This Is How It Ends

September 17, 2012
MacMahon takes an oft told tale and makes it fresh in her tender debut novel of love in a time of personal and social upheaval. During the first rumblings of the financial collapse and the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, former Lehman Brothers employee Bruno boards a plane bound for Ireland in order to discover his roots, and hopefully himself. But it's what he doesn't expect to find that changes his life. On a beach in Dublin, Addie contemplates the departure of her former flame, the loss of her job as an architect, and her newfound responsibilities as her ailing father's caretaker, settling on her spaniel, dad, and sister as the only things worth living for. But fate brings Bruno and Addie togetherâjust in time to salve each other's wounds, and test their love in the midst of a new tragedy. The running backstory of the recession and political squabbling is distracting and unnecessary, but MacMahon's portrayal of Bruno and Addie's relationship, along with a charming supporting cast, make this a believable and warm tale.

August 1, 2012
A disenchanted--and recently unemployed--banker goes to Ireland to trace his ancestral roots and finds life and love in the form of Addie, his second cousin. It's October 2008, and Bruno Boylan has had it. He's just lost his buttoned-down life at Lehman Brothers, and the presidential election, only three weeks away, looms large in his consciousness. He impulsively gets a round-trip ticket to Ireland, with a return on Wednesday, November 5th, but vows that if Obama loses he'll stay on the Ould Sod. Although Bruno has gotten some sketchy information about family ties from his aunts, once he arrives in Dublin, he realizes how little he actually knows about the family. Still, he makes an effort, arranging a "chance" meeting with Addie on the beach while she walks her dog. Addie is far from impressed by the 50-year-old, for she's seen the type before--Americans who romanticize their Celtic roots and seek connections to an imagined past they've never had. Despite her reservations and her initial coldness, Addie quickly finds herself taken by Bruno, for his vulnerability and "lostness" appeal to her. In her late-30s, Addie has recently lost a child, and she finds Bruno genuinely interested in her life experience, the first man who has shown her both empathy and respect. Addie also has to deal with her abrasive father, Hugh, a physician who's temporarily laid up, and like many physicians, he's a demanding patient. He also faces an inquiry into medical negligence that's preoccupying for the two of them. What starts as a passionate love affair for Bruno and Addie eventually leads to a marriage cut short by tragedy. An autumnal novel that combines the poignancy of Persuasion with the sentimentality of Love Story.

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March 15, 2012

However it ends, it begins in fall 2008 when Bruno travels from America to Ireland in search of his roots and meets unemployed architect Addie, who's nursing both a broken heart and her ailing dad. Lots of excitement at the London Book Fair for this debut, with rights sold to 20 territories so far.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.