A.R. Khan

When you have a score to settle and you want it bad enough, is there anything that can keep you from it? Arthur McQueen is a psychological therapist in Duarte, California. His wife disappeared a year ago. Her car was found on the Huntington Bridge. The authorities closed the case with the assumption that Martha committed suicide. However, on the day she disappeared, Richard, one of Arthur’s patients, had confirmed having an affair with Martha. He didn’t know that Arthur was Martha’s show more husband.

As Arthur is running out of time due to his rapidly deteriorating health, he has formed a plan to force Richard to confess where Martha is. But is he too late to put his plan into motion? His brain cancer is now in stage IV. Arthur is terribly sick most of the time, but he must continue. Richard is preparing to move in with Arthur – this is part of the plan.

Rose is a tenant in the same complex. Arthur has developed a very close relationship with her. She is a botanist who not only managed to bring a rare plant back to life, it is literally thriving. It’s called Witherings. The flowers of the plant are said to bring its owner happiness, comfort, health, and love.

I liked the periodic references to ‘life lessons’ to live by. Arthur learned these from his father. Life lesson 1 was “Only you can control the outcome of your day, not the person next to you, not the person in front of you, only you.” The title, Witherings, confused me. Withings was the name of the rare plant Rose obtained. The definition of withering per Merriam-Webster is “acting or serving to cut down or destroy.” Yet the plant was said to bring health, happiness, and love. This seems in opposition to the meaning of the word. And, I didn’t find that the plant had a lot to do with the overall storyline. The novel is a bit too rich with details; many scenes were not necessary or meaningful. While the premise was unique and the story started out quickly, it just failed to live up to its full potential. The author warnings noted the novel contained sensitive depictions of end-of-life symptoms due to stage IV brain cancer. I didn’t feel that the depictions were overly disturbing. I rated Witherings at 2.5 out of 5. show less

An interesting read by a new author. A unique plot to discover the truth behind a man's missing wife, leads to a series of unforeseen consequences and circumstances. One must then ask, who is actually the prey and who is the predator! Who wins the war? To add a twist, the man is dying of cancer, he is weak and ill and has very little time to discover the truth. If you would like to find out how this plays out, get the book and see for yourself. The author has delivered an interesting, show more twisted first novel with chapter endings that leave you gasping. He has a lovely writing style and although this book seems a bit "wordy" at times, I have no doubt that in time this author is going to be selling many novels. show less