More to Life Than This

March 15, 2006
Kate and Jeffrey Lewis are comfortable in their marriage, but lately their union has lacked excitement. Even their two preteen children are terribly responsible and levelheaded. All that changes when Kate decides to take off for a tai chi retreat for a week with her best friend, Sonia, leaving Jeffrey and the kids at home with Natalie, a sexy Australian au pair. Kate searches for inner peace and finds the opposite in a handsome fellow student, Ben, whom she is deeply attracted to, while Jeffrey is fighting his own lust for Natalie, who seems determined to take him and his children for a walk on the wild side. Matthews, author of " A Minor Indiscretion" (2003) and " Let's Meet on Platform 8" (2004), frequently puts her characters in tough situations with no easy way out, making for offerings that are more complex and layered than the average fare. Her engaging latest is no different and offers a surprising conclusion to this story of a marriage quietly in crisis.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)