Save Me

December 8, 2014
A perfect life unravels in predictably painful and messy fashion in Lewis's (How Lucky You Are) tale of learning to let go. Thirty-six-year-old private practice doctor Daphne Mitchell is heartbroken when her cancer-specialist husband, Owen Monahan, announces he's been sleeping with a social worker 10 years his junior. Daphne begins to examine her broken marriage that seems beyond repair. Owen, on a parallel crash course when his affair ends tragically, grieves for two lost loves, and Daphne falls immediately back into a role that makes her wonder if she's trying to "nurse him back" into loving her. Daphne's mentors in her tortuous transition from prudent to adventurous are a reckless, troubled patient, a hotel business entrepreneur who opens tantalizing new horizons, and her own sister, who guides her to a realization that a once "comfortable normal" marriage was anything but. Lewis gets it just right in her examination of how tiny cracks can shatter in a marriage that gets "cemented in the fable" of what being together is supposed to be.

December 1, 2014

Can a marriage survive an infidelity? That's the question Dr. Daphne Mitchell must grapple with concerning her own marriage when her husband admits he's been involved with another woman. Deciding whether or not to divorce Owen isn't an easy decision as Daphne listens to and mostly ignores the opinions of those closest to her. The answer to a life-altering question such as this is clearly one she must come to on her own terms. But when a catastrophic event sends Owen running to her for comfort, Daphne's feelings become even more confused. Will this breach of marriage vows become a catalyst for change that improves the marriage, or a wake-up call for her to realize it's not ever going to be what she wants and needs? VERDICT With believable characters and situations, including a plot that builds interest as Daphne evolves through her crisis, Lewis's second novel (after How Lucky You Are) is sure to appeal to fans of women's fiction. Book clubs will enjoy its many relatable issues for discussion.--Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

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