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The Gold Persimmon, a Book Review

Published by Sue Cook at May 12, 2025
Categories
  • Book Reviews - Fiction
Tags
  • Apocalyptic Fiction
  • fiction
  • horror fiction
  • Hotel Fiction
  • LGTBQIA fiction

Book cover image from Anderson’s Book Shop

The Gold Persimmon Hotel  is a rare pearl in the heart of New York, where guests are able to check in, not be bothered by staff and keep their anonymity. The hotel is soundproof. It allows the guests to release grief, great emotion, anxiety and anger. They can act out in ways that would not be acceptable at other hotels.

Whatever guests need to do to be free of their burdens, they are able to do it. That is what makes The Gold Persimmon Hotel a shining star on the hotel scene. 

However, the soundproof hotel can also be viewed from another point of view. What may be one person‘s freedom, may be another’s prison. 

You meet two different protagonists in the book. Clytemnestra, who works at the hotel as a receptionist, and Jamie who comes to interview for a job at the hotel. Both have a totally different perspective of the Gold Persimmon. 

The Gold Persimmon by Lindsay Merbaum is riveting and surreal. At times, I found myself so caught up in the characters’ actions that it actually took my breath away, and had me yelling at my Kindle. This book was not what I was expecting from its title. 

As I read, I had the feeling I was reading a Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock novel with an LGTBQIA+ twist. The thrilling writing and the dynamics between the various characters kept me leaping from page to page. The only downside I could see was a few editing gaffes.

The characters were absolutely believable and the detail did not bog down the story in the least. As a former front desk staffer at a busy hotel, I identified with Clytemnestra regarding how she felt working for a premiere hotel in the city. By the time Jaime enters the story, the hooks have caught you.

Every hotel has their story and The Gold Persimmon fits in beautifully to that narrative. 


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Sue Cook
+ postsBio

Sue Cook lives in Freeport, Illinois with her husband Randy and two dogs. Her passions include assistance dogs, rescue dogs, music, acting, theater, poetry, and Doctor Who. She’s been in both film and theater and is a regular cast member of the podcast Doctor Who’s Line is it….Anyway? Sue is an advocate for the use of Service Dogs to assist their disabled handlers to maintain their independence. Quigley’s Quest, her first children’s book, addresses how a dog becomes a Service Dog.

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8 Comments

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