Spin Doctor

Thanks to Ms. Carroll I've nearly missed my stop on the train twice! Her new book draws you in immediately and makes it almost impossible to put down. Witty and sweet--i really enjoyed it!

Amy the new mother, Meriel the bored West-Indian housekeeper, Naomi part of a different lifestyle couple with Claude (though they each clean the dirty linen), Faith the new widow, Talia the injured ballerina, and Susan the therapist all live in the same Manhattan apartment house. At the laundry room Susan listens to their individual woes and offers sage advice to help each one cope with their personal crisis. However, no one is there for Susan. She believes her once picture perfect family is near collapse. Her spouse spends way too much time in the office as if he needs to avoid her or has something better there to occupy his time; her daughter is a rebel with a fast food cause; finally her son is on the verge of puberty, but each step forward leads to two steps back as she thinks he will be eligible for Medicare by the time his body changes. Susan needs a psychiatrist, but what she has is friends willing to listen to her woes and advise her now how to clean the dirty laundry. SPIN DOCTOR contains an intriguing premise as the audience sees the woes of the apartment six and a half (Naomi and Claude get one and a half) mostly through the eyes of Susan, the professional member of the rinse cycle club. The story line shifts focus from one of the sextet to another though Susan remains the glue that holds the plot together. Leslie Carroll deftly insure her ensemble has differing personalities and tsuras, but there are too many to keep score of and that shrinks the shrink's effectiveness. Still this is a fine Manhattan character driven drama that uses laundry vernacular to clean away one's troubles. Harriet Klausner

Leslie Carroll has done it again! She's written a charming and insightful story about a group of women living in an Upper West Side (of Manhattan) apartment building who've found their salvation in the laundry room. They let their emotions tumble, airing their dirty laundry both literally and figuratively, as they wash their clothes. They've all found a sympathetic ear in the person of psychologist Susan Lederer, their pro bono therapist. Listening to their woes and advising them has a cathartic effect on her as she realizes that she, too, has benefitted from the creation of this impromptu, offbeat "office". The characters are an assortment of diverse women old, young, married, single, upper and lower class all brought together because they need to talk to someone who can sort out their problems. Its one of those unique "only in New York" stories...and it's wonderful. It's a quick read...for the subway, for the beach or relaxing by the fire with a glass of wine. You'll want to tell your friends about it.