A Little Help from Above

January 1, 2003
In this busy debut novel, Shelby Lazarus, a hotshot reporter for the " Chicago Tribune," is a beautiful but quite nasty shrew of a woman who returns to the family she despises when her father and stepmother are involved in a serious accident. Shelby, estranged from her family for more than two years, has been unable to maintain a loving relationship with anyone since she was 10 years old. At that time, two events occurred that changed her forever: her best friend and the love of her young life, Mattie, moved away, and her mother died soon after. Exasperated and tired of watching from the afterlife as her eldest child continues on an unmarried, unhappy, and angry path, the late Sandy Lazarus (Shelby's mom) determines to do something about it. She sets out interfering with Shelby's life, beginning with this accident that brings her errant daughter home. Packed full of action and many subplots, it wouldn't be surprising to hear that this book will be produced as a "made-for-TV" movie.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)