"A profound character study"

In Morro Bay, California, Love Mercy Johnson has taken in stride recently becoming a widow as she is generally contented with her life though she still "talks" with her Cy and misses his foghorn laugh. She enjoys writing a column and taking photos for a magazine, working on her in- laws' cattle ranch and co-owning the Buttercream Café except for balancing the books. Her only regret is her rift with her grandchildren; she wishes she could patch things up with them, but they have long memories.

Out of the blue, her eighteen years old granddaughter, Loretta Lynn "Rett" arrives in Morro Bay after hitching across the country to escape from a relationship that turned ugly. Whereas Rett dreams of making it as a song writer or as a truck driver, Mercy wants her granddaughter in her life. Still they struggle to make amends, but the divide remains wide until a crisis forces grandma and grandchild to decide to unite or remain apart.

This is a profound character study of two women divided by a family feud that keeps each from reaching out to the other; something both emotionally need and want. Readers will admire Mercy, whose asides to Cy enable readers to understand her. Rett brings the youthful enthusiasm that anything is possible. Rotating perspective with Benni Harper playing a minor role, Earlene Fowler proves Rett's theory of life and relationships as she and her grandma hold the engaging plot together.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 29, 2009

Summary

New from the national bestselling author of The Saddlemaker's Wife and the Agatha Award-winning Benni Harper mystery series.

After being widowed, Love Mercy Johnson has come to terms with her life in Morro Bay, California. She spends her time writing columns for a regional magazine, helping her in-laws work their ranch, and trying to move on. But her dreams of reconciliation with her long-estranged grandchildren come true when her eighteen-year-old brokenhearted granddaughter, Rett, unexpectedly shows up. Together they struggle to co-exist while confronting old resentments and painful memories. When a family crisis forges an unexpected connection between the two grieving women, they must discover if by working together, they can change their lives, and the lives of those they love, for the better.