the dark corners of American privilege while leaving readers unsettled by its moral ambiguity. Set against the manicured lawns and estate walls of one of Connecticut's wealthiest enclaves, this literary thriller dissects the anatomy of complicity with surgical precision.
The novel opens in the summer of 1999, when seventeen-year-old Rachel Fiske arrives at her aunt and uncle's Greenwich mansion seeking redemption from unnamed teenage mistakes. What she finds instead is a world where appearances matter more than truth, where money doesn't just talk—it rewrites reality. Rachel becomes infatuated with Claudia, the live-in babysitter for her young cousin Sabine, and their tentative romance unfolds against the backdrop of swimming pools and garden parties that feel more like theatrical performances of wealth.
The Architecture of Tragedy
Broad constructs her narrative with the careful deliberation of a master architect, building toward the inevitable tragedy that will shatter this gilded world. The death of three-year-old Sabine—Rachel's cousin—in an apparent accident becomes the fulcrum around which the entire story turns. But in Greenwich, even accidents have architects, and the wealthy Corbin family immediately begins orchestrating a narrative that will protect their reputation at any cost.
The novel's structure mirrors its thematic preoccupations with truth and perspective. Told from Rachel's point of view across two timelines—the summer of 1999 and nearly two decades later—the story reveals itself like layers of an onion, each peeling away exposing new depths of moral compromise. Broad demonstrates remarkable control over her narrative, allowing readers to piece together the full scope of the Corbins' manipulation while maintaining suspense about Rachel's ultimate choices.
What makes Greenwich particularly compelling is its refusal to offer easy moral categories. Rachel is neither pure victim nor calculating villain, but something far more human and disturbing: a young woman caught between her upbringing and her conscience, between her desire to belong and her growing awareness of injustice. When Claudia becomes the scapegoat for Sabine's death—prosecuted and ultimately imprisoned—Rachel must decide whether to reveal what she knows or protect the family that has embraced her.
The Weight of Witness
Broad's exploration of witness and complicity feels particularly urgent in our current moment. Rachel's testimony during Claudia's trial becomes a masterclass in how truth can be weaponized, how partial honesty can be more damaging than outright lies. The author doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable reality that good people can do terrible things, that privilege creates its own gravitational field that bends even well-intentioned souls toward self-preservation.
The racial dynamics of the story add another layer of complexity. Claudia is Black, the Corbins are white, and the criminal justice system responds predictably to this configuration. Yet Broad avoids reducing these characters to symbols, instead crafting fully realized individuals whose choices feel both inevitable and tragic. The novel's examination of how whiteness and wealth protect their own while sacrificing others feels both timeless and urgently contemporary.
Literary Craftsmanship and Emotional Resonance
Broad's prose style perfectly matches her subject matter—polished on the surface but with an underlying current of unease. Her descriptions of Greenwich's rarefied world are both seductive and suffocating, capturing the way extreme wealth can feel like both paradise and prison. The author has a particular gift for rendering the awkwardness of adolescence, the way teenage desire can feel simultaneously urgent and embarrassing.
The relationship between Rachel and Claudia is drawn with particular sensitivity. Their romance feels genuine rather than performative, a brief moment of authentic connection in a world built on careful facades. When that relationship becomes collateral damage in the Corbins' reputation management campaign, the loss feels genuinely devastating.
Where the Novel Occasionally Stumbles
While Greenwich largely succeeds in its ambitious aims, it occasionally suffers from the weight of its own themes. Some sequences in the novel's final act feel slightly overwrought, as if Broad is determined to ensure readers grasp every implication of her moral argument. The time jumps, while generally effective, sometimes create emotional distance at moments when greater intimacy might serve the story better.
Additionally, certain secondary characters—particularly some members of Rachel's extended family—feel more like representatives of class privilege than fully realized individuals. While this may be intentional, given the novel's interest in how wealth can flatten human complexity, it occasionally makes the social critique feel heavy-handed.
A Debut That Announces a Major Talent
Despite these minor quibbles, Greenwich stands as a remarkable achievement. Broad has crafted a novel that functions simultaneously as psychological thriller, coming-of-age story, and social critique without sacrificing the integrity of any of these elements. The book's exploration of how privilege operates—not through mustache-twirling villainy but through a thousand small compromises and willful blindnesses—feels both revelatory and deeply familiar.
The novel's ending, which finds Rachel attempting to make amends decades later, offers no easy redemption. Claudia, now a successful artist whose work explicitly addresses her experiences with the criminal justice system, rebuffs Rachel's attempts at reconciliation. This final confrontation between the two women—one who has spent years rebuilding her life, another who has spent years trying to forget—provides a fitting conclusion to a story about the long consequences of moral choices.
