Come Home (edition 2012)

Just okay, I found the characters incredibly unlikeable which made it hard to read. ( )

“Fresh Meat” by Susan Amper for Criminal Element

Lisa Scottoline’s Come Home, a valentine to mothers everywhere, is a thriller cum philosophical exploration of the definition of motherhood, asking the questions: Do you ever stop being a mother? Can you ever have an ex-child? What are the limits to love of family?

The story revolves around Jill Farrow, pediatrician, mom to 13-year-old Megan, former stepmom to Abby and Victoria and future stepmom to fiancé Sam’s son. Jill is about to marry for the third time when, after three years of no contact, the troubled 19-year-old Abby reenters her life distraught over the mysterious death of her father and Jill’s ex-husband William. The police think it was a suicide, but Abby believes her father was murdered and implores Jill to help her prove it. Sam is totally against Jill getting involved in her ex’s family problems. But what’s a mother to do? “You’re a doctor, and Sherlock Holmes was a doctor,” Jill says to herself on her decision to help. Though she is factually incorrect (Watson was the doctor), a reader can empathize with Jill’s Holmes-like determination and obsession, especially after Abby disappears.

The pediatrician becomes an amateur sleuth, letting no one get in her way. She looks into William’s activities, badgering Victoria for information and help with finding Abby. Victoria, though, feels that Jill abandoned them after the divorce and stonewalls her at every turn even siccing her lawyer boyfriend onto Jill.

Read the rest at: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/thriller-mystery-womens-fiction-com...

Basic Scottoline. Stand-alone story. God for car travel. Did want to scream at the main character the requisite number of times, and say, "Are you out of your mind? What are you thinking?!" ( )

I listened to this book on the way to work. The author has woven a rather implasable mystery, but then many mysteries are implausable, aren't they? At times, I wished she would get on with the story, but the discriptions were necessary to flesh out the characters. School Library Journal rated this as one of the best adult books for teenagers in 2012. It's easy to see why. This is a excellent choice for an audio book. ( )

A page turner of excitement! Jill, a pediatrician, falls into mystery and intrigue when she finds out her ex-husband is dead. Her stepdaughter turns up on her doorstep with the news and with the belief that he was murdered. Between being a mother, an ex-stepmother, an ex-wife, a working doctor and a fiance, she manages to pursue this idea and follow it through. At all times she is threatening each of her roles. This is a good quick read, one I read while recovering from foot surgery. I was recommend it for someone that needs a good, entertaining escape. ( )