Lost Along the Way

June 15, 2016

Almost eight years after justifying her impulsive elopement with a man she barely knew to her best friends, Jane finds out she may not have known him after all. Doug has been stealing money from his clients for the length of their marriage and is arrested for fraud. Dodging the reporters camped outside her Manhattan home, Jane flees to the suburbs to stay with Cara, one of her estranged best friends. Cara has now become a shell of herself, quietly struggling with an abusive and controlling husband. Together they track down Meg, who has been hiding out in her Montauk summer home, punishing herself because she cannot have the one thing she so desperately wants in life. These three former friends discover that the years apart have done nothing to dull their pain and anger toward one another but slowly find a way to repair their broken bonds. VERDICT With an amusing tone, Duffy (Bond Girl) effortlessly explores complex issues, especially how much pressure women put on themselves and one another to be perfect and have everything together. [See Prepub Alert, 2/1/16.]--Melissa Keegan, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Three women rekindle their lost friendship after small tragedies befall them. Through college, they kept a tenuous hold on their high-school connection, but estrangement went into full swing after Jane eloped and didn't invite Cara and Meg to the ceremony. A decade later, Jane's husband has been arrested for financial fraud, and she runs to Cara seeking refuge after she's drummed out of her fancy Manhattan co-op. Cara has marital troubles of her own, living under the thumb of a controlling, emotionally abusive husband. The two friends grudgingly reconcile and head to Meg's house, only to discover that she's left her husband after years of being unable to conceive and is holed up in her Montauk beach home. After a doozy of a fight (wine glasses are thrown), the trio realize they've been too quick to let go of one another and vow to come together again to set everyone's lives back on track. Snappy dialogue and realistic characters elevate this beach read, which will appeal to fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Jane Green.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)