Final Verdict
Greenwich is the rare debut that feels both urgent and timeless, examining issues that have plagued American society for generations while speaking directly to contemporary concerns about justice, privilege, and accountability. Kate Broad has announced herself as a writer of remarkable insight and craft, capable of creating characters who feel genuinely human even when making deeply flawed choices.
This is not comfort reading—Broad offers no easy answers or satisfying resolutions. Instead, she provides something more valuable: a clear-eyed examination of how good intentions can lead to terrible outcomes, how privilege can corrupt even well-meaning people, and how the pursuit of justice is often messy, incomplete, and deeply personal.
For readers willing to grapple with difficult questions about complicity and redemption, Greenwich offers a reading experience that will linger long after the final page. It's a book that demands to be discussed, debated, and ultimately reckoned with—exactly the kind of literary fiction our moment requires.
The novel opens in the summer of 1999, when seventeen-year-old Rachel Fiske arrives at her aunt and uncle's Greenwich mansion seeking redemption from unnamed teenage mistakes. What she finds instead is a world where appearances matter more than truth, where money doesn't just talk—it rewrites reality. Rachel becomes infatuated with Claudia, the live-in babysitter for her young cousin Sabine, and their tentative romance unfolds against the backdrop of swimming pools and garden parties that feel more like theatrical performances of wealth.
The Architecture of Tragedy
Broad constructs her narrative with the careful deliberation of a master architect, building toward the inevitable tragedy that will shatter this gilded world. The death of three-year-old Sabine—Rachel's cousin—in an apparent accident becomes the fulcrum around which the entire story turns. But in Greenwich, even accidents have architects, and the wealthy Corbin family immediately begins orchestrating a narrative that will protect their reputation at any cost.
The novel's structure mirrors its thematic preoccupations with truth and perspective. Told from Rachel's point of view across two timelines—the summer of 1999 and nearly two decades later—the story reveals itself like layers of an onion, each peeling away exposing new depths of moral compromise. Broad demonstrates remarkable control over her narrative, allowing readers to piece together the full scope of the Corbins' manipulation while maintaining suspense about Rachel's ultimate choices.
What makes Greenwich particularly compelling is its refusal to offer easy moral categories. Rachel is neither pure victim nor calculating villain, but something far more human and disturbing: a young woman caught between her upbringing and her conscience, between her desire to belong and her growing awareness of injustice. When Claudia becomes the scapegoat for Sabine's death—prosecuted and ultimately imprisoned—Rachel must decide whether to reveal what she knows or protect the family that has embraced her.
The Weight of Witness
Broad's exploration of witness and complicity feels particularly urgent in our current moment. Rachel's testimony during Claudia's trial becomes a masterclass in how truth can be weaponized, how partial honesty can be more damaging than outright lies. The author doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable reality that good people can do terrible things, that privilege creates its own gravitational field that bends even well-intentioned souls toward self-preservation.
The racial dynamics of the story add another layer of complexity. Claudia is Black, the Corbins are white, and the criminal justice system responds predictably to this configuration. Yet Broad avoids reducing these characters to symbols, instead crafting fully realized individuals whose choices feel both inevitable and tragic. The novel's examination of how whiteness and wealth protect their own while sacrificing others feels both timeless and urgently contemporary.
Literary Craftsmanship and Emotional Resonance
Broad's prose style perfectly matches her subject matter—polished on the surface but with an underlying current of unease. Her descriptions of Greenwich's rarefied world are both seductive and suffocating, capturing the way extreme wealth can feel like both paradise and prison. The author has a particular gift for rendering the awkwardness of adolescence, the way teenage desire can feel simultaneously urgent and embarrassing.
The relationship between Rachel and Claudia is drawn with particular sensitivity. Their romance feels genuine rather than performative, a brief moment of authentic connection in a world built on careful facades. When that relationship becomes collateral damage in the Corbins' reputation management campaign, the loss feels genuinely devastating.
Where the Novel Occasionally Stumbles
While Greenwich largely succeeds in its ambitious aims, it occasionally suffers from the weight of its own themes. Some sequences in the novel's final act feel slightly overwrought, as if Broad is determined to ensure readers grasp every implication of her moral argument. The time jumps, while generally effective, sometimes create emotional distance at moments when greater intimacy might serve the story better.
Additionally, certain secondary characters—particularly some members of Rachel's extended family—feel more like representatives of class privilege than fully realized individuals. While this may be intentional, given the novel's interest in how wealth can flatten human complexity, it occasionally makes the social critique feel heavy-handed.
A Debut That Announces a Major Talent
Despite these minor quibbles, Greenwich stands as a remarkable achievement. Broad has crafted a novel that functions simultaneously as psychological thriller, coming-of-age story, and social critique without sacrificing the integrity of any of these elements. The book's exploration of how privilege operates—not through mustache-twirling villainy but through a thousand small compromises and willful blindnesses—feels both revelatory and deeply familiar.
