"Exciting relationship drama"

Everyone who knows Carolina Mountcastle has to feel a bit of envy even as they like and admire the almost fortyish woman. Caroline is happily married to a stud Lyon, who loves her as if they just met. They have a wonderful adjusted teenager Richie. Finally she runs a very successful florist shop in Manhattan that is thriving, as the elite seem to always want her to do their functions. Perhaps the only downturn is that Lyon spends a lot of time conducting business in Amsterdam.

However, Carolina's ideal world crashes when she receives the call from Dutch police officer Verhoeven that her spouse suffered a fatal heart attack. Thinking she hit rock bottom, Carolina's comfort zone collapses further when she learns her beloved husband kept a woman in Amsterdam and sired a child with her. As she struggles to adjust to the betrayal, her florist business comes under attack from a ruthless foe with no scruples. Only her brother, and to a lesser degree her son, and Seth Foster appear in her court unless she can forgive and forget in order to embrace the future.

THE BEST IS YET TO COME is an exciting relationship drama that focuses mostly on Carolina, but indirectly on Lyon through the thoughts of several cast members. The story line is at its finest when the tale centers on Carolina and those close to her. The characters are well written except for the unnecessary devious competitor who makes Cruella de Ville seem like Mother Theresa in comparison. Still, readers will take pleasure from Judith Gould's inspirational tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 15, 2002

Summary

Carolina Mountcastle has everything she could ever want: a sexy, attentive husband, a terrific teenage son, and a successful career as a florist and decorator in New York. Then, without warning, tragedy strikes. Carolina's husband, an international business executive, suffers a fatal heart attack. Reeling from grief and shock, Carolina receives an even more devastating blow: He was having a long-term affair with a woman in Amsterdam. They shared a home-and a child. Shattered by her husband's betrayal, and obsessed with this "other woman," Carolina travels to Amsterdam to find her, intent on revenge. But forced to confront the truth about her marriage and the man she thought she knew, Carolina discovers her own inner strength-and opens her heart to new possibilities. Poignant and passionate, this is Judith Gould's richest novel yet-the tale of a woman who finds the courage to heal, to forgive, and to love again.