Summer's Child

This story is one of those hard-to-put-down books. I believe it was the best one Rice has written yet, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel Summer of Roses. Jessica Taylor, and Rose Malone were the very best of friends. They had a lot in common as did both of their mothers, Marisa Taylor, and Lily Malone. Both families were hiding from dangerous husbands, escaping to Nova Scotia where they hoped to never be found. Jessica was a healthy 9-year old girl, while Rose always had many heart defects, and went to the hospital often for surgeries. In the book, she was to have one final heart operation to finally repair all the damage to her heart and would last her many years. On the other side of the coin though is still mourning the loss of her grandchild Mara. She went to water the garden one day, and then was never seen again afterwords. And at the time she was expecting a child. Patrick Murphy, a retired police detective was obsessed with finding out the real truth of the matter, and could not let it rest until he knew the answers. Lily Malone also meets a scientist in the story, Liam Neill, who is more supportive toward her and her daughter's needs then any man has ever been. Especially Ted, her abusive first husband. He sticks by Lily through the whole time Rose has her surgeries, and the two may have hopes of starting a new life yet. Before this happens though, other events take place. Ted, the abusive husband is on to them, and will have to be stopped before causing some serious trouble in both Lily's and Marisa's lives.

Luanne Rice is back and better than ever! As much as I love most of Luanne Rice's books, I was a bit worried about her next book after reading her holiday entry, Silver Bells. It wasn't that Silver bells was entirely disappointing and didn't have all of Luanne Rice's signature marks, it was just that for me it missed its mark somehow. And when early reports indicated that Summer's Child had a bit of a mystery angle, I wondered if this gifted auuthor, who previously wrote The Secret Hour, was venturing into a new genre. Now that I literally gulped down Summer's Child, Rice's newest book, I am happy to say that Luanne Rice, as only she could, gave to her readers and myself a wonderful book filled with some of the best characters I've read about for sometime. And if the mystery angle was a bit easy to figure out early on, I still found myself captivated by the story and how wonderful it all turned out. In Hubbards Point, Connecticut, the scene of many of Luanne Rice's previous novels, lives an elderly woman whose pregnant granddaughter vanished in the night. A devoted detective has relentlessly searched for the young woman and has indeed sacrificed much of his life and marriage obsessed with what happened to Mara. At the same time in Nova Scotia live two women fleeing from a difficult past. Lily Malone runs a needlepoint shop while her young daughter, Rose, suffers from a debilitating heart ailment. But Lily seems to have cut herself off from finding a man for herselfserself and is consumed with caring for her child and spending time with her women friends known as the Nanook women. Lily is pursued by a gentle man Liam who would give her the world if she would only give him the chance but seems too consumed with her past to allow this. A recent addition to the community is Marisa, another wounded soul who arrives with her young daughter. Both Lily and Marisa's daughter become fast friends almost sensing they share a similar history. And then there is a mysterious presence in both Lily and Marisa's lives which neither of them can shake no matter how far they have gone. What secrets do these people share and how their lives intersect and intertwine intrigues the reader as this book crescendos to am amazing climax. This was one of the most heart wrenching books I have read in a long time and one which I won't soon forget. I first began reading Luanne Rice in 1993 and never thought any of her future books would be as good or as well loved I felt about Blue Moon, Home Fires or the recent Firefly Beach trilogy. I am happy to say that I was wrong then and imagine I will be in the future. And I won't have to wait too long to be reunited with these endearing characters since a sequel to Summer's Child, Summer of Roses has already been published. My reading life has been so enriched with the hours I have spent with Luanne Rice's books which for the most part I love. I can't think of anything better to do when reading a book then spending d

I was very disapointed to read the last line. I can't wait tell june 21 for the next book in the story. I want to be an honorary Nanouk girl. I think this was my favorite of Mrs. Rice work yet. She is a great story teller. Very Very Good. Mrs. Rice thank you for sharing your stories with all of us. GREAT BOOK!

Once again Luanne Rice has gifted us with an emotional tale set but this time she strays a bit from her familiar New England and gives us a Nova Scotia setting; she uses fictional towns and locations but my best guess is the Cape Breton area. The very pregnant Mara Jameson had disappeared from the garden of her grandmother's home in Connecticut on the summer solstice nine years earlier. Every year on the anniversary of her death, the media brings her name up again, wondering what in the world happened to the seemingly happy young woman. Recently retired police detective Patrick Murphy has never given up his quest. He has always thought her husband, successful businessman Edward Hunter had something to do with her disappearance but has never been able to prove anything. Every year he visits her grandmother, Maeve, hoping for another clue; something else she might remember. Up in Hawk's Cove, Nova Scotia two women have come to escape abusive marriages. Both women have nine-year-old daughters. Lily Malone and her daughter, Rose, have lived in Hawk's Cove for nine years. Lily runs a stitchery shop and her real love in her life is her daughter Rose who was born with a heart defect and has been in an out of hospitals her entire life. The other woman is Marisa Taylor who with her daughter, Jessica, has more recently come to Hawk's Cove. Marisa is more mysterious but the two young girls have become best friends. The two young women are a part of a larger group of women who call themselves the Nanouks, a group of friends who are always there for one another in this isolated but idyllic area which draws many visitors who go on whale watching trips to see the many different types of whales including the amazing beluga whales. Then there's Liam Neill. Instead of captaining whale watching boats like the rest of the men in his family, he became an oceanographer, even after a terrible tragedy as a youth caused him the loss of an arm. He has become protective of Lily and Rose ever since they came to down and even though Rose cares for him a great deal, Lily and him have always remained at a distance emotionally. Then when tragedy is barely averted during what was supposed to be a fun whale watching outing for Rose's 9th birthday, everything changes. I started this book Saturday afternoon while looking out at the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca where I had just recently started the first whale watching trip I'd ever been on less than a month ago so of course was gripped to the pages from the beginning. I had the sound of the waves hitting the beach resonating all around me as I was reading, unable to put the book down. And a more emotional book I'd be hard pressed to find. I rarely have admitted this to others, so to do so in a review is really putting myself out there, but I have been in a relationship such as the one Lily and Marisa found themselves in. I could really identify with them. And Liam. Ah Liam. Jamie Fraser from

This was my first Luanne Rice book, but certainly will not be my last. I was on vacation and picked this book up. I am a retired social worker so a lot of these subjects interest me. I was extremely impressed with Ms. Rices character development and knowledge about domestic violence. Finished this in a day. Don't pick it up if you have to put it down. Can't wait for the next one "Summer of Roses"