A swiftly paced, entertaining melodrama with a fine cast of characters.
In this novel, fate seemingly unites individuals with intersecting pasts in California.
Retired 1st Sgt. Mike Jefferson heads to Charlie’s Restaurant to see the eponymous owner, who served in the Army with him. But Mike is immediately taken aback by waitress Nellie Johnson—the spitting image of Elizabeth Lawrence, whom he wed and lost decades ago. While overseas back then, he received notices of an annulment (she apparently was underage) and, shortly thereafter, her death. Now he’s convinced that Nellie is his daughter and that the news of Elizabeth’s demise was a fabrication. Nellie was a foundling and, having lost her husband two years prior, has only her young son, Jimmy. She’s currently dating George Hickman, whom Mike distrusts. Local Deputy Sheriff Sam Lacey is equally wary of “slick” George and also quite fond of Nellie. Indeed, George, who’s been pressuring Nellie to marry him, is cooking up something diabolical. He’s hoping to come into a considerable amount of wealth, a plan that involves a scrupulous attention to details. As he gets more desperate to acquire his riches, George soon sees certain people as obstacles, and getting rid of them may necessitate lethal means. Since the characters and backstory drive the plot, Martin diligently adds layers to the players. George’s sister, Caroline, for example, is more than a background character; she knows at least some of her brother’s scheme and, with her attraction to Sam, further complicates the tale’s romantic entanglements. The narrative, too, is believable, as some of the chance encounters among characters aren’t as coincidental as they initially appear. The author’s concise writing generates lucid passages and a brisk, progressively intense story, courtesy of an increasingly threatening George. But there is frequent repetition, as characters and the narrative too often cite Nellie’s red hair and “crystal-blue eyes.” In similar fashion, romantic couplings, while buoyant and appealing, happen too quickly and conveniently (including falling in love instantly).
A swiftly paced, entertaining melodrama with a fine cast of characters.Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-977220-05-9
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Less bleak than the subject matter might warrant—Hannah’s default outlook is sunny—but still, a wrenching depiction of war’s...
The traumatic homecoming of a wounded warrior.
The daughter of alcoholics who left her orphaned at 17, Jolene “Jo” Zarkades found her first stable family in the military: She’s served over two decades, first in the army, later with the National Guard. A helicopter pilot stationed near Seattle, Jo copes as competently at home, raising two daughters, Betsy and Lulu, while trying to dismiss her husband Michael’s increasing emotional distance. Jo’s mettle is sorely tested when Michael informs her flatly that he no longer loves her. Four-year-old Lulu clamors for attention while preteen Betsy, mean-girl-in-training, dismisses as dweeby her former best friend, Seth, son of Jo’s confidante and fellow pilot, Tami. Amid these challenges comes the ultimate one: Jo and Tami are deployed to Iraq. Michael, with the help of his mother, has to take over the household duties, and he rapidly learns that parenting is much harder than his wife made it look. As Michael prepares to defend a PTSD-afflicted veteran charged with Murder I for killing his wife during a dissociative blackout, he begins to understand what Jolene is facing and to revisit his true feelings for her. When her helicopter is shot down under insurgent fire, Jo rescues Tami from the wreck, but a young crewman is killed. Tami remains in a coma and Jo, whose leg has been amputated, returns home to a difficult rehabilitation on several fronts. Her nightmares in which she relives the crash and other horrors she witnessed, and her pain, have turned Jo into a person her daughters now fear (which in the case of bratty Betsy may not be such a bad thing). Jo can't forgive Michael for his rash words. Worse, she is beginning to remind Michael more and more of his homicide client. Characterization can be cursory: Michael’s earlier callousness, left largely unexplained, undercuts the pathos of his later change of heart.
Less bleak than the subject matter might warrant—Hannah’s default outlook is sunny—but still, a wrenching depiction of war’s aftermath.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-57720-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
An intriguing, twisty-turny tale of family secrets that comes just short of the bullseye.
A Cape Cod woman’s life is turned upside down by unexpected developments.
A year ago, Frankie Attleboro’s mother died at age 52 and the family fell apart. Frankie’s father, famous scientist Mack Attleboro, who had always been a distant figure in his children’s lives, was adrift. Frankie fled the Cape, throwing herself into her work as a nature photographer and leaving her brother, Penn, to hold things together. Now engaged and pregnant, she’s excited to share her news when she gets a text from her father asking her to come right away. Worried, she rushes home only to discover that her father is also engaged—to her childhood best friend, Ariel. Who is also heavily pregnant. As Frankie deals with her complicated feelings and her father’s complete lack of understanding of them, Ariel’s mother, Carlotta, who left when the girls were teenagers, shows up unannounced and ready to ingratiate herself back into Ariel’s life. Mitchard’s tone walks a fine line: Is everything dramatic because there’s actually a sinister edge to affairs, or is Frankie just having trouble dealing with things? Though each plot twist makes everything slightly more ludicrous in a way that would feel silly in another book, Frankie’s reactions and emotions ground the story, so the book can focus not on how absolutely absurd things are but on how one person’s words and actions can affect everyone around them. The novel’s biggest problem is that it doesn’t know if it wants to be a thriller or a family drama and never fully commits to one or the other. Mitchard is deft enough to create a rewarding read, but the book could have used a bit more mystery.
An intriguing, twisty-turny tale of family secrets that comes just short of the bullseye.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9780778369370
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
