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A WELL-MADE BED by Abby Frucht

A WELL-MADE BED

by Abby Frucht & Laurie Alberts

Pub Date: March 1st, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59709-305-7
Publisher: Red Hen Press

Two women, both touched by tragedy, find themselves bonding over cocaine, betrayal, loneliness, and cheese.

Noor Kahn, never quite recovered from the accident that took her best friend as a child, is stranded in the country with her failing equestrian therapy business and a husband she’s increasingly unsure about. Jaycee, a neighbor raised in a historical theme park and naïve about the world outside, finds herself in possession of an interesting package when she returns from her first act of rebellion, a spontaneous trip to Peru. After the two women become connected through Jaycee’s father, Mr. Emory, a once-famous children’s book author struggling with dementia, a strange fellowship is born, built upon the shared discovery of cocaine and the power it could bring them. As the women decide what to do with their dangerous windfall, numerous potential obstacles spring up along the way—from Gerry, a man in Noor’s past who becomes part of Jaycee’s future, to Mr. Emory’s past dealings with copyright infringement and the indiscretions he's kept quiet all these years, issues once thought resolved and secrets supposed to stay buried. In this uncertain climate, the women will have to figure out how far they’re willing to go to get what they want. The novel deftly navigates between narrators, keeping its momentum even when jumping back and forth in time as the women—and the reader—discover a dark secret that’s been hidden away for 15 years. The storyline hurtles forward at a steady pace, keeping the reader engaged and managing to answer questions while creating new ones. The only disappointing element is how abruptly the novel ends, building up to a climax that ultimately resolves itself in mere moments. The journey to get there, however, is what makes Alberts and Frucht’s novel an absorbing read.

A weighty tale that keeps the reader intrigued and entranced despite an uneven ending.