Blue Ridge to Bolivia

In Helms’ novel, a lawyer, after surviving an accident that kills her parents and husband, uncovers not only the mysterious circumstances of that incident, but also secrets about her own birth.

When Suzanne Summerfield wakes up nine weeks after a tragic car crash, she’s overcome with grief. Despite her friend Marilee’s encouragement, she hesitates to sue the people who hit her car, but after a few weeks of recovery, Suzanne relents. However, as she begins to sift through her parents’ medical paperwork in preparation to file the lawsuit, she finds something strange: documents from Bolivia, written in Spanish. These papers list out the details about a young woman who gave birth in that country on Suzanne’s birthday, and in that moment, everything changes in her life. She and her friends reach out to anyone who may have known her parents’ secret, but they quickly reach a dead end. Seemingly out of options, Suzanne puts her legal dealings on hold and travels abroad to gather more information. In Bolivia, she meets someone who makes it possible for her to uncover the exact information she’s been looking for. Helms’ novel interweaves elements of intrigue and tenderness in a story of discovery and personal growth. The themes of kinship, companionship, and grief invite readers to relate to this unusual tale. It’s driven by lively dialogue and realistic, natural characters; for example, when Suzanne and her friends volley possibilities regarding the origins of the medical papers, they laughingly walk through a few, including one in which Suzanne’s parents were actually “devout Russian spies” in disguise. Overall, this novel is perfect for readers who may be looking for a mystery with real emotional weight.

A winding story of grief, identity, and kinship that shows how life can change in an instant.