Her Better Half

HER BETTER HALF by C.J. Carmichael March 26, 2008 Rating 4/5 stars HER BETTER HALF is the story of two women - one is the mother of twin teenage daughters and she's newly divorced and ready to start a new life. She's not doing well financially and has to move into a rough neighborhood, and that's after living in luxury and privilege for many years. Lauren's husband had run off with his yoga instructor and was now living in India, trying to find himself, he says. She and her two daughters just don't know what to think anymore. Their life has been turned upside down with an unknown future looming ahead of them. Lauren needs a job, and answers an ad placed by Erin, a younger single mother who has her own private investigating business. This is quite a different type of career move than what Lauren had expected but she figures "why not"? It was worth a shot at it. Soon, Lauren is working side by side with Erin, spying on unfaithful husbands and doing criminal background checks on others. When Lauren first meets Erin, her first impression is that Erin must be a drug user, or maybe a prostitute! Erin seemed much too loose to be a straight and narrow sort of woman, but as they get to know each other, Lauren realizes she's been wrong about Erin, but she still cannot figure her out. There is something Erin is hiding from Lauren, and the only person that probably knows the secret is Murphy Jones, who runs a greasy diner nearby. This story caught me by surprise. By the end of the book it had me in tears. I have read other books by CJ Carmichael, mostly through the Harlequin super romance line of books, and I have to say she's one of the best in the genre. HER BETTER HALF was a very good reading experience and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy women's fiction. It's definitely not a romance, but instead a story of two women who as they become friends, realize how much they need each other and how fleeting life can be.

In Toronto after being fired from an investment bank, Gary Holloway takes up yoga as a means to release his rage and frustration. Six months later he has found his enlightened side, which mean divorcing his wife Lauren and deserting their fourteen years old twin daughters Jamie and Devin to continue his spiritual journey with his instructor Melanie. One year later, Lauren still remains in shock and struggles to adapt to the abandonment and being a single mom to teenage twins. The three female Holloways have given up their affluent lifestyle, much of their relationships with family and friends and their home as they relocate to a working class neighborhood. Their next door neighbor, single mom of six year old Shelley, private investigator Erin Karmeli offers the fallen upper class elitist a trainee job while diner owner Murphy Jones offers friendship. Lauren adjusts to her new surroundings and makes friends. However, Erin, who does not fear death, has one apprehension, Shelley's wellbeing, which forces the three Holloways to lovingly change even further. HER BETTER HALF is a strong family drama starring fully developed likable characters who seem real because of relationships such as the friendship between Lauren and Erin as the newcomer believes the very tall ultra thin neighbor initially was a hooker then a drug addict before learning the truth as her pal becomes a loving sister to her. The other relationships also appear genuine so that this tear jerker makes for a strong contemporary fiction tale that fans will fully appreciate. Harriet Klausner