by Maryann McFadden ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2008
Cloying and sentimental, but McFadden gets points for earnestness and for nature writing—unfortunately for the turtles,...
A previously self-published debut novel about a “corporate wife” who flees her family to learn, and impart, valuable lessons about togetherness.
Joanna Harrison should be pleased when her husband Paul finally attains his career goal, vice president of sales at telecommunications giant V.I.C. But after countless relocations, she’s not looking forward to leaving her latest McMansion in a New Jersey suburb for a similar house in a similar cul-de-sac. The Harrisons are empty nesters—children Sarah and Tim live out West—so one day, while Paul is yet again away on business, Joanna gets in her car and heads South. She washes up on Pawleys Island, S.C., where she shares a beachfront rental with septuagenarian Grace, another New Jersey refugee. Grace doesn’t want her children to know she’s dying of pancreatic cancer. Joanna agrees to provide live-in assistance to Grace for six months, and quickly adjusts to Pawleys Island’s laidback lifestyle of shrimp, suds and surf. In short order, she’s involved with a wildlife-protection group dedicated to watching over the nests of endangered loggerhead turtles until the hatchlings flock to the sea to begin their life-cycle. She finds part-time work as a reporter for a local newspaper, where she skewers McMansion developers in an exposé. And she’s attracted to a neighbor, rough-hewn widower and retired shrimp-boat captain Hank. After a merger, Paul is downsized from V.I.C. and discovers that he is a talented carpenter, landscaper and all around handyman, hotly sought-after by local housewives, including Buffy, whose needy overtures he manfully spurns, still hoping against hope for Joanna’s return. After embarking on a liaison with Hank, Joanna finds out the truth about his entrenched relationship with his late wife’s sister, a former beauty queen and current drama queen. Opaque and superficial characters will leave readers unmoved by the book’s many plays for sympathy.
Cloying and sentimental, but McFadden gets points for earnestness and for nature writing—unfortunately for the turtles, Pawleys Island tourism may increase.Pub Date: June 10, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2270-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2008
Share your opinion of this book
More by Maryann McFadden
BOOK REVIEW
by Lorna Barrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2019
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Lorna Barrett
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Agatha Christie ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 1934
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
Share your opinion of this book
More by Agatha Christie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.