The Responsible Party by Claire Carusillo

How far would you go to stay afloat when your family legacy is built on surviving shipwrecks, scandal, and an unsolved murder?

Claire Carusillo’s debut novel The Responsible Party unpacks the eccentric, lingering weight of family folklore across a century of unruly women. When listless, recently canceled beauty advisor Claire receives an unexpected visit from law enforcement regarding an unsolved 1970s cold case, she turns to her mother, Kath, for answers. What follows is Kath’s deadpan, sprawling account of the "Unsinkable Mounsey Women"—a line of matriarchs who survived historic shipwrecks, worked the Midwestern vaudeville circuits, and left a trail of quiet chaos from World War I Liverpool to a 1971 Lake Michigan lighthouse. Equal parts sharp satire and multi-generational family saga, this story explores how inherited survival instincts and toxic family secrets shape the women trying to keep their heads above water.

Why You’ll Love This Book

Carusillo balances observational humor with a grounded exploration of generational memory and mother-daughter ties. The audio production moves effortlessly across vivid historical settings, shifting from a damp World War I poorhouse to the sun-bleached shores of 1970s Lake Michigan. It offers a refreshingly unsentimental listening experience for anyone drawn to sharp character studies and eccentric family histories.