LONG TIME COMING by Edie Claire was an enjoyable book. I know some people thought Joy was a mess and that she should have gotten over her friend's death long since, being a strong, intelligent woman. But sometimes there are just things in a person's life that trip a switch, leaving you in the dark about the mistakes of your past. I'm sure most of those naysayers have something in their lives that don't sit right with them and can scar them, possibly for life.
Yes, Joy Hudson has been running from her irrational fears and phobias hinging on her friend's death in high school. For eighteen years. But now she has finally come back to put them to rest and to care for her dad, whose health is failing. She rolls into town and buys the cheapest house she can, which just happens to be her dead friend's family home. Then she sets up a mobile veterinary service.
Joy doesn't believe in ghosts, but the house is full of strange smells, haunting music, opening doors and windows, freezing spots, and at one point, an epic whirlwind. Joy, like many people, still tries to rationalize the happenings away. But how can she when there is also someone trying to kill her?
Jenny's presence haunts her best friend, Joy, if not the house, filling Joy with good and bad memories and a nightmare or two. Jenny's old boyfriend, Jeff, doesn't help. He can't seem to leave Joy alone. He's always there, (partly because she accidentally hit his dog and must perform surgery on the dog) taking care of Joy even though she pushes him away at every turn.
I really loved that about Jeff. I enjoyed the fact that he could take what she dished out but be patient until she worked through her strange idiosyncrasies and fears and prejudices. He was there to pick her up on numerous occasions, despite her irrational anger inspired by a catty remark eighteen years previous.
I think everybody wants a guy who will bounce back to you even if you act like a hag to him. I do. That kind of unconditional love is difficult to find.
The town cop also has the hots for Joy, being there for her in several ways--mostly to fix things on her house. In fact, at one point I suspected him of trying to kill her, mainly because that's always the person you least suspect. He was charming and not at all a paper doll, though clearly coming in a distant second to Jeff.
I enjoyed the mix of small town characters. I loved the mystery of Joy's memory lapses. I liked the twists at the end. I loved the romance. I enjoyed the things that went bump in the night.
I did want Joy to get out of her head earlier. For such an intelligent person, who rapidly deduces other things, she certainly took her time uncovering the question marks of her past and forgiving Jeff. But to me that made her more real.
For a fun book hard to let go of, get LONG TIME COMING here. I'll be searching out Edie Claire's other books shortly. I give this book four paw prints out of five.
No comments:
Post a Comment