Forbidden Fruit

by Erica Spindler

Only one man can uncover the sins and secrets of three generations of Pierron women. . . Lily In sultry New Orleans any sin can be had for a price. For Lily, a legendary madam, that price is her daughter, Hope.Hope Pierron St. By day, the elegant and pious wife of a healthy hotelier, and devoted mother to Glory. By night, she succumbs to the unholy passions that threaten to destroy her.Glory St. Unaware of her family's shameful secrets, Glory suffers the consequences of a darkness she doesn't even know exists. Headstrong and reckless, Glory finds forbidden love -- with the one man know knows everything about the Pierron women . . .

Genres: Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Fiction, Thriller, Adult, Romantic Suspense

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

A New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Her stories have been lauded as “thrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits.”

Erica loves meeting and interacting with her fans, both in person and online. She has a wicked sense of humor, an optimistic spirit and loves coffee, chocolate and red wine, not necessarily in that order.

In 2002 her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a four-time RITA® Award finalist. In 1999 Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.

Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

[Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book was highly recommended by my cousin and when I mentioned on another account that I'm finally starting, we decided to read it together!



The story is set in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since 1917 the Pierron women have been born beautiful and cheap as in they are whores. In 1959, Hope decides this life of "darkness" isn't for her, so she leaves her mother and her "girls" behind to become eight years later a lady of society married to Philip St. Germaine, everything she has been relying on to change her fate comes crashing in 1967 when she gives birth to a beautiful baby girl that looks exactly like all the women in her family. The girl's name is Glory and as much as her father loves her, Hope can't stand seeing her and tortures her every moment she can.



In another part of town, young Victor Santos is 15, (when Glory was 12) he is happy, normal, loves his mom, though she's a stripper and a whore, but can't imagine his life without her. His life changes drastically and fate makes him meet and live with Lily Pierron, Hope's mother.



Honestly, I don't understand why didn't Philip put Glory in a boarding school in England or New York when things got so bad so she would grow away from her mother's poisonous influence! He would have given her a chance. The first part of the book keeps reminding me for some reason of Pretty Baby starring Brooke Shields. It has nothing to do with the scenario, but the madam's house, and young pretty girls strikes as close.



Now that I have finished the story I was conflicted between 3 or 4 stars, the story is highly entertaining and addictive, you just need to finish it; but I felt it missed a few things like a charming leading man, I found Santos to be such a jerk, and truthfully her mom was right, he is low class. I was sort of expecting a different ending and the way that Glory turned as an adult didn't make sense to me, let alone her character as a teenager. Every time Santos talked about the age difference between them I felt a headache pounding in my head! It's only 3 years! Chill!



I liked the story a lot, and Dita Von Teese just fit perfectly with the Pierron women style, beauty and appeal... I don't think Hope was schizophrenic, I think she was just so judgemental and thought she could do anything but when other people do anything wrong they are sinful.



I thought that Glory would have removed her mother from her life as a grown woman, the woman hated her and wanted to limit/control her in every possible way, she basically damaged her. As for Lisa, what a jerk! I didn't feel sorry for her at all. Really good book, I would like to read more things by Erica Spindler, I read that Red is one of her best!

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. Not for those of weak constitutions ;)

[Mary Cushnie-Mansour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forbidden Fruit by Erica Spindler – 5 stars
This is the story of the Pierron women and their shadowy past, and the affect that past has on the lives of the ones who are still alive. Forbidden Fruit takes you into the world of sultry New Orleans, to the home of Lily Pierron, a legendary madam, like her mother and grandmother before her. What is different now is that Lily wants a different life for her own daughter, Hope, and she makes sure that Hope has the best education that money can buy. She even goes as far as setting up an entire new identity for her daughter. However, unbeknown to Lily, Hope cannot wait to get out of her mother’s house, and she embraces this new identity with the intention of leaving all of her past behind––including her mother.

Hope, who is beautiful, smart, and talented, fits into high society quite well, despite the darkness that torments her from time to time. She met the man of her dreams, Phillip St. Germaine III, owner of a well established hotel, The St. Charles. They married and were happy until Hope gave birth to a baby girl. She had been hoping to break the Pierron women’s curse, by having a boy. Hope refused to have anything to do with her new baby, much to the surprise of her husband, Phillip.

Hope spends a lot of time in the church, and she decides that she must ask the guidance of her priest. She tells him that the women of her family are evil and wanton––that they are cursed. She tells him that she has escaped the darkness but she fears for her baby daughter’s eternal soul, saying that she can see the darkness in the child. The priest tells Hope that she has the power to mould her daughter into a woman of high moral character; the child can be Hope’s glory, or her defeat.

