Linda Barrett

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. I rated it 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

I have to be honest and say that reviewing Family Interrupted is bittersweet in a way. I easily connected with this tale of 5 people affected by a tragic accident where no one really is to blame. The characters are well developed, the dialogue is good and the emotions seem very real (I say seem because I’ve been very fortunate and haven’t lost any show more close family members). The author, Linda Barrett, did a good job keeping my attention focused on her story and what takes place in these people’s lives.

When a tragic accident takes the life of Claire and Jack Barnes daughter, Kayla, everything changes in ways no one imagined. Claire, Jack and Ian, their only remaining child, all blame themselves, and each other, for Kayla’s tragic death. Claire blames herself for not having been home and somehow preventing the accident, Jack blames himself for not being able to help Claire manage her pain and grief, while Ian feels guilty for having let his parents down. Especially since he knows deep down his mother blames him.

Even though she was cleared of any responsibility for the accident, Sarah Levine, the woman driving the vehicle which hit Kayla, feels grief and responsibility. Unable to forgive herself, she pulls away from her family and doesn’t let anyone help her handle her pain. Her husband soon worries she’s becoming suicidal.

While time passes, none of these characters really move one. Even though Ian moves out of his parent’s house and gets a job after graduation, he’s still dealing with guilt and can’t get his life together. Claire and Jack have continued drifting apart and appear to be headed towards a divorce; something Claire seems to expect.

What will it take to bring the Barnes family back together? Can anything fix what’s been broken by grief, guilt and time? And can anyone get through to Sarah Levine before it’s too late? You’ll have to read Family Interrupted to find out, I enjoyed it and I think you will too. show less

FAMILY INTERRUPTED is my first read by Linda Barrett, who is the best-selling author of 13 novels. I was intrigued by the synopsis of the story and yet it was a topic I didn't really want to read about. Claire and Jack and are the parents of Ian, a senior, and Kayla, age 12. One fateful afternoon, Claire lingers after her art class talking to her handsome professor and accepting his many compliments on her artwork. Claire ends up arriving home late, to police cars and an ambulance in front show more of their house. Kayla ends up dying as the result of being hit by a car while trying to catch a football thrown by her brother. Their family, their careers, their passions and their way of communicating are forever changed. Each of them are struggling with their own grief and for Claire, it ends up consuming her.

I must admit, this was a tough one to get through. It was depressing and as a mom, I felt the pain of grief as I read each page. I can't imagine losing one of our children and how our family would be forever changed. There were many times when I had to put the book down and ignore it for awhile. I also found some parts of the book to be a bit unbelievable. After Ian graduated from high school, he moved out and for two years never looked back. His parents never called him, never saw where he lived or worked, or knew anything about his life. Even in grief, I can't imagine completely ignoring my other children and I found myself continually frustrated by Ian's and his parents behavior. Other parts of their grief, I did find realistic, saying "I will not cry for at least an hour" made perfect sense to me.

The author did paint the picture of grief for this family. Their pain was evident on the pages and the descriptions of Claire's artwork she created to remember Kayla were vivid and imaginative. I also found the pain of Sarah, the driver that killed Kayla, to be very understandable. The tragedy happened to her too and changed her direction, dreams, and hopes all in one second.

Eventually Claire has to decide if she is going to allow grief and blame to take hold of her life and her marriage, as well as Sarah's fragile hold on life. Claire has become so focused on Kayla that she begins to ignore those in her life that are still living. A surprise shows up at Claire's door and will help her change her outlook for the future. But, will her husband, parents, sister and son still be there to welcome her back? As Claire realizes the mistakes she has made, you can feel the weight lift off her shoulders and have hope that they can find happiness again. As Claire makes peace with herself, she needs to make peace with her daughter as well. Claire's conversation with her daughter's portrait was heartfelt, honest, and emotional. It was a beautiful way for Claire to bring closure and move forward in the healing of her family. It was a very well written passage.

Overall, it was a novel that I was glad I had read. I think there would be a lot of a discussion around this book. Grief, betrayal, parenting, family relationships, and hope are some possible topics and would keep a book club talking for a long time. There are also discussion questions available at the end of the book, if needed. show less

House on the Beach by Linda Barrett
Laura comes to the island to recuperate and the real estate agent has the perfect house for her. It's held by a trust and they coup some of the monthly costs so her cost is lower than normal.
Love the area of the island offshore of the mainland. Lots of time to walk on the beach and think. Her mother is now gone and she had given up so much of her life to tend to her needs. She's also a few years cancerfree.
Love her career of being in broadcast business and show more is going to make audio tapes of the classics. She meets the plumber Matt who is constantly watching her, her moves and the house she is staying in.
Love who the Romeo's stand for and how caring and sharing the community is. She finds a cat and during a storm one night agrees to stay with Matt and his family. His son Casey has a speech impediment but she spends a lot of time and has a lot of patience to deal with him.
They've lost their mother and that's when his speech went. She had taken therpy classes and understands what he needs...
Matt is an old boyfriend from the island when she was a teen and the family summered on the island. After that year she never returned...
House has been known to cure ailments.....missing brother-the details come out over time....her cancer may be back....how can they even think of a relationship...
Excerpt from the next in the series is included. Like authors style of writing and locations. show less

A good, solid read. I enjoyed the characters and the way Ashley's trauma was dealt with. Though I understand (to a degree) Kristin's feelings, something about her rubbed me the wrong way, especially toward the end. I can't imagine dealing with what she did, but something seemed off.

I really enjoyed the romance and the way it tied together with the story, though.