The novel's ending, which finds Rachel attempting to make amends decades later, offers no easy redemption. Claudia, now a successful artist whose work explicitly addresses her experiences with the criminal justice system, rebuffs Rachel's attempts at reconciliation. This final confrontation between the two women—one who has spent years rebuilding her life, another who has spent years trying to forget—provides a fitting conclusion to a story about the long consequences of moral choices.
Final Verdict
Greenwich is the rare debut that feels both urgent and timeless, examining issues that have plagued American society for generations while speaking directly to contemporary concerns about justice, privilege, and accountability. Kate Broad has announced herself as a writer of remarkable insight and craft, capable of creating characters who feel genuinely human even when making deeply flawed choices.
This is not comfort reading—Broad offers no easy answers or satisfying resolutions. Instead, she provides something more valuable: a clear-eyed examination of how good intentions can lead to terrible outcomes, how privilege can corrupt even well-meaning people, and how the pursuit of justice is often messy, incomplete, and deeply personal.
For readers willing to grapple with difficult questions about complicity and redemption, Greenwich offers a reading experience that will linger long after the final page. It's a book that demands to be discussed, debated, and ultimately reckoned with—exactly the kind of literary fiction our moment requires.
September 23, 2025
There are unreliable narrators—and then there are downright unhappy ones. Rachel is both, a stranger in Greenwich with all her teenage limitations and insecurities intact. She’s tangled in co-dependency, forever worrying about what her friends and love interests around her are thinking. And that anxious, scrutinizing inner voice is what makes this book so gripping.
The setting is just as compelling: life among the other half, where privilege and entitlement rule. The wealthy families of Greenwich are blind to their own excess, scummy in their determination to keep what’s theirs—and yours too. Race and class hover at the edges of their privilege, though they remain oblivious. Against this backdrop, Rachel’s story unfolds.
Her real reason for coming to Connecticut is to escape her unhappy home in Boston, where she lost her friends after hooking up with another girl’s boyfriend…but if it wasn’t that, it’d be some other silly teenage drama. In Greenwich, she meets Claudia, her wealthy ambitious aunt & uncle’s live-in nanny, and the two quickly become inseparable—until Rachel’s feelings deepen. While Claudia quietly endures the dismissive cruelty and micro aggressions of her employer Ellen, Rachel deals as best she can…and it’s never too well.
Rachel’s narration—needy, overthinking—draws you in and refuses to let go. The result is a story that will shatter your heart in a thousand pieces, a thousand times over. Smart, literary fiction.
The setting is just as compelling: life among the other half, where privilege and entitlement rule. The wealthy families of Greenwich are blind to their own excess, scummy in their determination to keep what’s theirs—and yours too. Race and class hover at the edges of their privilege, though they remain oblivious. Against this backdrop, Rachel’s story unfolds.
Her real reason for coming to Connecticut is to escape her unhappy home in Boston, where she lost her friends after hooking up with another girl’s boyfriend…but if it wasn’t that, it’d be some other silly teenage drama. In Greenwich, she meets Claudia, her wealthy ambitious aunt & uncle’s live-in nanny, and the two quickly become inseparable—until Rachel’s feelings deepen. While Claudia quietly endures the dismissive cruelty and micro aggressions of her employer Ellen, Rachel deals as best she can…and it’s never too well.
Rachel’s narration—needy, overthinking—draws you in and refuses to let go. The result is a story that will shatter your heart in a thousand pieces, a thousand times over. Smart, literary fiction.
October 18, 2025
you know about the unreliable narrator, but let me introduce you to the naive narrator.
January 7, 2025
I received a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Greenwich is Broad's debut novel which follows seventeen year old Rachel over the course of a life-changing summer in the late 1990s. I enjoyed the perspective, that of a teenager from Massachusetts in the 1990s since I was also a teenager in Massachusetts in the 1990s, so I can speak to many of the references being authentic. To be fair, most of the book is set in Greenwich, Connecticut, known as an extremely wealthy enclave where many financially elite people live in order to commute to New York City. Here, Rachel lives with her privileged aunt and uncle (the Corbins), her three year old cousin Sabine, and Sabine's Black nanny, Claudia. She is purportedly keeping an eye on her aunt (facing chronic pain after an accident) for her mother, while her mother cares for Rachel's younger sister, battling cancer. Rachel quickly observes her aunt, Ellen, acting strangely, and it isn't long before she discovers why. Meanwhile, Rachel develops feelings for Claudia, and life becomes complicated. A tragic accident occurs and this is where the tensions of the novel really develop - the frictions between being white and wealthy versus being the Black "help." Claudia is certainly educated and not from poverty, but still lives a life of stark contrast to the Corbins. I enjoyed that the novel asked a lot of big questions without coming across as sanctimonious or being too black-and-white. The novel is more of a slow-burn than a page-turner, but always an enjoyable and insightful read.