So, Hope names her daughter, Glory, and sets out to do just that. Glory discovers, at an early age, that she can never please her mother, no matter what she does. Glory suffers unquestionable punishments that even her beloved father, despite his devotion to his daughter, cannot stop because he is so enamoured––controlled––by his beautiful wife. Eventually, Glory does as she pleases.

Enter Victor Santos, a young man with a troubled past, who has a chance meeting with Lily, Hope’s mother. She takes him in and he becomes like the son she never had. How do all the paths cross...Hope, becomes desperate when she finds out that the hotel is in trouble, and she turns to her mother for money. She tells her mother the transactions must be kept secret, though, and her mother sends Santos with the first instalment. As Santos is leaving the hotel, Glory spots him.

Things spiral from there. I don’t want to give away too much more...you must read Forbidden Fruit for yourself...the darkness that continues to haunt Hope, no matter what she does...the darkness that grips Glory, although in a different form than her mother’s darkness...the darkness that holds Santos to his past...the darkness that torments Lily. You will want to keep turning the pages...these characters are so alive, and despite everything, as in real life, we never know what goes on behind closed doors––no matter how pretty the door is on the outside.

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blown away by this book, and will be looking for all of her other titles. A++++

Romance with enough mystery to keep you turning the pages. Highly recommended.

[♥︎♥︎Sofia♥︎♥︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.5 Stars**
There is something happening to my wiring in regards to my reading; I having a bit of a 20th century renaissance, in a way. I am so bored with certain aspects of modern book publishing, the 'authors' especially. Their rather crass way of exploiting their readers with never ending series of mediocre books, their inability to accept the adage 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should' (just because you can now self-published at the click of a mouse doesn't mean you have the talent to do so...) And I seem to be shrinking (my expectation, my imagination, my discernment) alongside them. So it is not surprising that I find myself drawn to reading Erica Spindler's early books, she reminds me of the books I read when I was young, when plot was all and grammar was worth a damn.

Forbidden Fruit is a story of trying to outrun your demons, of reinvention, of nature verses nurture and the regenerative power of love. For generations Pierron women have been lauded for both their beauty and for how they made their living. In 1959 Lily Pierron packs her only daughter, Hope Pierron, off to boarding school hoping to remove her and further protect her from the stigma of her family's business. Little does she know that that would be the last time she was ever to interact with her daughter again, for Hope's hatred for her mother seethes deep and turbulent, she blames Lily for all the snubs she had faced throughout her short life, for her hyper sexual awareness, for The Darkness;

Hope Pierron sat in the window seat of her third floor bedroom and gazed out at the Mississippi River. She smiled to herself, anxiousness and excitement coiling in the pit of her gut. She controlled both with icy determination. She had waited all her life for this day; now that it had come, she would not reveal herself by appearing too eager.

She pressed a hand to the sun-warmed glass, wishing she could break it, leap out and fly to freedom. How many times during her fourteen years, years spent trapped within the red walls of this house, had she wished the same thing? To be a bird, to leap from the window and fly to freedom?
After today, she wouldn’t need to wish for wings. After today, she would be free of this house. Of the stigma of sin. Free of her mother and all who she had known..

Hope will do everything she can to save herself, including reinventing and whitewashing her past. And when Hope meets, marries and has a child with a scion of New Orlean society her 'fight' stretches to encompass her daughter, Glory.

Hope’s heart began to thunder, and suddenly her path—her purpose—was clear. It wasn’t the Lord who was testing her, it was The Darkness.
She curved her hands into fists, so tightly her nails dug into her palms. Let The Darkness test her, let it taunt and mock her. She wouldn’t lose to it; she wouldn’t let it have her daughter. She would stamp the Bad Seed out of her child, just as she had worked to stamp it out of herself.
This child could be her glory or her defeat.
Glory, she thought, determination rising like a tidal wave inside her. This child would be her Glory.

Three generation of Pierron women interconnected by blood and by a young boy call Victor Santos. Streetwise and personable Victor Santos gets a brutal awakening at the tender age of 15 and is left struggling to survive in a suddenly lonely world. After a series of neglectful foster homes he finds kindness and sense of 'family' in an unexpected place.

