PInnacle Lust

Pinnacle Lust: Michelle Dim-St. Pierre

The pinnacle of someone’s life or career is supposed to be the highest point or culminating point of their success, power or fame. But, sometimes as you try and rise to the top there are many pitfalls that you don’t see coming and what you think will escalade your rise might just send you on a downward spiral that will leave you at the bottom of a towering peak or mountain. Lust is defined as : an intense sexual desire or appetite. It can overtake you and  create a passionate or overmastering desire or craving as in this case for a person. Sharon Lapidot is a young nurse whose daughter has just turned 18 and has presented her with a unique gift that will change her life, her perspective and perception about her mother and make her wonder just who she really was. Imagine learning on your 18^th birthday that the man you have called father is really not your biological father. When the truth comes out and she learns whom the man is what happens will set not only Leigh on a collision course but others too.

A gift box wrapped and within the box a journal. Why would a mother present her daughter with this type of gift on this special day? A parent who wanted her daughter to understand the deep secrets that were buried within her and the mistakes she made which would cost not only her but others too. The pages are filled with the life of this nurse, parts that she will always remember and others that she wished she had rethought. Enter the journal as Leigh turns the pages, reads the words and hears her mother’s voice as she travels back in time and takes the journey to Kol Israel Achim a new facility built to serve the Jewish Religious Community. Enter the hospital, understand the customs and lifestyles of those that owned the building and worked there, find yourself in the labor and deliver lobby and then meet the man who would bring out more than just her nursing skills but her desires or lust. Dr. Sloan was a GYN and quite handsome. Introduced to Sharon by Dr. Katz the connection was fast and the chemistry toxic. Immediately drawn to him yet realizing she needed to receive a report from the charge nurse, following protocol and completing her first round, she realized that something in Dr. Sloan was drawing her to find reasons to see him again. But, Sharon was dating Joel, her steady boyfriend whose personality was controlling, claimed to be working for a top-secret unit of the IDF or The Israel Defense Forces. But Sharon thought that he was a good catch and with a personality that was outgoing with a rich and colorful vocabulary she felt that he just might be the perfect match for her. But, as the author lets us get to know Joel, his personality, the way he treats Sharon and her innermost thoughts and desires for herself, you begin to question as she does whether this is the right relationship for her.

Questions ran through her mind at times: Is he the right guy? Do I really care for this guy? Am I wasting my time? But, things started to change when she decided to pursue Dr. Sloan. The connection was there and the chemistry quite hot but the intensions for what she felt as a relationship were not his. It did not bother her that he was married. She did not seem to care that he had a wife and two kids. Learning more about him and his life should have sent her in a different direction but it did not. Talking about Joel and Dr. Sloan about his wife the interaction seemed to suit them both but even though Joel was not the most affectionate man in the world why put yourself in the line of fire.

Sharon finds herself so transfixed with Dr. Sloan that she even changes her schedule, does double shifts and manages to find her way into his life on a permanent basis. Not really worried about his wife and family, angry when he went home and needed time with his children. But, things eventually tended to go in what she thought was her favor never realizing that Sloan controlled the when and where of their relationship and never promised her more than just his time when he could find it. Throughout the novel you begin to realize that Sharon was becoming needy, self-absorbed, only concerned with her own wants and needs and tended to at times cater to Sloan’s not realizing that he was manipulating her into a relationship that would never pan out.

The author brings to light Operation Desert Storm, the US Apache helicopters that attacked the Iraqi air-defense sites near the Iraqi border with Iran. Jewish customs, moral ethics and values challenged as Sharon is asked to perform in a certain venue and realizes that it would go against her religious beliefs. Illegal circumcisions was the procedure in question and refusing to take over for the supervising nurse and perform this procedure in conditions that were deplorable and illegal, resulted in her being fired. Not fighting back, biding her time Sharon finally got a phone call to work in a lab and from that point on her career took off but in a totally different direction. At times appearing paranoid, thinking she was being watched, losing a close friend named Ron and then landing a job with Check Med would change her life. Finding a true friend in Lori Rosin and being encouraged to pursue Sloan for more than just a friend. Ranting at times, frustrated, angry and thinking she was sacrificing her time and so much for this married man it never dawned on her that maybe the agenda was all decided upon by him and she was just playing her role as if it were a chess board and she was just a pawn. Meeting a woman named Dalia she hoped with allow her to have someone to confide in and trust. But, as Sharon should have realized she needed to be careful and trust was something that she had to not take lightly.

Sharon Sloan was her arch enemy and she wanted to know more about her and what she learned she thought might help her gain more leverage. Deciding to end the affair and stick to her decision would have been the right thing to do but Sharon was so filled and consumed with Sloan she barely saw past the façade he put on and his fake demeanor. Claiming that he loved her: that’s just words.

Actors belong on a stage and the parts they play are scripted and well orchestrated. Sloan’s life was complicated but the person running the show, pulling the strings and controlling the dialogue was not her. CheckMEd was a medical company that provided services for the upper echelon. Meeting Joe Melnick, the Vice President of Marketing, Visa Israel should have been a great contact, a great contract but this man for some reason wanted more from Sharon. Added in she also dealt with political meetings and the Minister, Yaron who had other ideas for her too. Jealousies, anger, fear and a woman who was so consumed with Sloan she never saw what would finally come next.

Love is powerful, hate can consume and destroy and a wife’s hold can be like a vice around a man’s neck. When the truth about her parentage finally rings true to Leigh what she does will shock readers and the ending you just won’t see coming. A young girl’s world is rocked to the core. Find out what happens when she learns the truth and wants to confront the one person who just might have the answers. Told in the first person as woman can learn a lot from Sharon as she rises to the Pinnacle for a short time and then just might fall down hard. A wife’s revenge, a man’s defeat and a woman’s heartache and one young girl’s life will never be the same as the author leaves us wondering what will happen next and if Leigh will ever get the answers she needs.

Fran Lewis: Reviewer