Greenwich is Broad's debut novel which follows seventeen year old Rachel over the course of a life-changing summer in the late 1990s. I enjoyed the perspective, that of a teenager from Massachusetts in the 1990s since I was also a teenager in Massachusetts in the 1990s, so I can speak to many of the references being authentic. To be fair, most of the book is set in Greenwich, Connecticut, known as an extremely wealthy enclave where many financially elite people live in order to commute to New York City. Here, Rachel lives with her privileged aunt and uncle (the Corbins), her three year old cousin Sabine, and Sabine's Black nanny, Claudia. She is purportedly keeping an eye on her aunt (facing chronic pain after an accident) for her mother, while her mother cares for Rachel's younger sister, battling cancer. Rachel quickly observes her aunt, Ellen, acting strangely, and it isn't long before she discovers why. Meanwhile, Rachel develops feelings for Claudia, and life becomes complicated. A tragic accident occurs and this is where the tensions of the novel really develop - the frictions between being white and wealthy versus being the Black "help." Claudia is certainly educated and not from poverty, but still lives a life of stark contrast to the Corbins. I enjoyed that the novel asked a lot of big questions without coming across as sanctimonious or being too black-and-white. The novel is more of a slow-burn than a page-turner, but always an enjoyable and insightful read.
February 12, 2025
This was not an enjoyable story, which is not to say it's a bad or even poorly written story bc it's neither of those. I had to sit with it before reviewing bc of how complex the story is. Quick summary: Rich people in white Connecticut 1999 vs societal rules/expectations & the law. None of the characters are particularly likable, but it seems to be the point. To address the gaping disconnect of wealth vs 'getting by', drug abuse for rich white people (as opposed to scummy poor poc), hiring out people to essentially live your life for you so you can get richer, attain more status, bribe elected officials, Commit perjury, and just generally be shitty but not have any consequences. I found the ending to be very poignant, and very cathartic because it brought to mind the fact that just because you apologized doesn't mean you're entitled to forgiveness. Great thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and St Martin's Press for this ARC, on sale 22Jul2025
August 2, 2025
The plot sounded good, but the racism and classism were so heavy handed that the reader feels like they're being bonked over the head with this notion. The other big downfall for me was the main character whose motivations were completely opaque. She was impulsive, selfish and made stupid, illogical decisions as a teenager and as an adult. The fact that she became a doctor was totally unrealistic. Doctors normally are driven, prudent, cautious and empathetic (well, the good ones anyway!). There's no way the main character could have become a doctor given her personality and behavior . Lastly, she has the strangest, oddest way of trying to make amends with people she has wronged. This book was not for me!
July 9, 2025
I imagine the reader is supposed to hate Rachel. A privileged, awkward, try-hard that reminded me of all the things I hate about myself. I found this to be predictable and it didn’t make me feel any of the things it seemed to be aiming for. Maybe that was the point.
May 8, 2025
Rachel, I’m so scared of you babe.
September 10, 2025
Still sorting out my feelings on this one
September 10, 2025
This book begins when the narrator Rachel is 17 years old and arrives in Greenwich, Connecticut to stay with her aunt for the summer. As she is arriving, she spots a dead deer in the pond on the palatial property. The property is enormous and seems bucolic, but when she gets close to the pond, it is sinister and a little grimy. That sets a great frame for how the rest of the story develops.
This is one of the best explorations of sociopathy and power (financial, racial, generational) that I can recall in some time. As the story unfolds, the circumstances and people become less and less redeemable. It’s particularly egregious in one case, but many of the characters live amorally in a way that is almost socially accepted.
There’s a whole spectrum of uncomfortable behavior to consider, which may be why I felt uncomfortable and on edge throughout the book. This book made me feel tense in a visceral way.
I’m surprised the overall rating for this book is not higher. I haven’t read other reviews before writing mine, but I’m guessing that some readers found the narrative voice intolerable. But I thought the writing was excellent and I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.
This is one of the best explorations of sociopathy and power (financial, racial, generational) that I can recall in some time. As the story unfolds, the circumstances and people become less and less redeemable. It’s particularly egregious in one case, but many of the characters live amorally in a way that is almost socially accepted.
There’s a whole spectrum of uncomfortable behavior to consider, which may be why I felt uncomfortable and on edge throughout the book. This book made me feel tense in a visceral way.
I’m surprised the overall rating for this book is not higher. I haven’t read other reviews before writing mine, but I’m guessing that some readers found the narrative voice intolerable. But I thought the writing was excellent and I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.
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