“Pay you?” he repeated, thinking of the few dollars he had to his name. “For the meal?”
“Of course, I don’t expect you to.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “But, if you really don’t want to owe me for the meal…pay me for it.”
Santos set his jaw, frustrated. “How much?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know, a few dollars. What does a home-cooked breakfast go for these days?”
He said nothing, and she turned back to the stove. “Or, you could work it off. There are some things I need done around here. Repairs to the garage. Ripped screens. Stuff like that. My regular man up and died on me. He’d been working for me for forty years.”
She split a biscuit, covered it with the white gravy, then added a heap of bacon to the plate. She turned and held it out. “You decide what the meal’s worth. And if you want to stay a few days, get your strength back, I’ll pay you a little something on top of room and board.”
Santos gazed at the loaded plate, his mouth watering.........
.......He stiffened his spine and reached for the plate. “A couple days. Then I'm out of here.”

My enjoyment of this book was such that my partner had to ask me who I was shouting at numerous times. I got completely 'involved' while reading; cheering for the heroes and hissing at the villains, and that this is indicative of what makes Ms Spindler my new favourite author, it might be because I've only read her older works to date, but this novel was so dramatic! In the best way possible. Sensual and sexy, this story was erotic without using overly graphic sex scene to hammer home the point (new authors take note).

I'd have loved more of Lily's backstory than we were given, it would have meant an extra 50 pages, maybe, but I certainly wouldn't have minded. The central characters were a delight to read and totally captured the reader's imagination and engagement. Santos was realistically bitter, and broken, and indelibly sad, Glory's upbringing leaves a permanent blot on her psyche and lack of belief in her own self worth, Hope....Not sure what I can say about Hope, apart from The Darkness was welcomed to her and Lily? Poor, well meaning, kind hearted Lily received her ultimate wish in the end.

This might be the answer to my reading ennui, stick to authors who started writing before the 21st century. Hahahaha!

[Ashley B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book in my mother's bookshelf over the summer before my sophomore year in high school. I didn't know what to expect except the cover with the snake and apple along with the quick summary on the back ensnared me. I loved a good story that carries itself back and forth thru history as this book did with each generation of the Pierron women. I found myself reading this book over again within the next 2 years. Years later, I was discussing books with one of my friends and this book came to mind. I went in search of it to let her read it and I couldn't find it. Imagine my panic when a book that I loved so much was unattainable. I ended up ordering it online and when it came, I read it all over again.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Erica's first novel. It's a bit long in three parts and it deals with family secrets, revenge and love. Nonetheless, it's a good read to get hooked into her work. This deals with the St. Perrons, an aristocrastic rich family in New Orleans of three generation, each having a daughter of their own. It focus on Lily, Hope and Glory, when it's mainly Glory's POV of trying to defy the odds, and learns who's "forbidden fruit" from high school to finding love with someone who knows their family secrets and who could bring them down.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pierron family of New Orleans have a notorious past, and this story focuses on Three very different women of the family and a young man taken in by Lily. It is often sad and at times I wanted to shake Hope. But what really frustrated me was the quick unremarkable solution to the serial killer subplot.

[June Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say another excellent book, by Erica, on to the next

[Ashton Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really hated the mother in this book. She was a character that was not redeemable for me, no matter what. Some aspects of this I found a little unbelievable as far as character reactions to situations but overall I did enjoy the story.

[chwała 😻 · Rating 2 out of 5]

JEZU JAKIE TO BYŁO SŁABE PRZECZYATALAM CHYBA KAŻDA KSIĄŻKĘ SPINDLER WYDANA W POLSCE I TA JEST NAJGORSZA

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had enjoyed other books by this author and was rather let down by this book. This book isn't as engrossing or thrilling as her other books.

The Pierron women are fierce and sensual, but it doesn't quite come across that way most of the time in the book. I rather like Lily, she gave Hope every opportunity to escape from the Pierron name only for Hope to turn her face up at her family and hide her past. Lily is such a good person, doesn't matter when we see her, she is always trying to reach out despite all the wrongs Hope does. Glory is so much like her grandmother Lily, but she doesn't quite know it.

Hope. Honestly I think there is something mentally wrong with her. She should have had help from people instead of punishing her daughter Glory for any supposed sins she didn't commit. That is a really rough and harsh childhood that Hope brought Glory up in.

Glory is a good person, but due to past mistakes she masks her true self and feelings.

And as a subplot a serial killer is on the loose, which is sort of random at times.

Honestly, for the most part the story was quite boring and sort of dragged on. It barely captured my attention for the majority of the book.

