family tragedy

Review: All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson

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I love it when I find an unexpectedly good story. One that you haven’t heard of, pick up on a whim, are moderately intrigued by the blurb on the back, and then are pleasantly surprised by the way it turns out.

A bridge collapses…hundreds of lives in the balance. But instead of focusing on the victims, this story centers around the family members waiting to find out the fate of their loved ones.

Siblings Alexa and Jason, at odds much of the time lately, find themselves clinging to each other in the hospital waiting room. Not knowing if their parents are alive or dead, they’re still finding it difficult to set their bad feelings aside. Scott rushes to the hospital after hearing that his girlfriend, Aimee, was on that bridge when it collapsed. Skyler is devastated when she’s notified that her sister Kate is among the missing.

These young people, not even adults, are facing everyone’s worst nightmare. We find out, though, that each one of them has something else haunting them. And hearing each story unwind is more intriguing than the accident that brought them all together. A good story with a satisfying, though not necessarily happy, ending.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: All We Can Do Is Wait

Review: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

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814W1xbdR+LI’ve read a few books by Diane Chamberlain, each one intriguing and full of a good story. This newest one didn’t disappoint.

Riley MacPherson has lived her life knowing that once upon a time she had an older sister. But just what happened to Lisa has never been completely clear. Did she die in a tragic accident? Was it suicide? Murder? Or is there something else going on, something that’s been kept secret for far too long? All of Riley’s beliefs and questions come together in a burst of confusion when, after her father’s death, she’s charged with the task of clearing out his house and settling his affairs. Brother Danny isn’t much help as he’s lost in his own solitary world after a tragic military accident. Friends and neighbors provide bits and pieces of information but each story conflicts with the other. A deep desire to find out the truth about her family leads her in a direction she could have never imagined.

This is a good story, solid and engaging until the very end. The characters are believable and likable, and the story line is entirely plausible. My only complaint is that it was mildly predictable and had me guessing the climax around halfway through. Still, Chamberlain is an author who knows how to write about contemporary issues, and she’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite contemporary fiction authors.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Silent Sister