LAURA

In Graham’s novel, what-ifs plague interconnected, multigenerational characters against the backdrop of a Northern California bistro.

“Excellent,” whispers Laura Patterson, an acclaimed sous-chef and the owner of Bistro at the Bay, as she watches 39-year-old Alejandro “Alex” Iglesias successfully plate a Pacific halibut from his San Francisco taco truck. She offers him a job on the spot, and he eventually accepts. Her restaurant staff starts to grow, as does her business, with the help of the new beverage manager, Lorraine “Reina” Strickland, who pitches the idea of expanding the business to her family’s Napa Valley hotel, which desperately needs a culinary edge. Career success appears to be Laura’s primary concern—until an encounter leads to a life-altering development that causes her to question which path she will take forward. The novel’s timeline alternates between the present-day events of the Bistro and a decades-earlier narrative concerning a secret held by Reina’s grandmother, Elleanore. On the surface, the novel tells the story of a growing restaurant enterprise and its denizens, but it’s also a deeply psychological character study; the narrative incisively explores the consequences of love not pursued. This theme is exemplified by the aging character of Elleanore, whose affecting plotline captures the peculiar propinquity of love and fear: “Love…true love, is hard to find, dear. When we do find it, it’s important to have the courage to hang on with all our strength. I didn’t have that kind of strength, the faith and trust to believe in it enough.” Deftly cataloging self-sabotage in myriad forms, Graham successfully captures the multifaceted inner lives of his cast of characters and reframes the question of what love can cost, instead asking, What is the cost of not loving?

An addictive psychological drama with an existential edge.