Succession meets The Family Stone in The Bluff, a deliciously messy, surprisingly tender, darkly festive family drama about money, marriage, power, and all the things we bring to the holiday table besides the turkey.
The Chapmans do Christmas the way they do everything: impeccably, expensively, and with the unshakable belief that good lighting can conceal bad blood.
Arriving at his parents’ historic lakefront cottage on Mackinac Island for the holidays, Chris Chapman is one bad quarterly report away from losing both his obstinate father’s approval and the reins of the family empire to his vaguely corrupt younger brother, Cormac. His wife, Kat—long patronized by her condescending mother-in-law, Charli—has taken the first festive shot across the bow by inviting her working-class parents, outsiders despite being born and bred Islanders, to the Chapman’s Christmas. Meanwhile, Cormac’s trophy wife, Brie, is happy to be dismissed as merely decorative by everyone for as long as it suits her. After all, it’s easier to make power moves when no one thinks you’re playing the game.
As three generations gather under one roof—along with a few unwelcome surprises—the season is bursting with simmering rivalries, performative manners, restless teenagers, and one secret dangerous enough to tarnish the family’s polished image for good.
‘A heartfelt dive into the complexities of family and tradition. The Bluff captures the perfect storm that occurs when two different worlds collide during the holidays. An evocative must-read for anyone who has ever attempted the delicate dance of a family Christmas.’ –Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Chapmans do Christmas the way they do everything: impeccably, expensively, and with the unshakable belief that good lighting can conceal bad blood.
Arriving at his parents’ historic lakefront cottage on Mackinac Island for the holidays, Chris Chapman is one bad quarterly report away from losing both his obstinate father’s approval and the reins of the family empire to his vaguely corrupt younger brother, Cormac. His wife, Kat—long patronized by her condescending mother-in-law, Charli—has taken the first festive shot across the bow by inviting her working-class parents, outsiders despite being born and bred Islanders, to the Chapman’s Christmas. Meanwhile, Cormac’s trophy wife, Brie, is happy to be dismissed as merely decorative by everyone for as long as it suits her. After all, it’s easier to make power moves when no one thinks you’re playing the game.
As three generations gather under one roof—along with a few unwelcome surprises—the season is bursting with simmering rivalries, performative manners, restless teenagers, and one secret dangerous enough to tarnish the family’s polished image for good.
‘A heartfelt dive into the complexities of family and tradition. The Bluff captures the perfect storm that occurs when two different worlds collide during the holidays. An evocative must-read for anyone who has ever attempted the delicate dance of a family Christmas.’ –Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Genre: Literary Fiction