[Kit★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The back cover description of this book is what made me pick it up. It sounded dark and sensual, mysterious, and maybe a little erotic. While there was a decent mystery of the "Snow White Killer", I was sorely disappointed by the lack of the seemingly promised sensuality. Yea, there are mentions of Lily owning and working in a brothel. No descriptions or details though, and since Hope's character was supposedly so traumatized by what she seen in the brothel growing up, I think it would of been better to know maybe a little of what it was that she saw. I wouldn't think it was run of the mill sex she had seen, since her character is secretly into violent sex and mutilation. There are just mentions of "The Darkness" and "The Beast". Maybe metaphors for the devil or something? I don't know. The story was mostly alright otherwise, I just could've gone for a little more detail/backstory.

[Jolene Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PIERRON WOMEN:1 WHOSE PAST HAUNTS HER 1WHO'S RUNNING FROM HER PAST & 1WHO DOESN'T KNOW HER REAL PAST ALL COME TOGETHER BY 1 GENTLEMAN. THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME!! IT'S 1THAT I WILL RECOMMEND 2MY FRIEND'S. LOVE, MURDER, & A MADAM! OH WHAT AN INTENSE BOOK THIS WAS!

[Traci Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Renée Verdoodt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

[Cynthia Brodowska · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read this book when I was 14 or 15 and have had memories of it pop up ever since. I'm currently 32. My family was socializing with this big Ukranian family for a while, and one of the older daughters lent me this book after we had one of those heart-to-hearts where we were starting to talk about our sexuality. It definitely felt like accepting something nefarious, the way she snuck it to me with hushed tones. I remember the cover of the paperback was a peeling red apple and the peel morphs into a snake with huge fangs.
That being said, it was a tantalizing book at that age which is why I think some of the imagery and general plot kind of stuck with me.
I finally decided to re-read it as an adult to see what it was like now and I have to say it was an enjoyable blast from the past, but not for all the same reasons.
**Spoilers ahead**


First of all, I will give kudos to this book given that it was published in 1996 and still reads as kind-of progressive. 1996 progressive. Sex workers play a huge role in this book in so many ways- the Perrion women, Santo's mother, and as the targets of serial killer throughout. And, for the most part, although they are constantly referred to as hookers and what not, the general theme of the book is that they are worthy people who suffer a lot of stigma and often abuse. There's also a great dynamic of all the people thinking they are holier-than-thou being the true villians all while they despise and judge sex workers.

There's interacial relationships, trans sex workers, some portrayal of race, class, and economic diversity. What I think is funny given all of that, is how BDSM is the one sexual piece that's treated as this big, scary immoral thing to the point that it's mainly what Hope is referring to when the "Beast" and "Darkness" call to her. Reading that as a teen it definitely seems so taboo and scary but now reading it I'm like...wait, that's it? That's what Hope was doing the whole time was just being a dominatrix and using a whip?

I'm trying not to make this review super long- to get to the point, I will say that the first third of this book is actually legitimately good. I think after that, some of the character building really flat lines and Hope stops being this spooky, complex Christian nut that was super fun to read. Instead, she just becomes a caricature of a villian. I don't get why she was so obsessed with Glory's purity as a kid and then later in the book she basically seems to stop caring. Also, I don't buy the one-liner at the end that Glory talked to a psychiatrist who diagnosed Hope as having schizophrenia. Nope. Her shame certainly took on an anthropomorphic quality that made her paranoid and delusional, but she would not have been that functional in other areas of her life if it was actual schizophrenia.

Also, Santos drove me crazy in a lot of ways. I can't blame it on him, a lot of Glory and Santos' relationship is written like a contentious 80's/90's movie romance- they hate each other but it's so sexy to hate each other! But basically it's just reading page after page of them minimizing each other and him refusing to hear her out in this way that starts to grind on you and become unbearable. I get that he is ultimately redeemed or whatever because they seem nice to each other by the end, but it was a brutal through so much of it. He's just straight up a dick to her and Liz and really takes no accountability for it.

The other thing that totally drove me crazy was how ludicrous it was that he ended up with Glory's secret grandmother, Lily, and then he just happens to meet Glory in this super unsatisfying way. I'm not against ludicrous plot twists for the sake of a big-ole mystery but the way they met was so stupid. I literally reread that section twice just to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Glory just...comes onto Santos in an elevator with no explanation of what was so special about their meeting. And the way she flirts with him- I had to double check the author wasn't some old dude because she was written like an absurd male-fantasy-underage-teen with thirsty-a$$ pick up lines. There is no significance, no reason that their meeting is exceptional or meaningful- she just hit on the first dude she ran into that day and from then on a life-long lust story ensues. Sorry, I don't buy it.

I also feel like this book suffered from a lot of "telling" instead of literary "showing." Isn't that what they tell you in writing class, "show, don't tell the reader." It's like the author wanted to hold my hand through every moment with long stretches of tedious dialogue and a lot of "Glory felt her heart jump into her throat!" There as too much focus on every little emotion everyone was feeling after each interaction.

Again, I do think that as absurd of a story it is, the twists and turns are fun and overall satisfying. I give this story praise for a book that is so outside of what I typically read- aka "found at a thrift store on my beach vacation book" or "old lady porn."


Overall, it was very fun to look back and understand parts of the book that I didn't as a kid and definitely a pretty unique story.

[Jessica Stoneberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was okay, but I was looking for more mystery than romance. However, my rating is based more on the caliber of writing. It irks me when authors use certain phrasing/descriptions many times throughout a story as if a they enjoyed the phrasing so much at first writing they could not find other words to describe a similar situation. Therefore, I found the writing bordering on lazy. Every time a character “curled” her fingers into a lapel/shirt/sheets (and there are many instances) I found myself rolling my eyes. There are other examples, of which, I will not bore you.

[Realfacefilm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je suis quelque peu déçue de ce livre. Le mystère autour de Santos reste en suspend, et cela m'a grandement frustrée. J'ai trouvé certains personnages trop peu exploités et présents pour "boucher les trous' comme on pourrait le dire, notamment Liz, et Hope (qui n'apportent pas grand chose à l'histoire, du moins, pas ce à quoi je m'attendais). L'auteure nous tient en haleine jusqu'à la fin qui fait "psshiit". Pour moi, cette lecture est très mitigée, ce n'est pas un livre que j'ai dévoré, ni même apprécié.

[Fred Jarman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have become a big fan of Erica Spindler. Although a rather long book, it was well worth it. I found each of the characters interesting and the flow was paced well. The continued antagonizing between Glory and Santos kept the the story flowing. I liked how the story incorporated psychological aspects of a troubled family lineage with romance and intrigue in a balanced way.

This was a book I couldn't put down. This is the third book by this author I have read and looking forward to more in the future.

[Pauline · Rating 1 out of 5]

It looks like Im in the minority but I really disliked this book. I was annoyed almost from the beginning with the relationship between the mother and daughter and then when the daughter had a daughter it just got worse for me. I gave up after just over 100 pages as I have lots of other books waiting to be read and no patience to continue with this one.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looooved this book! It was GREAT!!!!!!!
SUSPENSEFUL
CHILLING
LOVE
HATE
FAMILY
FRIENDS
JEALOUSY
INNUENDOES
......Aw, this novel had it all and more!
As I read on, I tried to slower my reading so as to make this novel last as long as I could.
It was hard doing so but delicacies are meant to be savored...
Brilliant work by Ms. Spindler! Just brilliant👌

[ANGELIA · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this case, the fruit is the brown stuff that fills a toilet! How anyone can read this through (it was a DNF for me) and have any sympathy (or even interest) in these bat crap characters is beyond me! I think Ms. Spindler must have a lot of hangups and this book was supposed to be her therapy. I'll bet it failed!

[Linda Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came out 29 years ago and I probably read it back when it was new but forgot about it. Found it on an old TBR so decided to start reading some of the older books. Even though I'm not a huge fan of romance mysteries, I have always been an Erica Spindler fan so I will from time to time go back to the old TBR list.

[Shorty6904 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow! I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I cried, laughed and gasped my way through this as it was just brilliant on so many levels. Was so sad to end it but I'm looking out for more books like this.

[Michelle Gravert-Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fan of Erica Spindler's suspense/mystery novels. This one I struggled through. The story line dragged for me and I found myself spacing off and having to re-read pages. Not one of my top 10 novels of this author.

[Aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie mogę odmówić Spindler kreowania ciekawych postaci i wciągającej fabuły. Z tym tytułem jednak miałam nie lada problem od samego początku do końca. Nie podszedł mi, chociaż czułam się zaangażowana...

[Kathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

only lasted a few pages

[Heather Whittemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love all Erica Spindler novels, I read this years ago and it's still on my bookshelf!

[Jennifer Goldbetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was well written that it was hard to put the book down. Must read!